Coaching: It's Not Therapy, But It's Also Not Magic (Probably)
Coaching Grey Areas
When you think of life coaching, what comes to mind? Is it iconic figures like Tony Robbins or Deepak Chopra? Perhaps it's high-energy motivational speeches, transformational retreats, or practices like hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Maybe it's tied to new-age concepts or even pseudoscience. For many, life coaching occupies an ambiguous space, tangled with influencers, self-help ideologies, and, sometimes, outright woo-woo.
This ambiguity is part of the field’s identity. Coaching as a profession has evolved and diversified beyond rigid boundaries, often intersecting with various methodologies, both traditional and alternative. While coaching as defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) adheres to strict ethical guidelines and competency frameworks, the broader public perception of coaching extends far beyond its definition. For better or worse, the lines blur between coaching and realms like motivational speaking, therapeutic practices, and even controversial methods like psychedelics or mind-shifting techniques.
It’s essential to explore these intersections with care. Many of these practices have helped people profoundly, even if they fall outside what the ICF defines as coaching. Equally important is distinguishing where coaching principles—such as being client-led and non-directive—align with or diverge from these alternative approaches. Our discussion isn’t about gatekeeping the definition of coaching but about clarifying where it thrives, where it blends, and where it might not belong.
Join CLCI Live as Jen Long (PCC), Samuel Gozo (ACC), Anthony Lopez (MCPC), Brooke Adair Walters (ACC), Jerome LeDuff (MCLC), and Lisa Finck (MCC) examine these blurred boundaries, exploring how coaching principles can intersect with retreats, NLP, hypnotherapy, and more, while navigating the ethical and professional implications. Let’s define the lines, even if they remain a little fuzzy, and equip both coaches and clients with the tools to discern what coaching truly is—and what it’s not.
Approaching The Discussion
Before looking at some of these practices individually, it’s important to approach them and those who are benefited by using these methods with an open mind.
This topic is controversial and our opinions of them are just that, opinions. In addition to this subjective take, personal experiences and professions can negatively color some more than others. It could be easy to scoff and dismiss a method as pseudoscience incapable of helping anyone, and even be correct about the pseudoscience part of that, but this dismisses that the techniques can really positively impact a participant’s life. Any discussion on this topic has to be open and nonjudgmental. And any claim that one method is or isn't life coaching in a strict sense is only being compared to ICF standards.
Retreats
The idea of coaching during retreats raises questions about maintaining a coaching mindset when engaging in informal activities with clients. While coaching can occur during retreats, it is often intertwined with other activities (otherwise it would be a boring retreat) that may not strictly adhere to coaching principles. For example, retreats might involve consulting, not just coaching, as well as presentations and leadership.
A retreat should have an agreed upon format known to coaches attending before they ever arrive and you, as a coach, will still need to be clear before any session what coaching is, what the session will be, and other examples of transparency appropriate to the ICF’s core values.
As a guest and participant, it’s important to know what coaching is and isn’t too so that group teaching presentations or consulting sessions aren’t mistaken for what you will get if you attend a coaching session. Something that will be important for every single method discussed in this article is that coaching is client-led and not necessarily problem focused. Any practice that is practitioner led and focuses on fixing problems is unlikely to be coaching- although this doesn’t automatically make them dismissible in terms of being beneficial.
NLP
NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It proposes a connection between our neurological processes (Neuro), language (Linguistic), and learned behavioral patterns (Programming). The core idea is that by understanding and manipulating these connections, we can "reprogram" ourselves for success.
So if there is a link between our thoughts, language, and behaviors, NLP takes it a step furthers and says we can "reprogram" ourselves or clients for success by understanding and manipulating this connection. It focuses on "modeling excellence" by replicating successful behaviors and emphasizes our subjective experience of reality.
Sounds great right? While these concepts sound intriguing, NLP faces significant criticism from the scientific community. Although it draws inspiration from legitimate fields like linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience, it often misinterprets or oversimplifies established research. Many of its core claims lack support from rigorous scientific studies and are considered pseudoscience. For example, the idea of "neurolinguistic programming" suggests a level of direct control over neurological processes that isn't supported by current neuroscience or by coaching for that matter. The concept of representational systems and learning styles has also been largely debunked by research.
From a coaching perspective, NLP also presents some key differences. Coaching, as defined by the ICF, is client-led and focuses on empowering clients to find their own solutions. NLP, on the other hand, is often practitioner-led, with the practitioner acting as an expert who guides the client through specific techniques to achieve predetermined outcomes. While coaching may utilize techniques like reframing, it does so in a way that empowers the client's own insights, rather than imposing a specific interpretation. NLP often positions itself as the solution, a one-size-fits-all approach, while coaching recognizes the unique needs and context of each client.
While NLP offers some potentially useful techniques, it's crucial to be aware of its lack of scientific validation, even though it presents itself as scientific. It may be helpful for some individuals, and there's no inherent conflict in a client engaging in both NLP and coaching. However, it's important to recognize that NLP is not coaching, and a coach incorporating NLP techniques must remain client-led and focused on empowering the client's own process. Clients should be wary of claims that NLP is a scientifically proven "fix-all" solution.
Psychedelics
This might be the most controversial and fun subject yet! Psychedelics have a long history and that has involved fear and criminalization in the last century in many places. Some might have a hard time believing that psychedelics have any place in a professional field, let alone one like psychology. So it might be a surprise to find out that there are legal treatments right now in various western countries using ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA.
Currently, esketamine is the only FDA approved psychedelic treatment in the psychiatry field in the United States. But the U.S. is looking into scientific merit of other psychedelics and aiming to eventually approve MDMA, DMT and psilocybin treatments. In alternative and other therapeutic settings, use of psychedelics can be helpful, and some self medicate and find an effective dose after trial and error that benefits their life.
Psychedelics appear promising for those with PTSD, depression, and more. Yet, this is important to remember; Coaching isn’t therapy or psychiatry. As a coach, you don’t treat these conditions, but you absolutely can coach clients who happen to have conditions that are also being treated with the use of psychedelics. The idea being that outside treatment is able to bring clients to a level where they can be coached with a relatively sound mind and without mental health being the main focus.
But what about the client use of psychedelics in the coaching session? The ICF doesn't have much to say specifically about that subject in their code of ethics, (trust us, we've looked), but you can read between the lines and determine your own personal & professional boundaries based on a a few questions you could ask yourself:
Am I prioritizing client trust, safety, and well-being?
Is the client able to be fully engaged in the session?
Am I recognizing my personal and professional limitations?
Am I making ethical decisions?
Am I fully understanding the legal risks?
If the answer to any of these questions is No, maybe you should rethink the use of Psychedelics in your coaching practice.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is a “therapeutic practice that uses guided hypnosis to help a client reach a trance-like state of focus, concentration, diminished peripheral awareness, and heightened suggestibility.” It is recognized as a valid professional procedure by the APA and AMA in the United States. In the U.S., Canada, Israel, and more, laws restrict and regulate hypnotherapy by training and licensure. In most of the EU, New Zealand, the UK, and other countries, there is no regulation on hypnotherapy. In general, the acceptance that it is a valid therapeutic procedure is not U.S. specific.
Now, as a therapeutic procedure, hypnotherapy is by nature outside of the scope of coaching alone. Coaching techniques can absolutely complement hypnotherapy. Some coaches are also licensed and trained hypnotherapists, but their practices must remain distinct so hopeful clients know which they are signing up for and make an informed decision. While complementary, it’s important they remain distinct practices.
Bottom Line
If seeing some of the most common practices and methods that get confused with coaching has shown anything, it’s the need for coaches to clearly define their role and the modalities they employ. This ensures transparency and ethical practice in their work, and it helps to clean up those blurred lines that can surround the coaching field as a separate entity from both helpful and problematic alternatives.
Thank you,
Jen Long (PCC), Samuel Gozo (ACC), Anthony Lopez (MCPC), Brooke Adair Walters (ACC), Jerome LeDuff (MCLC), and Lisa Finck (MCC)
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