What is Couples Coaching?
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Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that he automatically deserves great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes that he automatically deserves success in marriage.
Sidney J. Harris
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Discovering how to construct and sustain a fulfilling marriage poses notable challenges. The whole idea of two very imperfect people trying to live together and run a household is one fraught with problems, miscommunications, and unmet expectations. Add to that careers, paying bills, raising children, and family of origin baggage and you have a potentially impossible situation.
This is why seeking support for this very important relationship is so important. When trying to decide what form that support should come in, there are a few things to consider. Let's look at two forms: couples coaching and therapy.
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Couples coaching is a client-focused, profession. Coaching clients are healthy, capable, and able to accomplish relationship goals with sound encouragement, practical information, and accountability. Couples coaching does not replace therapy used to treat mental, emotional, and psychological disorders. The practice of coaching is to facilitate success for the client without providing advice or “professional opinions.”
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There are marked differences between therapy and coaching. These differences call attention to the advantages of coaching. First and foremost, like previously mentioned, coaching is a client focused, caring profession and supposes that the client is functional and fully capable. On the other hand, psychotherapy is a healing profession where licensed professionals diagnose and give treatment for mental, emotional, and psychological disorders. Second, while therapy focuses on past events, hurts, and the roots to problems, coaching centers on clients actions, moving forward to achieve goals, and solving problems. And finally, therapy strives to solve internal causes of pain and to discontinue old ways of doing things, but coaching focuses on external answers to conquering stumbling blocks, acquiring new mastery and putting into practice powerful choices.
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