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![Therapy or Coaching?](/assets/hero-therapy-for-bEwfTcyp.jpg)

Guide

# Therapy or Coaching? 

Therapy and coaching can look similar from the outside — both are conversations with a professional about your life. But they are built for different jobs, and choosing the wrong one can cost you months. Here is a plain guide to the difference.

## What Each Is For 

Coaching is generally oriented toward the future: goals, performance, decisions, accountability. It assumes you are fundamentally well and want to get somewhere faster. Good coaching can be genuinely useful for that.

Therapy is for when something hurts, or keeps repeating, or does not make sense — grief that has not moved, anxiety that runs your days, relationships that keep going the same painful way, a childhood that will not stay in the past. Therapy is allowed to go down before it goes forward, and sometimes it has to.

## Why Licensure Matters 

Anyone can call themselves a coach. There is no required training, no license, no board to answer to. Therapists, by contrast, complete graduate degrees, thousands of supervised hours, licensing exams, and ongoing education — and are legally accountable for their work. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California (LCSW #106887), with graduate degrees from Tulane University.

That structure exists to protect you, especially when the material is tender. If you are working through grief, trauma, or old wounds, you want someone trained and accountable for exactly that.

## How to Tell Which You Need 

A rough rule of thumb: if your main question is how do I get there, coaching may serve you. If your question is why do I keep doing this, or why does this still hurt, that is therapy's territory. And the two are not enemies — some people do coaching after therapy has cleared the ground.

If you are unsure which fits, that is a reasonable thing to bring to a consultation. A free 15-minute call is an easy way to ask.

## Related Reading

-   [How to Choose a Therapist Read more → ](/guides/how-to-choose-a-therapist)
-   [What to Expect in Your First Session Read more → ](/guides/what-to-expect-in-your-first-session)
-   [Psychodynamic Therapy Read more → ](/guides/psychodynamic-therapy)

Sharon Meyers is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker offering telehealth sessions to adults located anywhere in California.

In Case of Emergency

This website is for informational purposes only. This practice is not a crisis service. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please do not wait for a reply.

-   Call [911](tel:911) or go to your nearest emergency room if you are in immediate danger.
-   Call or text [988](tel:988) to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
-   Text HOME to [741741](sms:741741) to reach the Crisis Text Line.

## The right container matters. 

Reach out for a free consultation and we can talk about what you need.

[Schedule a Free Consultation](/begin-here)

### Sharon Meyers Therapy

LCSW #106887  
Online therapy throughout California  
Office located in Berkeley, CA

Quick Links

-   [Home](/)
-   [About](/about)
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-   [FAQ](/faq)
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-   [Contact](/begin-here)
-   [Therapy For](/therapy-for)
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-   [Guides](/guides)

Contact

-   [(415) 335-7446](tel:4153357446)
-   [sharon@sharonmeyerstherapy.com](mailto:sharon@sharonmeyerstherapy.com)

[Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/sharon-meyers-berkeley-ca/1080260)

**In case of emergency:** call or text [988](tel:988) or go to your nearest emergency room. This website is for informational purposes only.

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