How Becoming a Therapist Makes Me a Better Coach

When people find out I'm both a therapist-in-training and a coach, they usually have one of two reactions. Some are intrigued and they want to know how the two roles connect. Others are a little confused, as if the two things shouldn't go together, like they exist on opposite ends of a spectrum.

But here's what I've discovered after doing both: My training as a therapist hasn't just informed my coaching, it has fundamentally transformed it.

The skills I built in the therapy room show up in every single coaching conversation I have. And my clients feel the difference, even if they can’t always name exactly what it is.

Here’s a closer look at how my background in therapy makes me a more effective, more impactful coach.

More Empathy

Empathy is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot, but I've come to believe that most people underestimate how rare truly deep empathy actually is and how much it changes the dynamic in a coaching relationship.

Therapy teaches you to listen on multiple levels at once. You're not just hearing what someone says, you're tracking tone, noticing the pause before they answer, watching what their face does when a certain topic comes up. You're asking yourself: What is this person actually feeling right now? What are they trying to say? What are they afraid to say? What do they most need from this moment?

As a therapist in training, I've spent the last year sitting with people in their most vulnerable moments. People who were grieving, burned out, stuck in patterns they couldn't seem to break. I learned to create a space where they felt safe enough to drop their defenses and be honest – sometimes for the first time in years. That takes patience. It takes presence. And it takes a level of empathy that goes beyond "I understand how you feel."

That skill translates directly into coaching. When a client tells me they're "fine" but something in their voice suggests otherwise, I notice. When someone deflects with humor instead of actually answering my question, I recognize it for what it is. When a client keeps returning to the same frustration session after session, I understand that we’re likely dealing with something deeper than a productivity problem.

Empathy in coaching isn't just about making clients feel good, it's a strategic tool.

It tells me where to push, where to slow down, and where to ask the question that no one else has thought to ask. It helps me meet clients exactly where they are, rather than where I think they should be.

Clients don't open up to coaches they don't trust and nd trust is built through empathy. The felt sense that someone truly sees you and isn’t going to judge what they find. When clients feel that from me, they go deeper, work harder, and get better results. Every single time.

Ability to Do Deeper Work

Most coaching operates at a fairly practical level, and there's nothing wrong with that! Set a goal. Make a plan. Build accountability. Track progress. Adjust and repeat. For many clients, in many situations, that's exactly what's needed.

But in my experience, a significant number of clients who come to coaching aren't stuck because of a strategy problem. They're stuck because of something underneath the strategy, a limiting belief they've been carrying since childhood, a fear of success that feels safer than admitting out loud, an identity that hasn't caught up with the person they're trying to become.

A client might say they want to grow their business. But every time they get close to a breakthrough, something derails them. They overschedule, undercharge, or self-sabotage in ways they can't quite explain. The goal is clear. The strategy makes sense. So why isn’t it working?

Because of my therapy background, I'm trained to recognize when something like this is at play. I know how to gently surface those patterns without turning a coaching session into therapy, and without overstepping my role. There's an important distinction between the two, and I hold it carefully. But I can name what I’m seeing, invite the client to look at it, and help them connect the dots between their past patterns and their present behavior.

That might look like asking a client, "I've noticed that every time we talk about raising your rates, you change the subject. What’s that about?" or "You’ve achieved this goal before, but something always seems to happen around the six-month mark. What story do you tell yourself about that?"

These aren't therapy questions. But they require a therapist's instincts – the ability to notice patterns, to ask without pushing, to hold the space while someone works through something that might be uncomfortable.

The result is breakthroughs that last. Not just a better action plan, but a genuine shift in how a client sees themselves and what they believe is possible. That's the kind of coaching that changes careers, relationships, and lives.

When clients leave a session having done deep work, they don't just feel motivated. They feel different. And that difference is what makes the results stick.