Coaching vs. therapy: What's the difference?

By Dr. Sha-Lai Williams, PhD, LCSW. Updated October 24, 2026

Therapy treats mental health conditions. Coaching helps you set and reach goals. Dr. S, a coach and LCSW, explains how to tell which one you need.

The short answer

Therapy is a licensed health service that assesses and treats mental health conditions. Coaching is a partnership focused on goals, decisions and action. Both can help, and they are different services.

What therapy is for

Therapy is provided by licensed professionals such as clinical social workers, counselors and psychologists. It can diagnose and treat conditions like depression, anxiety and trauma, and it often looks at how your past shapes your present. Therapy may be covered by health insurance.

What coaching is for

Coaching doesn't diagnose or treat anything. It's for people who are doing okay day to day and want to move forward: get clear on a goal, make a decision, change careers, start a business, or follow through on something they keep putting off. Coaching usually isn't covered by insurance.

Consider therapy if you're struggling to get through the day, or if grief, trauma, depression or anxiety is affecting your daily life.

Consider coaching if you're functioning well, you want to make a change, and you need clarity, structure and accountability to do it.

Dr. S is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker as well as a coach. That training helps her recognize when a client needs more support than coaching can offer, and point them to the right care. Her coaching sessions are coaching, not therapy.

As a therapist, Dr. S can only work with people located in Missouri, where she is licensed. As a coach, she can work with women anywhere in the United States. To ask about therapy, see her Psychology Today profile, which lists the insurance plans she accepts.

If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S., or call 911.

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