“Coaches are just people who couldn’t hack it as therapists.” That comment, posted as a therapist’s take on the coaching industry, is where this podcast starts.
Here’s what most people don’t know: years into my coaching career, I applied to an accredited MFT program, got in, and was passing my classes. Then I walked away. We’re talking about why becoming a coach instead of a therapist was the right decision for me, and what that choice actually came down to. That includes the burnout I saw in therapists further down the path, years of debt and clinical hours before earning a living, the reality of insurance billing, and classrooms full of theory with almost no hands-on practice.
This isn’t a coaching-versus-therapy fight. Therapists and social workers do essential work, and I say that directly. Instead, it’s an honest look at fit, scope of practice, and trade-offs. That includes the one coaches don’t get to skip: learning to talk about what you do.
If you’re weighing becoming a coach instead of a therapist, or you’re a new coach measuring yourself against everyone else in the industry, let this episode help you keep your eyes on your own paper and bet on yourself.