What Coaching Offers That Therapy Doesn't (Especially When it Comes to Work)

There’s a strange gray area between coaching and therapy. People ask me often: “Isn’t this kind of like therapy?”

The honest answer is: sometimes. Coaching will absolutely address the emotional underpinnings of what’s going on, especially when you’re dealing with a difficult boss, challenging peer, or a team dynamic that’s gotten toxic. The difference is, coaching doesn’t stop there. It’s not just exploration—it’s strategic. It’s about moving forward.

That forward momentum is why so many people find coaching more effective than therapy for workplace problems.

If you’re exploring coaching for career growth, team leadership, or handling interpersonal challenges at work, these kinds of breakthroughs are possible.

One of my clients recently told me that our coaching sessions were more helpful than the therapist she'd had for decades. I helped her interrupt an old, deeply ingrained pattern—and create a new one. She said the difference was the movement. There was no need to go backward and analyze everything—just a recognition of what was happening and a way forward.

I’ve been coaching since 2004. I’ve worked with thousands of professionals, and I’ve been called a “work shrink” more than once. Especially professionals in high-pressure roles who are dealing with workplace stress, difficult team dynamics, or burnout. I’ve seen patterns repeat across industries and levels: narcissistic bosses, manipulative colleagues, poor communication, unclear expectations, inconsistent feedback, unspoken competition, and toxic cultures.

These are human dynamics. And while they often echo old emotional wounds, coaching addresses them in context. Executive coaching gives you tools and frameworks to navigate them with strength and self-respect.

I help people separate what’s theirs from what’s not, recognize the power plays for what they are, and stop chasing what they’ll never get from people who withhold validation as a tactic. That insight alone creates tremendous freedom. It’s the kind of result people seek in executive coaching—concrete clarity around a difficult situation.

Does this mean coaching replaces therapy? Not necessarily.

I’ve been in therapy myself for over twenty years, and I’ve also had mentor coaching sessions that cut through a decades-long family dynamic in a single hour. Therapy absolutely has its place. Sometimes the resistance to moving forward is so strong that the emotional roots need to be healed before anything else can happen. I’ve referred people to therapy when it was the more appropriate path.

But if you’re stuck in a difficult situation at work—navigating politics, recovering from a loss of confidence, burned out but unsure what comes next—coaching may be the most direct, strategic support you can get.

I’m trauma-informed. I get it. And while coaching doesn’t bypass emotional work, it also doesn’t wallow in it. It gives you something to do. Coaching offers forward-focused insight, support for burnout and stress at work, and the leadership tools to navigate it all with more agency.

That’s what people come to me for: concrete traction, grounded insight, and the emotional resilience to move.