Therapy, Coaching or Hypnotherapy?

Three kinds of help

A therapist, a coach and a hypnotherapist each work on something different.

A therapist or counsellor

A therapist or counsellor helps you make sense of how you feel and where it comes from. The work can look back at what happened, inward at what you do with it and forward at what changes.

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy keeps a list of what therapy can help with. Depression, anxiety, bereavement, trauma and relationships are on it.

In the UK the words therapist, psychotherapist and counsellor mean much the same thing to most people. The law protects none of them. The training behind the title matters more than the word, so ask which register they belong to.

Sessions can be short and structured, as in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). They can also be open and led by you, as in person-centred therapy. Our guide to understanding different approaches walks through the main ones.

Therapy is not the fit when you feel well, know what you want and are stuck only on doing it. That is coaching. A good therapist will say so.

Sources: BACP: therapy help, POST: regulation of professionals

A coach

A coach helps you get from where you are to a goal you have chosen. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy puts the difference in one line: counselling is reparative, coaching is developmental. Coaching works on behaviour and forward movement, not the past.

You do most of the talking and leave each session with a step to take. It suits a career move, a habit you want to build or a change you keep putting off. Read more about how coaching works and the main coaching styles.

Coaching is not the fit for trauma, a past that keeps pulling you back or a mental health condition. A coach does not treat, diagnose or cure any of those. If low mood or anxiety is what stops you moving, start with a therapist.

Source: BACP: coaching

A hypnotherapist

A hypnotherapist uses relaxation techniques to try to change a habit or a way of thinking. Sessions are aimed at one clear change.

NICE backs one use: irritable bowel syndrome that has not responded to medicines after 12 months. Its guideline says referral for CBT, hypnotherapy or psychological therapy should be considered.

The advertising code accepts that hypnotherapy can help relieve anxiety and aid sleep.

Read more about how hypnotherapy works, the main styles and what people commonly seek it for.

Hypnotherapy is not the fit for depression, addiction, an eating disorder or any other serious mental health condition. It sits alongside your GP's care, never in place of it. It may not be safe if you have epilepsy, psychosis or schizophrenia, so talk to your GP first.

Sources: NHS: complementary therapies, NICE CG61, CAP: hypnotherapy

How to tell which you need

Start with what you want to be different. Then ask which of these sounds most like you.

• I want to understand why I feel like this. A therapist or counsellor
• I feel stuck and I do not know why. A therapist or counsellor
• I know what I want and I keep not doing it. A coach
• I want to change one habit and I feel fine otherwise. A hypnotherapist
• I am not sure. A therapist or counsellor, who can point you on if coaching is a better fit

If your answer changes over time, that is normal. Many people see a therapist first and a coach later, once the ground feels steadier.

When the line blurs

Some professionals hold more than one training. A counsellor may also coach, and a therapist may also practise hypnotherapy. That is fine, and often useful, as long as they tell you which role they are in and why.

Ask any professional what they will and will not work on. Ask what they do if you bring something outside their training. A clear answer to that question is a good sign, whichever kind of help you choose.