The vast majority of life transition and relationship coaches have at best, a master’s level degree e.g., licensed professional counselors, marriage and family counselors and social workers. Very few life or relationship coaches have a PhD in Psychology. What is the advantage for people working with a PhD psychologist?
The additional training and experience required provide a deeper and
broader understanding of how people function.
(1) “Psychologists have the most training of any profession in understanding human motivation, behavior, learning and change,” … “And if they’ve done clinical work, they have a depth of one-on-one experience far greater than that of people who aren’t mental health professionals. Coaching is actually a great fit with what most of us already do.” Published in “Monitor on Psychology” (2010.11)
Coaching is currently a largely unregulated profession. Although several organizations offer training and provide a certificate, there is no licensing requirement. As a result, anyone can call themselves a coach and go into business.
- “The field is as unregulated as it is mushrooming: Its main trade group, the International Coach Federation (ICF), boasts of 17,000 members and counting. The lack of regulation means that anyone — including those without any training in behavioral science — can become a life coach. What’s more, the coaching field lacks a solid research base, and there’s little agreement among coaches on what constitutes its core education and training requirements”, says psychologist Vicki Vandaveer, PhD, an executive coach based in Houston.
Coaching is a great fit for psychologists.
“Psychologists have the most training of any profession in understanding human motivation, behavior, learning and change,” says psychologist Jeffrey E. Auerbach, PhD, founder and president of the College of Executive Coaching, “and if they’ve done clinical work, they have a depth of one-on-one experience far greater than that of people who aren’t mental health professionals. Coaching is actually a great fit with what most of us already do.
