This post was originally published on September 12, 2016, and was updated on November 18, 2019.

One of the most common professional goals for my clients is expanding their private practice to include life coaching services. As professionals with a depth of knowledge in personal development and goal achievement strategies, therapists are ideal candidates for the coaching profession. Despite this near perfect fit, there are some important ethical consideration for therapists when offering coaching services alongside therapy, or when choosing to become professional coaches. In this post, I focus on offering solutions for these complications, in an effort to help you ethically practice coaching.

1 | State Laws and Rules

Because coaching is largely unregulated, as a licensed therapist offering coaching in your state, you may be held to the laws, rules, and ethics of your profession. Consequently, in order to protect yourself from liability, it’s essential that you follow state laws and rules pertaining to your license when working with coaching clients. Kaplan explains

". . . professional counselors who offer coaching services should understand that, legally, they are still practicing counselors. Be aware that licensing boards do not necessarily differentiate between counseling and coaching activities. Your licensing board may well view your coaching as falling under their scope of practice. Therefore, you should fulfill all mandated state licensing requirements — for example, obtaining informed consent, reporting child or elder abuse, etc. — with your coaching clients just as you do with your counseling clients" (as cited in Paterson, 2008).

The only way around complying with licensing requirements is to pursue coaching certification in lieu of a mental health license. In the absence of a license, a coach is not governed by a state licensing body, because currently, the profession is largely unregulated.

2 | Business Issues

The best practice for offering coaching as a licensed therapist is to create a coaching business. This is true whether or not you already own a therapy business. In other words, your coaching services should be offered under a business entity that does not include therapy. The business should have a separate name, marketing materials, client paperwork, and informed consent, for example.

State laws and rules exist to protect the public from exploitation, confusion, and potential harm. Advertising therapy and coaching together may inadvertently communicate similarities, and make it difficult for clients and potential clients to differentiate between coaching and therapy. On the other hand, offering these services under separate businesses ensures that clients are protected fully and contained within the boundaries of each service. Jasper (2015) explains:

"The practice of coaching and the practice of psychotherapy are clearly distinct and, as such, it is recommended the practices be advertised separately to avoid confusing and/or misleading clients regarding the scope of work performed as a coach and/or psychotherapist."

3 | Dual Relationships

Most states restrict dual relationships between therapists and their clients, as do the ACA and AAMFT ethical codes. In Florida, for example, a therapy client is considered a client for at least two years after the last therapeutic contact. Furthermore, the latest AAMFT code of ethics indicates that the therapeutic relationship has no end, due to the power differential existing indefinitely between therapist and former clients. In order to abide by ethics concerning dual relationships, therapists must consider the dual relationship factors involved when offering coaching services to former therapy clients

Potentially, a client could receive coaching from their past therapist after the appropriate amount of time; however, it’s important to consider how going from one relationship to another could cloud the differences between the two services for clients. While the therapist-client and coach-client relationships are similar, they also have fundamentally different expectations on the client and the practitioner, as well as different potential levels of dependency. As Paterson (2008) notes, “Progress is often slow and painful in counseling, but it is . . . ‘rapid and usually enjoyable’ in coaching (Williams, as cited in Paterson). This quote highlights the fact that the role of the therapist and the role of the coach are distinct, and clients should be protected, by the licensed therapist, from overlap and confusion.

Referral

The need to avoid dual relationships is also relevant when a client begins as a coaching client and later needs to receive therapy. This client should be referred to a different licensed therapist for therapy. It is paramount that licensed therapists practicing coaching understand and respect boundaries between coaching and therapy services in order to avoid confusion for themselves and their clients, and in order to avoid dual relationships.

4 | Training, or No Training?

Coaching certification is not required in order for therapists to practice coaching or use the title “coach.” And, in many instances, the training already required of professional therapists allows them to practice coaching with competence. Whether or not therapists wishing to practice coaching seek certification is largely based on their personal preference. One thing to consider: The AAMFT code of ethics (2015) states:

"While developing new skills in specialty areas, marriage and family therapists take steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients from possible harm. Marriage and family therapists practice in specialty areas new to them only after appropriate education, training, and/or supervised experience" (Standard 3.6, 2015).

There is room for interpretation in this statement, and therapists can assume that this standard is only relevant to the acquisition of new therapy skills and specialties; however, in order to ethically make this decision, it’s essential that therapists consult their state laws and understand the full meaning of relevant standards in their ethical codes.

5 | Niche

Some coaching niches have little overlap with therapy and therefore offer a layer of protection for therapists in regards to liability, especially when therapists adhere to best ethical practices. For example, there are significant differences between a therapist offering life coaching within a therapy practice, and a licensed therapist offering business coaching under a coaching business. Naturally, the first scenario holds more potential for the blurring of ethical lines than the second scenario. Niche and/or business focus influence liability and ethical practice; they can also show a licensed therapist's effort and intent toward protecting clients..

Before starting a coaching business and offering services, consult an attorney familiar with the state laws and rules governing your license, as well as a business attorney. In addition, make sure to obtain appropriate liability insurance.

Summary

In order to ethically offer coaching as a licensed therapist:

Treat coaching clients as therapy clients in terms of ethics, and abide by all state laws and rules governing your license, including but not limited to mandated reporting, dual relationships, and record keeping.
Offer coaching under a business separate from your therapy business.
Educate clients and potential clients about the limits of coaching as a service, and how you will proceed if it becomes clear that they need therapy.

Additional considerations:

Whether you want to become a coach as your sole profession, or offer coaching services in addition to therapy.
Your coaching qualifications.
Your coaching niche and scope of practice.
Whether or not you need to start a new, separate business.
The laws and rules of your state regarding your professional license.
The relevance of your profession’s ethical code in regards to coaching (you can consult your national professional association for free legal advice).
The need for specific and separate client contracts and paperwork.
Defining the boundary between therapy and coaching for yourself and clients.
Developing a policy for identifying therapy needs as well as referral procedures.
Separate and/or additional liability insurance.

I've put together a Step-by-Step Ethical Coaching Guide to help you stay on track with ethically planning your coaching services. Find it in the free resource library. Register here:

Let's Chat

In the comments below, let me know:

What is your main (#1) concern with offering coaching services?
What is one question I can answer for you on this topic?

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References

AAMFT (2015). The AAMFT code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/Content/Legal_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics.aspx

Jasper, S. (2015). Coaching vs. therapy: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from https://www.camft.org/ias/COS/Resources/Attorney_Articles/Sara/Coaching_vs_Therapy.aspx

Paterson (2008). Counseling vs. life coaching. Counseling Today. Retrieved from http://ct.counseling.org/2008/12/counseling-vs-life-coaching-2/

Five Benefits of Using A Streamlined HIPAA-Compliant Solution for Phone Calls and Texts with Therapy Clients

More and more, therapists in private practice are choosing to have a hybrid or a fully virtual practice. And, as a result, technology, confidentiality, and compliance (and how these three components of business interact), have become more significant factors in our day-to-day work as therapists.

My own path to moving my therapy clients online began in 2014. At that time, I knew no therapists who were practicing online, and I knew even less about methods for streamlining my client communication. I began with a Google Voice number, and over the years developed a fully online practice with what I consider to be the best systems for my group practice.

How To Become Known For Your Expertise: Four Steps for Therapists

During a recent Refreshed Therapist Network Q+A, I was asked by a participant, “How do you do it all? You are so prolific!”

My answer? I do what I feel inspired to do in the moment.

However, I don’t do it all! There are months when I am not able to write a post for this blog, because I must focus on my professor job. And, there are months when I don’t create new resources or events, because I put more focus on my personal roles.

The point is, you can produce enough content to become known for your expertise, without keeping a rigid, or pressuring content schedule.

Contracts and Non-Competes: What's a New Therapist to Do?

You did it! You got the degree, you passed your state licensing exam, and you now have your provisional license to work as a therapist. Your hard work has paid off!

Now, you realize the most important step hasn’t happened yet: You must still find a place where you can actually BE a therapist. A place where you will work, and get paid, to do therapy.

As you think about this post-grad employment journey, panic sets in.

What You Must Consider Before You Offer Online Therapy

“As technology becomes smaller, more accessible, and more affordable, we as mental health practitioners have to decide at what point (and to what extent) we will adopt the trend of implementing technology as a mechanism for service delivery” (Hertlein & Cohn, 2018).

Recently, the AAMFT devoted an entire issue of their magazine to the use of technology in mental health service delivery.

Like it or not, technology is changing our profession.

These days, in addition to working for themselves, therapists have the option to work for telemental health companies, and many are offering technology-centered services, such as email therapy, in their private practices. While our associations and state boards have been slow to adopt standards and laws regarding the provision of tech-centered therapy, many of us tech-savvy (or tech-interested) therapists have been figuring it out on our own.

Turn Your Grad School Writing Skills Into Excellent Therapist Website Copy

Hey, Therapist.

You’re a good writer.

Always have been.

You #grammarsnob your Facebook friends with pride.

You’re a human spell check, thank you very much.

So why is no one reading your blog posts?

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Nowadays, it seems like everyone lives a portion of his or her life online. And for some people, it seems like they never get off-line! The point I’m trying to make is this: if you still think you’re reaching the maximum number of clients that you can by handing out business cards and posting up flyers, then you’ve been leaving clients on the table like you wouldn’t believe.

To make the most of your marketing efforts for your practice, you should be putting them to use on the web first and foremost. In order to attract your idea client, you have to take your marketing to them instead of assuming they’ll find their own way to you.

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This week's post is written by Sarah Leitschuh, of The Vibrant Therapist.

Two years ago I literally had thousands of emails in my practice email inbox and probably just as many in my personal email inbox. Can you relate?

As I navigated my growing practice and busy family life, I didn't think about creating a strong system for managing my email inbox. I didn't delete nearly as many emails as I could have/should have been deleting, and I didn't have a good system for filing emails for future reference.

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Nestor agreed to join me on the blog to discuss the story behind his business, which is also his personal story.

View my video interview with Nestor, or read the transcript. >>

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I received several responses.

I realized by engaging in conversations with my readers, how pertinent the topic of pricing is for therapists at any stage of business. As a result, I thought you might find readers' questions, along with my responses, helpful, as you continue to craft your pricing policies.

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Many of us become therapists because we want to help people. When we start a business, we quickly realize that our desire to help and our need to make money are often in conflict. The good news is, we don’t have to choose one over the other--we can generate our desired income and be generous!

In today's post, I offer five brief and practical strategies for incorporating a culture of giving and generosity into your business, while still prioritizing profit through pricing policies and strategic partnerships.

Need a Therapy Blog?: How to Get Started

I am sure you hear about the benefits of blogging a lot.

Because blogging is still one of the best ways to reach your target audience and establish your expertise, it’s worth your consideration.

However, before you read this post, please note: The last thing I want is for you to feel pressure to blog (or to add something else to your to-do list). So, the first thing I’ll ask you is:

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This week's article is a guest post by Marissa Lawton, licensed counselor, and content marketer for clinicians. In this post, she explains how content marketing lessens our work load, and helps to fill our private practices with our ideal clients.

Each and every therapist has spent years honing her craft. We’ve gone through months of advanced education and have pursued hours upon hours of continuing training, voluntarily, or not. When it comes to helping others heal, there is no one better equipped than those of our profession.

Grad school especially helped us develop the skills to treat clients and to bring them through their struggles to the other side--a functional, healthy, and preferably happy individual. If your program was anything like mine, you identified a modality, or two, or three that resonated with you and your approach to healing and dove head first into incorporating it in every session.

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Therapist Self-Disclosure Simplified

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As a therapist who loves working with couples, I am always interested in ways to enhance my couples therapy skills. For this reason, I invited Elliott to explain the reasons why SFBT is his choice for working with clients, as well as how it creates a contrasting experience for couples that have a history in therapy.

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Understanding is the foundation of Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). Bowen (1985) believed that if clients could understand themselves as members of their FOOs and as created by their histories, they could begin and continue significant change.

In today’s post, I offer the next step in developing understanding: Creating your genogram. I explain how to create a basic genogram that you can expand as you continue your exploration.

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In my interaction with therapists as a mentor and supervisor, I’ve learned that one of the main struggles therapists face is having too much work and not enough time. Many therapists find themselves overwhelmed by documentation responsibilities, in particular; this includes completing client notes, referrals, billing, treatment plans, etc.

In today’s post, I offer several strategies for keeping up with paperwork, so that you can stay on track and avoid the stress of falling behind.

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In this post, I present a review of these client types, and I explain their relevance to and usefulness for all therapeutic sessions.

How to Ethically Offer Coaching as a Licensed Therapist: A Step-By-Step Guide

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Most of us, therapists, have been there: A simple disagreement turns into an all-out screaming match in the middle of a therapy session. This is, thankfully, not a common scenario for most therapists, but it’s also not rare--especially for therapists who specialize in couple therapy.

In this post, I cover steps for disrupting an argument occurring in a couple therapy session. Intervention on the part of the therapist is necessary during some conflicts, because the arguments can cause further damage in the couple relationship. And, if therapists allow arguments to continue for too long, they can affect the couple’s sense of safety when in therapy.

The main goals of intervention in this case are to: