How Does a Mental Health Coach Help? (Updated 2023)
Mental Health Coach Help Life coaches who specialize in mental health issues are called mental health coaches. Unlike life coaching, mental illness coaching does not diagnose or treat mental illness. As vague as it sounds (which it is), Mental Health Coaching is a good option. A few key concepts will help you to see the differences, and a worthwhile path forward will emerge. We will describe mental health coaches in this article:
- Coaching and counseling are two different types of mental health services
- What is the difference between life coaching and mental health coaching?
- What mental health coaches do in detail
Coaching vs. Counseling: What Is the Difference?
There are many similarities between coaching and counseling. Counselors and coaches both:
- Professionally compensated
- Training in psychology is required
- Partner with others to ensure accountability
- In between sessions, provide homework suggestions, usually for an hour at a time
- Talk to people about problems, goals, and solutions
- Concentrate your efforts exclusively on your clients
- Make sure you ask probing questions and offer feedback
- Reference to the
The above would be illegal if you didn’t have a license as a counselor. People tend to share what they’re going through with others most of the time! It is not only life coaches who do this, but also mentors, consultants, supervisors, and even good friends. Talking to people about their problems doesn’t require you to be a counselor!
How does a counselor differ from other professionals?
The traditional mental health industry (counselors and psychiatrists) differs from other health care industries in that they are legally permitted to diagnose and treat mental illness. Mental illness can be diagnosed only when there is a diagnosable mental health disorder. Diagnostic and statistical manuals (DSM) serve as a guide for counselors in making diagnoses. If a non-licensed professional declares someone mentally ill or knowingly attempts to treat them, it is illegal. It’s not worth it.
Often, mental illness terminology is used too casually, which can be confusing. It’s common for people to say things like:
It’s so depressing! This is the hardest I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
“I sometimes get overwhelmed by my anxiety.”
In my life, I have experienced a fair amount of trauma.
There is a common association between all of these expressions and mental illness. It is estimated that 7% of the U.S. population suffers from Major Depressive Disorder. Depression may be a symptom of this mental illness.
There are several mental illnesses listed in the DSM that are classified as anxiety disorders, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Also, trauma is associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Symptoms of a mental illness are typically considered symptoms of excessive and persistent symptoms by the counseling industry, but most of us do not realize that. Excessive and persistent symptoms are required. Medical authorities, such as the Mayo Clinic, define mental illness as symptoms that interfere with your ability to function:
Mood, thinking, and behavior disorders are mental illnesses, also known as mental health disorders. The most common mental illnesses are depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictions.
Mental health issues are common among many people. However, a mental health concern becomes a mental illness if it causes frequent stress and impairs your functioning.
You can suffer from a mental illness and have difficulties at work, school, or in relationships. Referring to
In Australia, the Department of Health of the Victorian State Government reports:
It is not true that all anxiety disorders are mental disorders.
Mental Health Coach Help
Humans are prone to anxiety and fear from time to time – these feelings are normal and helpful when faced with danger. Nevertheless, some people suffer from excessive and irrational anxiety and worry that interferes with their lives. Anxiety disorders may cause this behavior. There is often no logical or obvious reason for the way someone feels. Sufferers of anxiety disorders may find this to be even more worrying. As a reference
Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association in British Columbia
When anxiety becomes overwhelming or unmanageable, it is a problem. Having an anxiety disorder has a significant impact on your life. Anxiety may cause people to avoid going about their daily lives. As a reference
Thus, so many casual discussions about depression and anxiety lack a clinical understanding of these terms. As coaches, we need to pay attention Mental Health Coach Help to only the clinical expressions of these words. Essentially, it is a matter of extremes. Is the depression, anxiety, or trauma severe or debilitating? Refer the client to a clinical counselor or doctor if the symptoms interfere with the client’s ability to function.
Life Coaching and Mental Health Coaching: What’s the Difference?
Life coaches and mental health coaches may not differ significantly from clinicians trained in traditional mental health. Legally, neither can diagnose or treat mental illness. Coaches differ in their methodology from those in the training industry. The methods of coaching used by mental health coaches are more sophisticated. Our mental health coach training at the iNLP Center is based on parts psychology.
Here is a detailed example of what mental health coaches do using parts psychology:
In a mental health coaching session with Jenna (name changed to protect her privacy), she said the following:
It’s important for me to express myself and learn to stand up for myself. As a result, I will be respected more, and I am tired of being taken for granted. In a logical sense, I understand! There’s a part of me that won’t do it. I can’t say anything because it freezes me. My throat feels constricting, and I’m stuck there. When I manage to get part of what I want to say out before I freeze, it’s even worse.
As a life coach , you may discover hidden strengths or discover a greater sense of purpose for what you do by setting goals and breaking them down into manageable chunks. The mental health coach, however, may also delve further into the part of the client that freezes when faced with self-expression opportunities.
Inner communication is a two-way street according to the Interactive Mind principle. Two-way communication is possible between the conscious client and the frozen part. In line with this understanding, the following has been reported:
- Having a voice is important to the client
- The client freezes at every opportunity because part of her doesn’t want her to express herself
As a result of compartmentalizing conflicting thoughts and feelings, the client is at odds with herself. This is what our minds do! There is no way to commit 100% to anything when you are experiencing such inner conflict. It can be extremely frustrating to experience self-sabotage in this way. Despite this, compartmentalization does not seem mysterious when viewed from this perspective.
When two committed people disagree, what should they do? Get in touch! In the same way, our inner lives are equally important. We communicate with our minds all day long through thoughts and feelings. Though many of the thoughts and feelings you have come from parts of you with a positive intention and are beyond committed to your well-being, we usually take the helpful ones for granted and condemn the unhelpful ones. Despite the fact that parts of ourselves communicate with us every day, we are not taught how to communicate with ourselves.
A mental health coach facilitates inner communication for self-integration and healing. This is a nutshell summary of what they do. Communication (with others) becomes increasingly authentic and aligned along the way.
A person’s inner communication includes Mental Health Coach Help more than just words, but also images, sounds, and feelings. An example of a freezing part is shown above, where the part in question contains a feeling – probably a cold, tight feeling in the torso with a clear message: Don’t speak up! Don’t let anyone hear you!
This feeling can obscure the reality that adversity has found its way into your psyche at just the right time and is imposing its will on you. Your words won’t come out, even though you want to speak up. There is a powerful part of your mind that is affected by this adversity.
This is just one example of the freezing process. Consider the possibility of being promoted at work. While you’re applying and interviewing, a nagging voice in your head tells you that you’ll fail miserably and look foolish. The inner voice might seem nonsensical to you and you might dismiss it. As a matter of fact, you are qualified and competent for the job. This part of you intensifies as the interview approaches, and so does your irrational anxiety.
It doesn’t matter whether we approve or disapprove of these compartmentalized thoughts and feelings, they have an influence on us. It often makes matters worse when you disapprove of them. Disgruntled parts do not respond well to systematically ignoring, Mental Health Coach Help just like disgruntled people. Our parts, however, never give up. The longer we avoid them, the more likely they are to return.