What is Relationship Coaching?
Relationship coaching offers couples trained professionals who coach people to work on skills that will improve their relationships. There are also coaches for parents, families, and even singles who desire to have a relationship. The coaches do not necessarily have degrees in counseling or psychology, although some do. Some believe that the better coaches do NOT have those credentials. Others believe that counseling in an excellent background for relationship coaches. There are however, some major differences between coaching and counseling.
A counselor or therapist is a licensed clinician with at least a master’s degree in counseling or social work, who is trained in techniques to help their patient discover the origin of their problems. Therapy is focused on feelings, the past, assumes the client needs healing, and is more concerned with diagnosis and treatment. A relationship coach is also a trained professional. Relationship coaching, however, is more concerned with focusing on actions and the future, problem solving, and it also assumes the client (not patient) is healthy and whole.
Relationship coaching can help the couple build skills, like communication, that can benefit the couple for a lifetime. Benefits of relationship coaching include:
- Convenience – most relationship coaching is done over the telephone. No more having to travel across town to see the therapist.
- More choices – not limited to picking someone in the local area. You can choose any relationship coach that you want anywhere in the country.
- Less threatening – many people are intimidated by going to see a therapist. Somehow a coach seems less threatening to people.
- Less stigma – society still puts a lot of stigma on people with “mental health problems.” Coaching you through a problem to meet a goal is more about performing at a higher level as a couple. Sort of like a good coach gets more out of their athletes performance.
- Less blaming – you have to take responsibility for your actions and what you each want to accomplish as a couple. Each person as to focus on his or her own thoughts and actions. It just won’t do to try and blame someone else for something that happened 30 years ago…so that’s why you failed. Buck up, take ownership of your part of the problem, and make it happen.
Relationship coaching has become a very popular way to reach couples that previously would not go see a counselor, or therapist. In fact many couples who have tried traditional therapy and have felt that it was not the route for them, but have found success working with a relationship coach.