What Is Life Coaching and Is It Legitimate?

Life coaching — as most people currently recognize it — first rose to prominence in the 1990s and 2000s as executives and other employees needed help navigating their rapidly changing and more complex work environments. Most coaches were people with significant experience in the relevant industry who helped clients set and meet goals, in addition to performing leadership training, organizational improvement, and employee development.

Over the years, life coaching has grown into a billion-dollar industry that operates in many fields. Some coaches claim to be able to address nearly all of life’s problems, leading to the increased usage of the phrase “life coach.”

Life coaches are unregulated and require no formal training, education, or licensing. This allows nearly anyone to call his or herself a life coach. As a result, clients have no legal protection should a coach’s teachings cause harm.

However, trustworthy coaches have undergone extensive training from certification programs that are attempting to legitimize the field. Additionally, a person may choose to refer to themself as a life coach while also holding certifications and experience in regulated fields.

Some life coaches are more general and focus on all aspects of a client’s life. Others are far more focused, specializing in specific areas, such as:

• Addiction and sobriety
• Business and leadership
• Career
• Diet and fitness
• Family life and planning
• Financial wellness
• Mental or physical health and wellness
• Life skills
• Relationships and divorce
• Spirituality

Because of the nebulous nature of life coaching as a practice, it is difficult to study its effects. A systematic review of intervention studies involving life coaching found that specific self-efficacy and self-empowerment techniques can help improve a person’s overall health.

Some of the reviewed studies discovered that group and individual coaching can help reduce procrastination and improve functioning within businesses. Research also indicates that life coaches can provide much-needed peer support for tasks like weight loss.

In recent years, the line between life coaching and psychotherapy has become increasingly unclear. Therapists and other mental health professionals focus on treating mental health conditions and working through trauma. Unlike life coaches, therapists must have a degree, receive accreditation, follow an ethical code, and adhere to strict confidentiality and ongoing education regulations.

While working with a life coach may help with some mental health issues, no trustworthy life coach will attempt to fill a therapist or psychologist’s role without training and accreditation in those fields.

Each life coach has a different approach, even if they are addressing the same topics. Some coaches claim that anyone can benefit from their help, while others feel that a person must already have a general goal in mind. Though there is a lack of evidence on this topic, positive affect life coaching appears to have beneficial effects on most populations.

In general, coaches with more targeted approaches have more quantifiable benefits, due to having more experience in those exclusive fields. Some experts recommend life coaching during moments where therapy is not yet necessary, but outside assistance would be beneficial. For example, life coaching helped medical students arrive at more accurate diagnoses while also improving symptoms of stress and burnout.

Depending on what topic a person is attempting to address, they may choose to seek alternatives to life coaches. Therapists and counselors are usually the most direct alternative, especially for support with addiction, relationships, and mental health.

Financial advisors and career counselors can be beneficial and are often available through larger enterprises, such as schools and businesses, rather than working independently.

To maximize the effectiveness of life coaching, it is important to approach it in a certain manner. A life coach can help make plans and guide clients to more positive goals, but this takes time. Expecting immediate results is a major pitfall. Additionally, not all coaches are suitable for all topics and all clients.

Finding a compatible, skilled coach can be difficult but makes a significant difference. Remember that while life coaches can offer advice that may improve mental well-being, they are not therapists and are not qualified to address serious mental health conditions.

In recent years, the explosive growth of the life coaching industry has led to many groups moving to legitimize the practice. One of the most prominent examples of this is the International Coaching Federation, which aims to develop core competencies, establish a professional code, and create a reliable, recognized certification program.

Additionally, a growing number of life coaches have requested lawmakers to enforce standards and regulations similar to those for psychotherapy. This serves to separate the skilled, trustworthy life coaches from those who are potentially dangerous.

Ultimately, life coaching is still too broad a field to truly define and study its effects. The tools and techniques that many life coaches employ are beneficial to a large number of people. Researching a life coach’s reputation, certifications, and training can enable a potential client to determine whether they are receiving reputable advice from a trustworthy source.

Though their fields may overlap, life coaches and therapists are separate professions. However, skilled life coaches can act as bridges, helping clients to seek qualified mental healthcare.