Life Coaching: How It Works, Cost, And What To Expect

What Is a Life Coach?

A life coach helps someone to reach their potential in any given aspect of their life. While the life coach asks questions to encourage self awareness and thought, the client must decide what it is that they want to be different in their lives. Once the vision of the future is established, the coach works with the client to figure out how to bring about those changes.

What Does a Life Coach Do?

First, there must be a belief in the capacity for change and a motivation for change on the part of the client. Both the coach and the client must believe that change is possible for anyone who desires it and is willing to work at it. The underlying assumption is that people are creative, resourceful, and growth oriented.

The life coach helps the client develop self-awareness and motivation. This includes being willing to acknowledge one’s current strengths and limitations so that realistic attainable goals may be set for the future. Likewise, increased self-awareness of values and hopes for the future is encouraged.

A life coach also helps set goals, followed by the client’s acceptance of accountability for reaching those goals. With the coach’s help, a general statement of goals from the client becomes developed into specific measurable goals.

Benefits of Life Coaching

Life coaching can help with a wide range of future-oriented outcomes. Someone can expect a life coach to help them through problems related to work, relationships, life/work balance, or general contentment.

Specific examples of the benefits of life coaching can include:

• Improved performance at work as seen in greater productivity
• Improved work performance in terms of better efficiency
• Increased self-confidence
• Improved relationships (more cooperation, less conflict, etc.)
• Improved communication skills
• Better balance of time spent at work vs. at home
• Improved time management at home
• Improved effectiveness of a working team
• Improved physical health and emotional well-being

Life Coach Vs. Therapist

Life coaching is different from therapy in several critical ways. Most importantly, life coaching is not intended to treat any emotional or mental illness. Coaching is aimed at taking a current life situation which is tolerable but less than ideal toward a future outcome which is highly desired.

• A psychotherapist is educated and experienced in working with individuals who have serious psychological issues: Life coaches do not necessarily have such education or experience, unless they also happen to be trained psychotherapists. For this reason, only psychotherapists are qualified to treat the various emotional disorders and personality disorders noted above.
• Life coaches do not address problems related to past unresolved losses or traumas: Life coaching is exclusively focused upon the present and future, while psychotherapy usually involves some understanding of the past as well as coping with the present and preparing for the near future.
• Life coaches differ from therapists in terms of the role of support in the relationship: Psychotherapists will be supportive as needed during the therapy process, as they are fully aware that their clients are often in a state of distress. Life coaches focus on goals and measurable outcomes as opposed to coping with current distress. Therefore, life coaches will primarily be a motivator and an accountability partner as opposed to a supportive person.
• Life coaches will usually be much more open about their personal life, at least in their advertising of services and social media presence: Most psychotherapists only reveal facts of their personal lives when relevant and helpful to the topic presented by the client, such as to express empathy.
• The role of providing advice and guidance to the client is different: There is less clear distinction in this role because psychotherapists vary greatly in their tendency to be directive and provide guidance, depending upon the therapeutic model. A behavioral therapist will be much more directive than a psychoanalytic therapist. A life coach is expected to provide guidance and to advise the client as a primary part of their work, although they generally avoid telling a client “what to do.”

When to See a Therapist Vs. a Life Coach

Life coaching is not recommended for coping with mental illness, acute distress, or unresolved past issues. It is also not effective for people who are resistant to making changes in their lives, or who are seeking support as the primary intervention. Life coaching is not psychotherapy and can not substitute for therapeutic intervention or counseling.

Here are several issues where someone should seek therapy instead of a life coach:

• Clinical depression and mood disorders, including major depression and bipolar disorder
• Chronic or acute anxiety, PTSD, or obsessive compulsive disorder
• Those with unresolved problems from the past, such as unresolved grief or anger due to past trauma
• Serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
• Personality disorders which include eccentric behaviors (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal)
• Personality disorders which involve dramatic or erratic behaviors (antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic)

Common Types of Life Coaching

There are two basic types of life coaching: workplace/business coaching and personal coaching. Workplace coaching is directed toward increasing the resilience and the effectiveness of the individual for the benefit of both the individual and the organization.

Workplace Coaching

The client and the coach work as equal partners to solve problems, improve performance, and/or achieve long term goals. It is distinct from workplace training due to the focus upon individualized goals for that particular client. Workplace coaching may be labeled “executive coaching” when the purpose is to develop business qualities such as leadership.

Personal Life Coaching

Personal coaching is directed toward reaching a client’s individual goals for their own purposes, regardless of any organizational outcomes. There is sometimes an overlap in terms of who benefits from the coaching process. For example, a small business owner may see little distinction between optimizing personal outcomes versus organizational outcomes.

Other Life Coaches You Might Find

While life coaches broadly support people in reaching their goals, many specialize in certain topics, like physical health, career, or finances. If you’re looking to make changes in a specific area of your life, you might be interested in exploring other life coaches with expertise in that area.

Other life coach services you might encounter include:

• Diet and fitness: Health and wellness coaching has been shown to be effective in supporting people in reaching their weight loss and nutrition goals.¹ Coaches also help clients incorporate important lifestyle changes to promote health, particularly for those with a chronic illness.
• Career coaching: If you’re looking for a job, or interested in switching career paths, connecting with a career coach might be a valuable step. Career coaches can help you update your resume and LinkedIn profile and devise an effective job hunting strategy.
• Specific life skills: Executive functioning coaches help people with life skills like organization, planning, and focus. Coaches that specialize in life skills training often work with young people preparing to emerge into adulthood.
• Sports coaching: Sports coaches work with individuals or teams to improve their performance in a particular sport, and reach their full potential through feedback, training, and support.
• Financial coaching: Financial coaches work with clients to better manage their money, often supporting them in achieving specific savings goals, debt management, and budgeting.
• Mindset coaching: A mindset coach focuses on shifting a client’s thought patterns and beliefs in order to achieve success.

What to Expect From a Life Coach

There are four basic steps involved in the life coaching process, regardless of the type of coaching:

• The first step is to clarify the real issue. Most often, the issue with which the client presents is not the actual cause of their problem, and not what is holding them back from reaching their potential.
• Step two is to assess where the client is now. It is important to determine and describe their current pattern of behavior as it relates to the problem.
• The third step is to define the desired outcome and set measurable goals.
• Setting up the ways to get to the desired outcome and actually practicing them is the final step.

Potential Pitfalls of Working With a Life Coach

Life coaching can be an important step toward transformation when you are in a stable, motivated place in your life, but it’s not necessarily a quick fix.

Here are a few things to consider before finding a life coach:

• Don’t expect immediate results: Life coaching is client-driven and depends on your motivation and follow-up in order to see results. The process can take time and requires your insight, commitment and willingness to make changes in your life.
• Make sure the coach is suited to your needs: Finding the right life coach is important in setting yourself up for success. Carefully consider what changes you are looking to make in your life, and do your research to find a life coach with experience or specialization in this area.
• Life coaches aren’t appropriate for treating serious mental health issues: Life coaches are not licensed mental health therapists. If you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health disorder, a life coach is not the right support person for you. Only a licensed therapist can safely and effectively address mental health issues.

Life Coaching Examples

There are several situations in which life coaching may be helpful, including job issues, confidence, or relationship complications.

Here are the ways that a life coach could be beneficial for each of those scenarios:

Life Coaching for Job Satisfaction Issue

Marie seeks out a life coach to help her overcome a frustration with her current work situation. Her direct supervisor, with whom she worked very well, has recently left the company, and Marie is having difficulty adjusting to the style of the new supervisor.

Marie was used to daily meetings and frequent correspondence with her prior supervisor. This gave her plenty of guidance for projects given to her to manage. The new supervisor appears to have less time available for Marie and expects her to work more independently.

A life coach would guide Marie through imagining her desired outcome within the realistic constraints of what this current supervisor can provide. She will be encouraged to identify the goal behaviors which will get her the supervision that she needs most, and which will allow her work behavior to continue to meet her own personal standards of excellence.

Life Coaching for Self-Confidence Issue

Mark asks a life coach for help in building his self-confidence, which he believes to be holding him back from being promoted at work. He has been given excellent reviews for his level of productivity and his efficiency, yet has been passed up for promotions by seemingly less qualified co-workers. He has been told by friends that he needs to be more self-confident.

A life coach would help Mark to define in a specific way what he means by self-confidence. Through questioning, it might become clear that Mark’s communication skills are lacking and that he would benefit from speaking with more certainty at work. An initial goal for Mark would be the development of better communication skills and practicing these new skills in his workplace.

Life Coaching for Relationship Issues

Maya would like to begin dating again after a bad break-up but finds herself sabotaging new relationships as soon as they seem promising to her. Maya recognizes that she is full of self-doubts about her own self-worth and whether she can find someone with whom she will feel safely vulnerable.

Maya reveals to the life coach that she was often harshly criticized by her ex-partner and that these memories stay with her, holding her back from trusting others enough to form close relationships. The life coach would facilitate her ability to move past these painful memories. A first step would be to imagine a future relationship which is supportive and kind. The specific types of interactions which characterize a healthy relationship for Maya could then be identified.

How to Find a Life Coach

There are several ways to find a life coach, whether it be for personal or business purposes. One option is to use an online coaching directory, such as that provided by the International Coach Federation (ICF). This directory allows one to look up a specific coach by name and verify that they have met the ICF standards for education and training.² However, it will not provide any information about how well-matched any particular coach is to the client’s specific needs.

A second option is to use an online local search, which may be important if face to face meetings are preferred and therefore geographic distance is relevant. As a third option, it is not unusual to obtain a referral from a friend, particularly for personal coaching. The clear drawback of that approach is lack of any screening other than the subjective opinion of that individual.

Finally, one might use a coach matching service, which will have pre-screened coaches for education and training and also match possible coaches to the client’s personality preferences. This would seem to be the ideal method to use, depending upon cost. There are coach matching services which are advertised as free to use, including Noomii.com, lifecoachhub.com, and Koach.net, among others.

What to Look For in a Life Coach

When searching for a life coach, there are several factors to consider in finding the right fit for you and your goals, including assessing how well you get along, whether their experience is right for your needs, and what others have said about working with them.

Here are a few things to consider when hiring a life coach:

Rapport

It is crucial for a life coach to build rapport with their clients. Creating an atmosphere of trust and safety sets the foundation for the work you will do during your time together. A life coach who is good at relationship-building and has a warm, genuine and empathic demeanor will be most effective in supporting you as your work toward your goals.³

Expertise

Consider your goals – if you are looking to get a better handle on your finances, look into a financial coach in your area. Make sure the life coach you work with has expertise in the areas you are interested in addressing, whether it be physical fitness, nutrition or becoming better organized.

Availability

Life coaching is only effective if you, the client, are motivated, engaged and committed to the work involved in the process. Make sure that the life coach you work with offers their services when you are available, as regular attendance and engagement is key.

Other Client Reviews

Reading through other client reviews on the life coach’s website is one way to get a feel for the way the life coach approaches their work, as well as their efficacy. Talk with someone who has worked with the coach in the past, if possible, to learn more about their approach and gain insight from their experience before deciding to work together.

How to Know If a Life Coach Is Certified

There is no license or certification required in order to call oneself a “life coach.” There is no oversight or regulation of the practice of life coaches. The International Coach Federation (ICF) offers a globally recognized professional “coaching certification” to those who have undergone coach-specific training.

With an ICF Credential, a coach can indicate their knowledge, skill, and commitment to high ethical and professional standards.⁴ Without this credential, there is no certainty that a life coach adheres to professional or ethical standards. It is therefore very important to interview coaches and ask questions before beginning a coaching relationship.

Key Questions to Ask a Life Coach Before Starting Work

Before starting work with a life coach, it is advised that the client interview several coaches to determine qualifications and best fit given the client’s needs. Many coaches will offer a brief initial interview at no charge.

Here are key questions to ask during this initial interview:

• What kind of issues do you typically work with?
• Do you have any certification?
• What type of education or training do you have?
• How many years of experience in life coaching do you have?
• What is the usual length of sessions that you offer?
• What is the usual duration of your coaching relationships with your clients?
• Are you available for follow-up to a session, such as a phone or email follow-up?
• Do you give assignments, such as writing in a journal or reading?
• What is your fee per session, and do you offer any multi-session packages?

How Much Does a Life Coach Cost?

Most life coaches charge by the hour, with prices ranging from $50 to $500 per hour. The rate varies depending upon the type of coaching, with business coaching typically being more costly. For personal coaching, the cost varies with the coach’s expertise and reputation.

The typical range for personal life coaching is from $75 to $200 per hour, with an average cost of $120 per hour. Many coaches offer packages, such as $300 per month for four 30-minute sessions. A longer term option might be $2000 for eight 90-minute sessions. In contrast, a life coach working in a corporate setting may have a monthly charge of $750 to $1000 per month.⁵

Cost is also affected by the duration of the coaching relationship, which will depend upon the intended goals. Duration of coaching relationships may be short-term and last from three to six months, or long-term and last one to two years.

Does Insurance Cover Life Coaching?

Typically, mental health insurance does not cover any of the cost of life coaching. The issues addressed by a life coach are not considered to be mental health issues and therefore are not deemed as necessary care by most insurance companies. If the client does have symptoms of a mental health issue, most insurance plans would cover outpatient psychotherapy with a licensed clinician.

What to Expect at Your First Appointment

Once the choice of a life coach has been made, a first appointment will be the opportunity to clarify the details of the coaching relationship and the process. The life coach will explain the terms of payment, such as types of payment which are accepted and when those payments are due. Included in this discussion is how to handle any missed appointment, late starts, or last-minute cancellations.

This first session may also address whether notes are taken, how confidentiality is maintained, and what types of communication may occur between sessions. Although some of these issues may have been addressed in the initial contact before starting the work, this is the time to formalize the working agreement.⁶

This first session will be the time for the client to state what they want to get from the process as short, medium, and long-term outcomes. Although specific goals and the steps toward them may not be fully worked out at this time, a general statement of what the client is seeking should be noted.

By establishing these desired outcomes at the beginning, later mis-understandings or disappointments may be avoided. This also gives the life coach the chance to determine if any group coaching will be helpful to the process. The first session should conclude with a specific date and time for the next session, as well as a general outline for scheduling future sessions.

Is Life Coaching Effective?

Evaluations of life coaching’s effectiveness have been based mostly upon surveys rather than empirical research, and they are usually done in business settings. Typically the question has been whether or not the high costs of business coaching was worthwhile for a company, versus the less costly traditional training or self-coaching. There have been companies which report high levels of satisfaction with their use of business life coaches. At least one survey indicated that 96% of companies who used life coaches would do so again.⁷

The few objective studies in which outcomes were measured in terms of goals reached (rather than subjective satisfaction), were often not randomized trials. In a rare quantitative study of effectiveness of personal life coaching, subjects were a group of college students whose goal was to stop procrastinating. The value of life coaching was compared to self-coaching and to group training for these students, using randomized groups. The researchers concluded that individual coaching was superior to either self-coaching or group training in helping the participants reach their desired goals. Group training was effective in increasing the knowledge of the students about the problem of procrastination, while self-coaching was generally ineffective for this study group.⁸

Overall, there is not enough evidence to determine whether either type of life coaching is a cost effective way to accomplish goals. Most coached clients report being satisfied with the outcomes, but the evidence for change in measurable goals is lacking. Also, the factors which actually mediate changes have not been isolated.

Risks and Criticisms of Life Coaching

There are numerous risks involved in hiring a life coach, whether for personal or business purposes. The major risk is that of working with someone who isn’t truly qualified to do the work of a life coach.

Since there is no licensing requirement, virtually anyone might call themself a life coach. They may have started a seemingly successful business based upon a charismatic personality and/or effective self-promotion.

The following criticisms of the field of life coaching all relate back to this risk:⁹

• Life coaching is not an established field.
• There is no significant barrier to entry into the field.
• There is no common body of knowledge.
• There is no standard course of study.
• There is no government oversight to ensure that practice standards are met, including ethical standards.

A second major risk of hiring a life coach is that a mental health issue may be overlooked, since most life coaches are not qualified to diagnose mental illness. This could result in an untreated mental health problem at worst, and a lack of progress toward the coaching goals at the very least.

For example, a business coach may be hired to solve the problem of an employee not getting along well with peers. If the interpersonal problems are due to a broader personality disorder, the business life coach is not likely to be effective in changing that client’s behavior.

Thirdly, a lack of clear guidelines for the confidentiality of information presents a risk for both personal and business/workplace coaching. There is no threat of loss of licensure for a breach of confidentiality, as there is between a licensed psychotherapist and their patient. In the business setting, the risk is greater when the company versus the individual client is paying the bill. In that case, the limits of confidentiality must be clear from the beginning of the coaching work.

Additional risks relate to the often unclear roles of the life coach. The ICF discourages coaches from giving advice but in reality many coaches slip into the role of mentor and provide examples of how they have solved similar problems to that of their client.

Likewise, it may be difficult for the coach to avoid the role of a friend, and to insist upon accountability on the client’s part. There is also a risk that the client will become overly dependent on the life coach and have difficulty ending the relationship. It is not unusual for clients to “recontract” with new goals.⁹

Final Thoughts: Are Life Coaches Worth It?

Life coaches can provide invaluable support, guidance, and accountability for emotionally stable and motivated people who are committed to working toward specific life goals. They can offer the strategic planning and momentum needed for success in the areas of your life that you’re looking to change. That being said, a licensed therapist can often offer a deeper, evidence-based approach to transforming your life by working through the root causes of dysfunction and employing a wider range of modalities to improve your life and wellbeing.