Is Clinical Supervision appropriate for Coaching?

The International Coach Federation (ICF) recognises that there are important differences between coaching and therapy. Below is an excerpt from a white paper that the ICF published titled "Referring a Client to Therapy: A Set of Guidelines."

"ICF defines coaching as 'partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.'

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines psychotherapy as 'the informed and intentional application of clinical methods and interpersonal stances derived from established psychological principles for the purpose of assisting people to modify their behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and/or other personal characteristics in directions that the participants deem desirable.'

The main distinctions between coaching and psychotherapy are based on focus, purpose, and population. Coaching focuses on visioning, success, the present, and moving into the future. Therapy emphasizes psychopathology, emotions, and the past in order to understand the present.

The purpose of coaching is frequently about performance improvement, learning, or development in some area of life while therapy often dives into deep-seated emotional issues to work on personal healing or trauma recovery. Coaching tends to work with well-functioning individuals whereas therapy work tends to be for individuals with some level of dysfunction or disorder. Therapy works more with developing skills for managing emotions or past issues than coaching."