THE PSYCHOTHERAPIST/LIFE COACH: ROLE DIFFERENTIATION IN PSYCHOTHERAPISTS PRACTICING LIFE COACHING

Life coaching has ever more practitioners, and is a mental health related profession which has no system of centralized accreditation, licensing system or a unified definition. The limited research on coaching suggests a tentative definition as an unlicensed mental health practitioner who is not formally trained or supervised in psychotherapy. A life coach's approach is holistic, egalitarian, and directive/task-oriented in treating normal functioning clients by promoting potential strengths in pursuit of a defined goal. A vast majority of practicing life coaches do not have credentials or clinical training, whereas the few who possess credentials are often industrial/organizational psychologists wishing to practice executive coaching interstate, or through mediums not endorsed by the American Psychological Association (e.g. telephone, email and Internet chat). Many other psychotherapists simply maintain their licensure while adopting the name of "life coach" to appeal to a different clientele, specifically, the more affluent professional, or the "worried-well." This study intends to examine the dual role of trained psychotherapists who are also life coaches, and their conception of the differences and similarities in their two roles. This study will focus on self-concept, boundaries, ethics, fluidity and demarcations they perceive between their two job titles. This will be examined through an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, with the general aim to gain a better understanding of the rise of the professional psychotherapist/life coach.