Coaching vs Counseling

I am a llicensed counselorswho also offers coaching services to individuals and couples who are not Indiana residents. Coaching sessions are not meant to be a substitute for ongoing therapeutic work. I encouarge people to seek help from a qualified local professional, if available. -Tim Tedder

How coaching & counseling are alike:

• In both, I focus on helping couples and individuals work through their issues in ways that direct them toward healing.
• In both, I invest in knowing my clients and help them gain insight into current patterns and clarity of future change.
• In both, I direct recommended steps toward change, often in the form of exercises to be completed outside of sessions.

​How coaching & counseling are different:

• Coaching services are intended as an alternative for people outside of Indiana.
• Coaching is conversation with a professional, but records and files I keep are typically less comprehensive than with counseling clients.
• Coaching sessions are not reimbursed by insurance.
• Coaching focuses on advice, education, and skill-building to help an individual or couple. I will not diagnose you. If issues being addressed go beyond the scope of coaching (especially if there is need for in-office therapy or the use of tools appropriate for counseling), we will recommend that you seek counseling instead.
• Although I choose to follow some of the same ethical standards in coaching as I do in counseling, there is a difference in how the counseling profession views those roles. Coaching sessions would not be bound by the same privacy standards as therapy. (Although we view confidentiality much the same in both counseling a coaching, a court may not.) Coaching does not carry the same level of responsibility as counseling (to pass you to another care-giver if necessary, for example). In all, counseling requires a higher degree of responsibility for the therapist than coaching does for the coach.
• As part of the coaching process, we may recommend interaction with someone other than ourselves. This may be another counselor or an individual/couple we believes will provide additional help in your specific situation. You will always know this ahead of time, not “surprised” to find yourself interacting with someone other than me.