Therapist as Life Coach: An Introduction for Counselors and Other Helping Professionals (Norton Professional Books

by Patrick Williams, Deborah C. Davis

The first edition of Therapist as Life Coach, published in 2002, anticipated this trend, and since its publication it has become a standard for therapists who wish to transition or expand their practices into life coaching. Pat Williams and Deborah C. Davis have finally revised their classic practice-building book for today's therapists and future coaches. Every chapter in this second edition has been updated and rewritten, reflecting the growth of the coaching field and its increasing appeal to not only therapists, but all helping professionals.
The book begins by exploring the history of the coaching movement and shows how society is hungry for life coaches. The second part of the book explains in detail the differences and similarities between coaching and therapy, discusses the coaching relationship, and considers some of the skills therapists will need to learn and unlearn in order to reclaim their joyfulness about their work. Professional transition tools such as developing and marketing your practice and honing your coaching skills are discussed at length in Part Three. The final section moves beyond basic life coaching to introduce coaching specialties such as corporate coaching, offers self-care strategies for life coaches, and peeks into the future of life coaching. There is new material throughout, including an overview of recent coaching developments, updated liability concerns, new business opportunities, and a new section on the research about coaching.


Coaching gives practitioners the opportunity to break free of managed care and excessive reliance on the insurance industry and to work with a wide range of clients—specifically, those who are not suffering from mental illness but, rather, seeking to maximize their life potential. This book will help you enter this lucrative and personally enriching world with the skills and knowledge you need to build a successful coaching practice.

Genres: Psychology

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Dr. Patrick Williams, EdD, MCC is Founder and Advanced Curriculum Instructor of the Institute for Life Coach Training (ILCT), which specializes in training those with a human services orientation.

Reviews

[Mister Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful distinctions between coaching and counseling and insightful. Some good ideas for marketing and helpful resources for policies and worksheets. A little outdated with the marketing steps and technology discussed but the rationale and principles were sound.

[David Teachout · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a great primer for moving from counselor/therapist to coach, this is a great place to start. Even if you're just curious, this will work for you. Basics are covered on what coaching is, criticism of the standard therapeutic practice is given and a wide range of suggestions are put out to help begin a practice. Reading it I was struck by how often I agreed with the criticism and thinking perhaps the book had been written a while ago because I didn't see therapy from the medical-model of needing to fix broken people. Then I realized it was I who had changed, not the counseling profession. Whether the plan is to go into coaching or not, the information here is certainly worth considering.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This text is mostly theoretical in orientation (don't expect step by step outlines on "how to BE a coach"). There are some really important issues discussed here though for the practitioner who is considering keeping both their psychology private practice and developing a life coaching practice, as well as someone transitioning entirely toward life coaching. A must read!

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to life coaching versus therapist