For years I have trained therapists to deliver services via technology and inevitably, the question always arises, “Can I practice across state lines?” The short answer is, “Not really.” Creative therapists will then ask, “Well what if I call myself a coach?” I believe that we will be held to the standard of care that our license dictates. For that reason, I practice coaching as a sub-specialty of counseling and I do not separate the two services. I use coaching techniques and interventions in my counseling practice.
We wrote an article about this very topic in Issue 7 of TILT Magazine: Coaching & Counselling…Is There a Merge of the Disciplines in the Horizon?
For a shorter explanation, visit the coaching page on my website which states:
I offer coaching techniques within the scope of my psychotherapy practice. My professional coach experience includes the incorporation of coach principles in work I have conducted as a parent educator and psychotherapist.
I consider coaching to be a sub-specialty of my counseling and psychotherapy skills. Coaching as a profession is unregulated. Because I hold licenses to practice as a counselor/psychotherapist, I consider that I will be held to the standard of care and scope of practice dictated by the regulated profession to which I hold licensure and I consider my coaching services to be held under this same standard.
I consider a coaching session to be as personal as a psychotherapy session and for that reason, I uphold the same level of confidentiality when practicing coaching in person or online.
I am a member of the International Association of Coaching (IAC) and currently working toward the IAC-Practitioner credential. I am a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) through the Grow Training Institute and have applied for the Board Certified Coach credential through the Center for Credentialing and Education. I am an organizational member of the Association for Coaching.
I am also the co-founder of the Online Coach Institute and Managing Co-Editor of TILT Magazine ~ Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology. TILT is a trade magazine for helping professionals (coaches and therapists) utilizing technology to enhance the therapeutic process.
I hope this example helps other therapists conceptualize how they might add coaching services to their practice in an ethical manner that does not necessarily change the way they have typically approached their private practice.
DeeAnna
