What is the difference between receiving therapy/counseling and life coaching?

The main difference between receiving therapy/counseling and life coaching is that therapy/counseling can include the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. In addition, since you are not being seen for a medical reason when receiving life coaching, the services you receive cannot be billed to health insurance. Of course, other differences are dependent on the professional you see, including their credentials and the methods they use to help their clients.

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Everyone who receives life coaching from me will be able to have the same experience as those who have received therapy/counseling from me, except for the aforementioned differences of not being able to be diagnosed with mental disorders, treated for mental disorders, or able to bill their health insurance for services received. You can still receive help in dealing with everyday stresses, long-term issues, goal setting, accountability, identification of stressors in your life, etc. As the client, it is up to you what our time together is used for!

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Why do you charge so little?

Right now, I am lucky enough to have another job that can financially support me and allows a flexible schedule, so am finally pursuing being a life coach. I want to eventually transition to only doing work as a life coach – but for now, I am just starting out and need to establish my business, which requires building a reputation and client base. Until I have built a reputation as a life coach, I believe the best practice is to only charge clients for my time. I also believe this is a good way of increasing the number of clients I have, since more people will be able to afford my services and most people are weary of spending too much money on something they have never experienced.

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How do you handle clients' confidentiality?

I handle my clients' confidentiality the same way that I would as their therapist/counselor. This is part of the reason I use Google Meet for all online appointments – a HIPAA-compliant platform that ensures a high level of confidentiality for my clients. One of the reasons clients seek out professional help, instead of from someone they know personally, is to keep their discussions confidential, so I want to be able to ensure that for all my clients.