Overwhelmed by the various personal development service offerings?

Want to make an informed decision?

Overview about the differences and benefits of Training, Coaching, Counselling and Psychotherapy

There is a plethora of supporting, improving, growing, healing, etc. services available. It’s not easy to figure out the difference and benefits between the various available services and when to use which one.

Here is an overview of the 5 most common ones - Training, Mentoring, Coaching, Counselling and Psychotherapy - based on 7 key parameters:

Purpose: What is the intent of this service
Focus: where does its attention lie
Past vs Future: does the service focus on the past, present or future or a combination of them
Techniques and Methods: What are the tools and methods
Approach: How does it work
Professional Relationship Type: depending on the service the roles in the relationship differ and who guides the engagement
Outcomes: What you can expect

The aim of this overview is to provide clarification and to enable you to decide which service is the most suitable for your purpose.

Overview Matrix:

Explanation of Services

Training is typically well understood and has the broadest application of all five services and is probably the service that is best understood and less likely to be confused with the other services being discussed. Training is a structured way to gain knowledge, delivered by teachers, trainers, or through self-paced methods like books and online platforms. It follows a set curriculum and has a broad application. Training can be for physical activities (e.g. with a PT*), leisure activities (like musical instruments), personal or spiritual growth (such as meditation), and education or professional development, from short courses to full online degrees.*PT - Professional Trainer

Mentoring, Coaching, Counselling and Psychotherapy The main challenge across these four services is typically that the terms Mentoring & Coaching, Counselling & Psychotherapy and Coaching & Counselling or even all four are used interchangeably. This can lead to confusion and unsatisfactory outcomes because there are significant differences between these services. Refer to the 'Overview Matrix' for more information.

Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the service offerings of Mentoring, Coaching, Counselling and Psychotherapy

While fundamentally different there are similarities between the services, such as

Trusted relationship
Mentors/Coaches/Counsellors/Psychotherapist all support and guide
Mentee/Coachee/Client in counselling and psychotherapy are accountable for their progress
Personal growth is one of the desired outcomes

These similarities can on the surface lead to the confusion and that the terms are being used interchangeably.

Let’s have a closer look at the differences between the services. I will discuss this by comparing two services side by side. This enables a more specific review on each level and provides a deeper understanding of the differences.

Mentoring & Coaching
Coaching & Counselling
Counselling & Psychotherapy

Mentoring & Coaching

Main differences between mentoring and coaching

Coaching & Counselling

Coaching and counselling have one additional similarity

Both do not provide advice, both work via supporting, guiding and the utilisation of different tools and methods to facilitate the engagement.

Main differences between coaching and counselling

Counselling & Psychotherapy

Counselling and psychotherapy have several additional commonalities as both are grounded in psychology and help people with issues that negatively impacting their live including mental health challenges.

Australia Counselling has a succinct description of the difference between counselling and psychotherapy on their website: “Counselling is a short-term treatment that places emphasis on a specific symptom or situation, whereas psychotherapy is an approach that provides long-term relief and aims to gain a deeper cognisance of a person’s problems.”

Main differences between counselling and psychotherapy

Summary

Besides a clear understanding of the different types of service such as training, mentoring, coaching, counselling and psychotherapy a clear understanding of one’s own needs is required to make the best decision.

The 'Overview Matrix' and detailed comparison are intended as an initial guide. In practice, multiple services may be suitable for a given situation. Factors like availability and your comfort level with the practitioner also play a role. The quality of the connection between you and the practitioner is an important factor in the success of the engagement.

Progress accountability lies with the mentee/coachee/client, while the mentor/coach/counsellor/psychotherapist provides guidance, support and treatment as applicable.

Next steps

The outlined service descriptions are based on standard definitions. In practice, there may be variations. Practitioners’ approaches can be influenced by their personal life, education, and professional experiences. Their values, purpose and personal preferences also play a role in their practice. Therefore, it is important to learn about the practitioner you plan to work with as much as possible. Review their website, read testimonials, and consider introductory sessions if available.

The outcome of the engagement largely depends on your connection with your mentor, coach, counsellor, or psychotherapist.

Look out for out our next blog which will go deeper into the different coaching types and methods and how to best choose your coach.

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