Differences between Psychology and Coaching
A frequent question asked by people who, in one way or another, have contact with the field of psychology, is about the differences between Coaching and Psychology. Or what is the same, they wonder about the difference in the theoretical basis, the roles and the methods used by both professionals , psychologists and coaches.
Differences between psychology and coaching
To begin with, one might ask yourself something basic: How is coaching defined and what is it based on? And in the same way, what are the characteristics that make both disciplines very different in their approaches?
Deepening in both disciplines
Lets start by the beginning. The coach (that is, the Coaching professional) is a communication skills expert who seeks your client or coachee be able to discover your goals in life. The coach is responsible for accompanying the client and doing everything necessary to ensure that these commitments and goals are met.
As we see, Coaching is a technical methodology that applies concepts and theoretical bases of psychology to specific cases and adapting them to the client's requirements . However, the concept of Coaching has been established as a professional work not necessarily linked to people who have thoroughly studied the behavior and mental processes; that is, the psychologists .
This dissociation of Coaching from psychology has allowed people who do not have fundamental studies on behavior and techniques of psychology to offer coaching services without more validation than some private training courses.
Psychology as a guarantee
A psychologist, on the other hand, is someone who has studied for years and in a rigorous and systematic way all issues related to the human psyche , the development of skills, and the techniques and methods that allow a person to improve in their field and achieve their personal and professional goals. In addition to their regulated university education, the psychologist must be part of a professional official school , thus accepting common ethical and deontological slogans for all professionals in the sector, a fact that guarantees the client the seriousness and confidence in the service that will be provided.
The psychologist has specific training on the communicative and interview techniques , in addition to greater knowledge about psychological processes, a fact that allows him to be a better interpreter of the client's personality and of his psychosocial and / or work casuistry.
There are still more reasons to trust a psychologist instead of a coach without psychology studies. The psychologist has to his credit Several methodological approaches and different techniques with which to treat the client, depending on his personality or his objectives. It can advise and give action guidelines, train different capacities, and ultimately can intervene directly on the needs of the client.
The coaches not psychologists they follow a different methodology that is based on suggesting and enabling the client's life from the conversation and the Socratic method , but can not intervene directly since it is not empowered or has the resources to do so.
Coaching that is promoted as something that is not
Many psychology professionals complain about the way in which Coaching professionals are promoted without university studies. Coaching, by not being governed by any professional association that guarantees the good praxis of its members, has absolute freedom to use questionable methods of promotion and marketing, and may apply disproportionate rates that do not correspond to the quality of the service or to the preparation of the coach
Therefore, if you are looking for a quality service that can be adapted to your needs and goals, It is preferable that you contact a psychology professional who also has knowledge of Coaching .
