Counselling or Coaching?
Two different ways to support your growth, wellbeing, and next steps
You don't have to know exactly what kind of support you need before reaching out.
I offer two distinct services: Registered Clinical Counselling for clients located in British Columbia and coaching for clients internationally.
While both approaches can be supportive and collaborative, they have different purposes, scopes, and professional frameworks. Understanding the difference can help you choose the service that best fits where you are right now.
Counselling
For clients located in British Columbia
Counselling is a therapeutic service designed to support you when you are experiencing emotional, psychological, relational, or other personal difficulties.
As a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC), counselling is provided within the professional and ethical framework applicable to my clinical counselling practice.
Counselling may be a good fit if you are:
Experiencing anxiety, stress, low mood, grief, or emotional overwhelm
Working through relationship or interpersonal difficulties
Navigating a significant life transition
Feeling stuck in recurring patterns of thoughts, emotions, or behaviours
Exploring the impact of past or present experiences on your wellbeing
Wanting greater self-understanding and emotional awareness
Looking for therapeutic support while navigating a difficult period in your life
Counselling is not about simply giving you advice or telling you what to do. Together, we can explore what is happening, develop greater understanding, and identify approaches that support meaningful change.
Counselling may focus on:
Understanding
Exploring emotions, experiences, thoughts, behaviours, relationships, and patterns.
Processing
Making space to work through difficult experiences and emotions at a pace that feels appropriate for you.
Developing skills
Building strategies that can support emotional regulation, communication, coping, boundaries, and everyday wellbeing.
Creating change
Identifying patterns that may no longer be serving you and exploring new ways of responding.
Coaching
For clients internationally
Coaching is a future-focused, goal-oriented service for people who want support with personal growth, direction, decision-making, and creating meaningful change.
Coaching is different from counselling. It is not intended to diagnose or treat mental health conditions or provide psychotherapy.
Coaching may be a good fit if you are generally functioning well but feel ready to make a change, move forward, or be more intentional about where you're heading.
You might be looking for coaching if you want to:
Gain clarity about what you want next
Set meaningful personal or professional goals
Move through a period of transition or change
Build confidence and self-awareness
Break through unhelpful habits or patterns
Improve work-life balance
Strengthen boundaries and decision-making
Create greater alignment between your values and your life
Turn ideas or intentions into practical action
Have a supportive space for reflection, accountability, and forward movement
Coaching may focus on:
Clarity
What do you want, and what matters most to you?
Perspective
What might you be seeing differently if you stepped back from the situation?
Possibility
What options, opportunities, or approaches are available to you?
Action
What small, meaningful steps can you take toward the future you want?
Accountability
What will help you follow through on the changes you've identified?
Still not sure which one is right for you?
That's completely okay.
Sometimes the difference isn't obvious. You may know that something needs to change without knowing whether you need therapeutic support, coaching, or something else entirely.
A simple place to start is to ask yourself:
"Am I primarily looking for support with something I'm experiencing, or support with where I want to go?"
If you're experiencing emotional or psychological difficulties and want a therapeutic space to explore them, counselling may be the better fit.
If you're looking toward the future and want support with goals, clarity, decisions, or meaningful change, coaching may be a better fit.
If you're still unsure, you can reach out and we can determine which service is most appropriate for your needs.
An important distinction
Although counselling and coaching can both involve reflection, personal growth, and goal-setting, they are not interchangeable services.
The service you receive will be based on the purpose of the work, your needs, and the professional framework under which the service is provided.
If your concerns involve significant mental health difficulties, acute distress, safety concerns, or issues that require clinical treatment, coaching may not be appropriate. In those circumstances, counselling or another qualified healthcare or mental health professional may be more suitable.
Coaching clients are responsible for seeking appropriate local healthcare or mental health support when needed.
Two services. One goal: meaningful change.