I was recently asked about the difference between them and how they relate.
While psychology has fascinated me since 2010, I simply did not have the time to go as deep as I would have liked to. At that time – 2010 – we were in Sweden, the recession that had started in 2008 was full on, I was self-employed as a full time translator and worked a minimum of 10 hours per day. I was happy with my professional life as it was and psychology was just an interest at the time.
However, 10 years later, when Covid19 hit us all, life has forced me to turn my focus back to psychology, in the deepest and truest sense. As a result of a trauma, I looked for ways to heal myself. And this is how I started practicing MBSR. Then one thing led to another and this is how, as a mindfulness practitioner, I got to discover the fascinating field of positive psychology, been studying and practicing it since 2022 and became a coach – soon to be certified.
Getting back to the reason for this article, I will try to keep the answers as simple as possible. Basically, it’s like this:
- While therapy is a lot about the past, healing and easing the invisible baggage that each of us carries, Coaching is about the present and the future, about moving forward with the resources we already have and of which we are often not aware
- Therapy usually focuses on constitutionality, whereas positive psychology aims to understand what makes us thrive
- Instead of weaknesses, positive psychology and PPC are more focused on strengths – that exist within us all
- Positive psychology and PPC delve into the person’s strengths, abilities and talents to help the person build better and more rewarding relationships, to foster positive emotions and experiences, to find their intrinsic motivation and to seek internal – rather than external – validation
- In Coaching, the client knows from the beginning when the coaching programme will end
- A coach will not offer answers and solutions, and instead will manage the sessions – by creating a safe & non-judgemental space and by asking questions – to help the client find their own answers. Those solutions will be the only ones that will be valid for the client, because those are the only ones based on the client’s own experience and perspective
- PPC offers interventions that are practical and achievable and this is why
- At the end of a coaching programme, the clients should feel able to access their inner resources and become independent, so they don’t feel that they need the coach’s help all the time
To conclude, I think I better will leave you with this video:
I hope you had wonderful Christmas holidays – or simply a lovely time, if you don’t celebrate Christmas – and that end of the year will bring excitement for the new year.
Take care and see you you (again) in 2024.