For executive coaches: when a coaching issue is a therapy issue
Coaching and therapy overlap, and many difficulties can be worked on in either. Therapy may be the better fit when a client's difficulty keeps returning however well they understand it, when it seems rooted in earlier experience, when it involves trauma, a mental health condition or risk, or when it is mainly about a relationship outside work. The ICF Code of Ethics asks coaches to explore a different professional or resource when that would serve the client better. Therapy and coaching can continue side by side.
The overlap is real
Coaching and therapy share a great deal: a confidential relationship, careful listening, and work on how someone thinks, feels and acts. Many executive coaches have training in psychology or therapeutic methods, and many therapists work with professional goals. There is no clean line between them, and a coach is not expected to diagnose anything.
The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. Therapy, in contrast, is set up to work with distress, difficulty and history, under a professional registration and a clinical code of ethics.
How the ICF frames referral
The ICF Code of Ethics does not list conditions that require referral. Standard 4.3 asks coaches to remain alert to indications that there might be a shift in the value the client receives from the coaching relationship, to discuss this with the client, and, if appropriate, to explore the potential for a different coach, professional or resource.
In other words, the code leaves the judgement to the coach and the client, which is where most experienced coaches would want it.
Signs that therapy may help
Some patterns that many coaches recognise as signs that coaching alone may not reach the difficulty:
| Sign | What it may indicate |
|---|---|
| The same pattern returns however well the client understands it | The difficulty may be held below the level that insight and planning reach |
| Strong reactions seem out of proportion to the trigger | Earlier experience may be shaping the present |
| The client mentions trauma, abuse or a loss they have never talked about | That material usually needs a therapeutic setting |
| Low mood, anxiety, sleep problems or drinking are affecting work | A mental health assessment may be needed |
| The real difficulty is a marriage or family relationship | Couples or family work is designed for that |
| The client mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm | This needs a clinical response, and urgent help if there is immediate risk |
None of these is a rule. They are reasons to have a conversation with the client about what kind of help would serve them best.
When the difficulty is at home
Executive clients often bring relationship difficulties into coaching, sometimes directly and sometimes through their effect on work: distraction, exhaustion, or decisions shaped by what is happening at home. Coaching can help a client think about how to manage their working life during a difficult period. It is not designed to work on the relationship itself. Where a client's marriage or family is the real difficulty, couples therapy, or discernment counselling where one partner is leaning out, is designed for that work.
Raising it with a client
Coaches will have their own ways of doing this. Some find it helps to:
- Name what you have noticed, in the client's terms, without labelling it
- Frame therapy as an addition, not a judgement on the client or the coaching
- Be honest about the limits of coaching for what they are describing
- Leave the decision with the client, and keep the door open
When therapy and coaching run together
Therapy and coaching can work alongside each other. Coaching can stay focused on goals, performance and decisions, while therapy works with what lies underneath. It helps to agree with the client what belongs in each, so that they are not doing the same work twice or receiving conflicting messages. Any contact between the coach and the therapist should happen only with the client's explicit consent.
Some leaders find that a concentrated block of therapy, such as an intensive, fits a demanding schedule better than a weekly hour, and allows coaching to continue in its usual rhythm.
What to look for in a therapist to suggest
If you keep a list of therapists to suggest to clients, check their training, registration and confidentiality practices, and whether they have worked with people in senior or high-pressure roles. The article on choosing a psychotherapist sets out neutral criteria.
This article is general information for professionals, not clinical advice.
Common questions
Can I keep coaching a client who starts therapy?
Often, yes. Coaching can continue on goals and performance while therapy addresses other material. It helps to agree with the client what belongs where, so the two do not pull in different directions.
Should I talk to my client's therapist?
Only with the client's explicit consent, and only if it would help them. Many clients prefer to keep the two separate.
What if my client refuses to consider therapy?
That is their choice. You can keep working within the scope of coaching, be clear about what coaching can and cannot address, and revisit the question if things change. If you believe someone is at immediate risk, contact emergency services.
Is IFS used in coaching as well as therapy?
The IFS Institute offers training for coaches as well as therapists. The difference lies in the scope of the work and the practitioner's training and registration, not only the method.
Lucy Orton works with founders and leaders in intensive formats, online worldwide.
References
- International Coaching Federation. ICF Code of Ethics: Standard 4.3, and the definition of coaching. coachingfederation.org
- Australian Counselling Association. Code of Ethics and Practice, version 16. theaca.net.au
This page is general information about intensive therapy. It is not a substitute for individual assessment or advice, and reading it does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you are in crisis or at risk of harm, contact local emergency services or a crisis line now. How these articles are written and checked: our editorial standards.