What is Therapeutic Coaching?
WHAT’S THE ISSUE: Traditionally, the fields of coaching and therapy were separate. Therapeutic Coaching is a growing field that helps bridge these two worlds. It’s a hybrid approach – it’s not just coaching, and it’s not just therapy. This type of coaching integrates the goal-setting and action-oriented focus of coaching with the emotional processing approaches often used in therapy.
hOW IT emerged
Therapeutic Coaching is a combination of traditional coaching techniques with therapeutic methods which doesn’t appear to be attributed to a single person or organization as the originator of the term. Instead, it has evolved organically as the coaching field evolved by including therapeutic and skills to offer more integrated services to address limitations in the coaching approach.
More recently, therapists are also starting to recognize the limitations of therapeutic approaches and the benefits for their clients of upskilling themselves to be able to integrate future-oriented coaching skills into their work. But the term “therapeutic coaching” first evolved organically as coaches with therapeutic knowledge began offering more integrated services.
In other words, a professional who offers a hybrid approach of coaching and therapy may have started with coaching skills and knowledge and a therapeutic modality to their skillset, or the other way around. Either way, therapeutic coaching can more effectively help clients change their habits and experience more self-efficacy which in turns helps improve their mental health.
So What is Therapeutic Coaching?
Therapeutic Coaching integrates therapeutic methods (such as emotional processing and overcoming psychological blocks) into coaching practices (like goal-setting and action plans), particularly for clients who have unresolved trauma. It blends coaching with therapy to helps you move forward by addressing any emotional blocks or past traumas that may be preventing your progress.
It can involve using therapeutic methods like EFT Tapping, cognitive-behavioral strategies (CBT), mindfulness, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and other therapeutic techniques for coaches to help clients work through emotional challenges while also achieving personal or professional goals. When applied in a way that maintains a future-focused coaching approach, these modalities allow clients to shift out of dysregulation into trauma recovery that can include mindset shifts, improved health and well-being, and positive transformation.
In other words, it takes the best of therapy and marries it with the best of coaching. We don’t just guide clients to set goals or overcome everyday obstacles. We don’t just help people resolve deeper emotional wounds, including trauma wounds. We help you identify and resolve emotional wounds so that you can stop self-sabotaging or otherwise feeling stuck and unable to take the consistent action needed to achieve a specific goal that is important to you. If procrastination due to traumatic stress isn’t your problem, but rather catastrophizing and anxiety or panic attacks, it can help you identify the root causes of your negative thought patterns.
Therapeutic EFT Tapping Coaching
To summarize, Therapeutic Coaching represents a conceptual framework for understanding and addressing trauma, while EFT Tapping offers specific techniques for emotional regulation and resolving traumatic stress.
Together, they provide a powerful toolkit for improving well-being, preventing a problem from escalating into a mental illness and for achieving goals. They allow clients of all ages to free themselves from past emotional wounds and build a healthier, more empowered future.
ABOUT Eleni Vardaki
Eleni Vardaki was one of the higher performing teachers in the schools where she used to work. When the pandemic hit, she decided to change course, resigning from her teaching job to go all in on her dream of helping bridge the gap between the fields of education and psychology. She now works as a Therapeutic Coach in private practice for children and adults of all ages, and as an Educational Consultant for schools seeking staff training and coaching. She specializes in EFT Tapping for stress, anxiety, and academic performance.
Schedule a 15 minute consultation or contact Eleni for more information: eleni@elenivardaki.com
