Differences between Psychology and Coaching

Two different disciplines but with some points in common.

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 thing, they wonder about the difference in the theoretical basis, roles and methods used by both professionals, psychologists and coaches.psychologists and coaches.

Differences between psychology and coaching

To begin with, a basic question should be asked: How is coaching defined and what is it based on? And similarly, what are the characteristics that make the two disciplines very different in their approaches?

Going deeper into both disciplines

Let's start at the beginning. The coach (i.e. the Coaching professional) is an expert in communication skills who seeks to make his client or coachee to be able to discover his or her goals in life. The coach is in charge of accompanying the client and doing everything necessary for these commitments and goals to be achieved.

As we can see, Coaching is a technical methodology that applies concepts and applies concepts and theoretical bases of psychology to concrete cases and adapts them to the client's requirements.. However, the concept of Coaching has managed to establish itself as a professional work not necessarily linked to people who have studied behavior and mental processes in depth; that is, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists, psychologists and psychologists. psychologists.

This dissociation of Coaching from psychology has allowed people who do not have fundamental studies on the behavior and techniques of psychology to offer Coaching services with no 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 the 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 to achieve personal and professional goals.The psychologist has studied for years and in a rigorous and systematic way all issues related to the human psyche, the development of aptitudes, and the techniques and methods that allow a person to improve in their field and to achieve their personal and professional goals. In addition to his or her formal university training, the psychologist must be a member of an official professional associationThis guarantees to the client the seriousness and confidence in the service that will be provided.

The psychologist has a specific training on the communicative and interviewing techniquesThe psychologist has a greater knowledge of psychological processes, which allows him/her to be a better interpreter of the client's personality and of his/her psychosocial and/or labor casuistry.

There are even more reasons to trust a psychologist rather than a coach without a psychology background. The psychologist has to his or her credit various methodological approaches and different techniques with which to treat the client, depending on his personality or goals. He can advise and give guidelines for action, train different skills, and can intervene directly on the client's needs.

The non-psychologist coaches follow a different methodology based on suggesting and enabling the client's life through conversation and the Socratic method. Socratic methodCoaching that is promoted as something that can be done directly, but cannot intervene directly, since they are not empowered and do not have the resources to do so.

Coaching that is promoted as something it is not

Many psychology professionals complain about the way coaching professionals without university studies are promoted. Coaching, not being governed by any professional association that guarantees the good practice of its members, has absolute freedom to use questionable methods of promotion and marketing, and can apply exorbitant rates that do not correspond to the quality of the service or the preparation of the coach.

Therefore, if you are looking for a quality service that can be adapted to your needs and objectives, it is preferable that you contact a professional psychologist who, in addition, has knowledge of Coaching..