The Truth About Life Coaching

Life coaches are part of an estimated $2.85 billion global industry of professional coaches. Life coaches have been met with skepticism given it is a profession that does not require licensing or formal training yet resembles therapy. With a greater interest in wellness and attempts to overcome the stigma of therapy, the appeal of becoming a life coach or seeking the assistance of a coach grows year over year.

When you search life coach, Google tries to explain what a life coach is. Scandals haven't helped the profession's reputation. But despite this, the coaching industry is thriving. According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF), it's a $2.85 billion global industry with 71,000 professional coaches worldwide and 23,000 based in North America.

The profession is growing. Between 2015 and 2019, the number of coaches worldwide increased by 33% globally and 33% in North America, based on ICF's "2020 Global Coaching Study Final Report."

"Just briefly stated, coaching is about moving forward, deepening the learning and moving forward. Therapy also super useful is about going back and figuring out the why," explains Julie Colbrese, a master certified coach and board certified coach.

Life coaching is an unregulated industry, requiring no formal education, training or licensing. This allows virtually anyone to call themselves a coach. Alyse Parker holds no credentials or education in the life coach profession, and bases her practice on her life experience. She feels the openness of life coaching has enabled her to conduct 12-week seminars throughout the year and coach over 200 women in the last four years.

"I do believe that the flexibility and the openness for me to create what I what of this, of course within the realm of life coaching, it has been a huge element of why it works so perfectly for me as a person," Parker told CNBC.

Life coaching's increased popularity, may be due to the fact that it is not therapy. Coaches and therapists are often explicit about the differences.

Life coach Danielle Copsy explained, "I've had situations with people where we started working together and it became apparent that it was a therapeutic issue. How that becomes apparent is you just literally cannot move forward."

While it's important to understand the differences when seeking a coach, life coaching may act as a needed step to getting someone the mental health treatment needed. In an interview with CNBC, Psychologist, Amanda M. Spray, Ph.D. said "There is still stigma associated with mental health treatment, for sure. I think we're making a lot of progress. There have been great public awareness campaigns that have made it more acceptable to speak with mental health professionals."

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The Truth About Life Coaching