How it can help therapists improve their own private practice.
Life coaches and therapists are in the same realm of work—helping people improve themselves and grow as a person. Yet, both positions run their practices differently and help people in different ways. When looking at how life coaches approach business and expand their practice, therapists can learn a few important techniques and mindsets that will help them in their own practice.
If you’re a therapist looking to expand your business and reach higher success, stay tuned. In this article, we’ll look at some of what life coaches have taught therapists about running our businesses: including how we can charge more for our services, create clearer expectations with clients, learn how to scale up our practice so we can serve more people, and market ourselves better so that people find us easier!
The Difference Between Life Coaches and Therapists
Life coaches and therapists have a lot of similarities, but they also have some key differences. To start, therapists are trained in psychotherapy, meaning they’ve studied how the mind works and how to help someone with their mental health issues. They have been educated on diagnosing and treating mental health disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression).
Life coaches are not trained in psychotherapy or mental health disorders/treatment, but instead, they offer advice and guidance on personal goals. They may be able to provide some guidance if you’re feeling down or need support, but it’s important for you to know that life coaches aren’t licensed to diagnose or treat mental issues. If you’re struggling with a mental disorder, it’s best to see a therapist, but if you’re looking for guidance or goal planning, you’ll want to see a life coach.
While there are differences between the two positions, therapists can learn a lot from life coaches and how they approach their practice. Life coaches often run their businesses differently from therapists, so let’s take a look at what private practices can learn from life coaches.
Life Coaches Have Better Financial Boundaries & Charge More for Their Services
One of the most significant factors in how much a life coach charges is their sense of worth. They often seem to have a better understanding than many therapists of their own value. One reason for this is that therapists often feel a conflict of two different mindsets: one that’s people-oriented and is looking to care for and help people, while the other is business-oriented and thinking about finance and how to expand a company. Life coaches don’t have as much polarity and don’t seem to struggle with this as much.
Many life coaches have the confidence to set their rates higher, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s something that many therapists could also follow. Many therapists lack the confidence to reach the same levels of pricing, yet they have the full potential and experience to do so. If you’re a therapist with a private practice, consider how much you’re charging and whether or not it’s what you deserve.
Life Coaches Are More Comfortable with Marketing
As discussed, life coaches charge more for their services, even though they’re in a similar line of work as therapists. You may be surprised to learn that many life coaches charge $100-$300 per session when the going rate for therapists is around $80-$120 per session.
Why does this happen? Because life coaches understand how to scale their business, often getting clients by word of mouth or through online marketing efforts like Google Adwords, social media advertising, and other methods of marketing. Life coaches are often more motivated to go further in marketing to gain new clients and scale their business, whereas many therapists don’t make these business moves.
Life Coaches Are Clear in Their Expectations and Services
Life coaches are clear about what they offer and what they expect from clients. They have a contract or agreement that clearly outlines the services they provide and how much those services cost. They also often have a website that explains what kind of coaching you can expect from them, as well as their qualifications for providing this type of service.
This doesn’t mean life coaches aren’t open to client feedback—they just want to be upfront about their expectations from the beginning, so there isn’t any confusion later on in the process. Therapists often follow this as well, but it’s something that can always be improved upon.
Therapists Can Learn from Life Coaches in Scaling Their Practice
Therapists often struggle with marketing themselves because they’re trained to be humble and empathic. While this is a valuable skill in therapy, it doesn’t always serve us well when it comes to attracting clients. Life coaches are comfortable with promoting their services and products, as well as scaling up their businesses and services when needed (for example, by hiring new employees).
Overall, life coaches seem to take a different approach to run their business, which is one that often reflects as successful. Not all of these tips are guaranteed to provide success, but therapists can observe what life coaches do that may help improve their own private practice. It’s important to always be open and learn from others when reaching for success!