Job Coaching Vs Therapy – And what you could get through Access to Work
While both coaching and therapy can help you live a more fulfilling life, the circumstances and focus of each are very different. Coaching concentrates on achieving goals and problem-solving in the here and now, often centring around optimising your performance at work or in business. Therapy focuses on your psychological, emotional and mental health (including things like anxiety and depression).
Being clear on the difference between the two roles will help you decide which path is right for you.
Do I need a job coach or a therapist?
It’s a fair question; one I’m asked often.
If you’re struggling at work and it’s unclear to you why, you might be asking yourself the same question.
Both are helpful, both very different.
To be clear, I’m not a therapist, but I’m no stranger to therapy, having been through it at various stages of my life (and it’s been excellent by the way). However, therapy serves a very different purpose from coaching.
Part of my extensive accredited coaching training was recognising when someone might need therapy. This is a fundamental part of safeguarding training for coaches. Which is why it’s essential that anyone seeking a coach, be it for job coaching, life coaching, or otherwise, seek out an accredited (ICF) coaching professional.
We’ll discuss that in more detail in this article, but for now, let’s start by clarifying what job coaching is and why it works so well for neurominorities (including those with ADHD, ASD, and Dyslexia).
We’ll also examine the process of applying for an Access to Work ADHD coach and when therapy might be more suitable for you right now.
What is job coaching? (and how does it benefit those with ADHD?)
The answer is so extensive that I wrote an entire article on ADHD Coaching, but essentially, job coaching is about finding out why work feels heavy *insert whatever adjective you’re feeling about work here*. Contentment, happiness, fulfilment – these are some of the words my clients use to describe how they WANT to feel at work after our sessions together.
Job coaching is for anyone that’s employed or self-employed, and sometimes covers life *stuff* too. But mostly, conversations centre around how to make work feel less hard and more enjoyable.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of the things my job coaching covers, but it gives you a pretty good idea:
Focus and productivity – these two issues come up often for my clients, and I have a big ol’ toolbox of strategies that can help. We’ll find the ones that work for you. If you want to leave work feeling like ‘Yup, that was a pretty good day!’, and find more ease and flow when working up to deadlines (I see you deadline dancers out there!), I’ll guide you.
Communication and relationships - it’s common for my clients to come to me seeking help to improve their work interactions and clear, open relationships with clients, colleagues, key stakeholders, or even family (just because it’s Access to Work doesn’t mean we can’t talk about your whole life - I coach you as the whole person - not just the work you! (Unless you work for Lumon Industries… https://lumon.industries/).
Self-advocacy and accommodations – communicating your needs to your colleagues, manager or even family can feel daunting at first. Job coaching can help you confidently advocate for whatever you need.
Goal setting - as your coach, I work with you to formulate goals (the place you want to get to through coaching). Don’t worry if you don’t know what they are right now – together we’ll work out what success looks like to you.
Coaching isn’t about working through past traumas to delve into mental health struggles (although your mental health can improve at the same time).
Work is where we spend a heck of a lot of time. You shouldn’t have to spend it feeling like people don’t *get* you, or even struggle quietly until you burn out.
SIDE NOTE – If you’re neurodivergent (including ADHD, ASD, or dyslexia), quiz your coach about their credentials. It’s essential your coach recognises and understands your neurodivergence without prejudice. There’s a saying, “When you’ve met one person with ADHD you’ve met one person with ADHD”. I treat all my clients as the individuals they are, and I remain a.🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ ally, committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for individuals of all backgrounds and identities. Sadly, that hasn’t always been my client’s experience elsewhere.
What is therapy?
The way I always explain it to clients is: coaching is focussed on where you are right now versus what you want to be/do/have in the future. We may touch on elements of the past to bring context to our conversations, but we don’t tend to spend too much time there because that’s more therapy and counselling.
Therapy is a treatment that approaches psychological, emotional or behavioural challenges. There are lots of different types of therapies. They help people who have struggles with things like:
Depression
OCD
Anxiety
PTSD
Trauma
There are hundreds of different types of therapies. The more common ones you might have heard of are:
Person-centred counselling - This therapy framework is often called ‘talking therapy’ and centres on the therapist asking reflective questions, while the client shares freely and without judgment. This might lead the client to examine past experiences and how those experiences might be shaping their current belief systems or struggles.
People who opt for this type of therapy may be struggling with depression or anxiety and need a safe space to be able to open up and work through their feelings and emotions to find out why they feel the way they do.
This is open-ended, so it may involve several sessions until the client can achieve their desired goals by exploring their own solutions. Whereas coaching is closed-ended - you’ll have a fixed number of sessions with the aim being that by the end of our time together, you’ll have curated your very own toolbox of coping strategies so that you no longer need me! (of course I’ll be sad to see you go but I’ll also be immensely proud of the progress you’ve made).
CBT – Cognitive behaviour therapy – this is a far more structured approach to therapy whereby the therapist gives the client more direction through proven techniques and frameworks. Your therapist shares weekly exercises to work on to help you reach set goals. This is more commonly used when people need clear direction. It’s also used for anxiety and depression, but can be for complex struggles like OCD and trauma. CBT has hundreds of frameworks, and therapists often specialise in one or more.
These are just two examples – there are loads! But the key difference is that therapy is more about mental health and emotional wellbeing based on what’s happened in the past. There isn’t a specific focus on work (although it may come up).
Can I get job coaching through Access to Work?
Access to Work is a UK government grant providing essential support (including coaching) for neurodivergent individuals and those with disabilities or health conditions, including ADHD, dyslexia, ASD, anxiety and depression, to start or stay in work.
To apply for Access to Work, you can head to the government website. However, there is quite a wait, so it’s worth applying now. I’ve written an article explaining more about what it covers.
You can ask for financial and practical support to make work easier, including adaptive software, travel assistance, funding for special equipment (and of course coaching with me!), depending on your unique needs. But it’s worth knowing there isn’t an exhaustive list or *tick box* of what Access to Work covers. Your application will be reviewed and your assessor will award you support based on your unique needs following their evaluation.
| Header 1 | Header 2 |
|---|---|
| ADHD Coaching | Therapy |
| Focused on the future | Focused in the past |
| Main focus is on setting goals, developing skills and strategies | Main focus is on healing, mental health, understanding emotions and how they form beliefs and behaviours. |
| Practical | Reflective |
| Closed-ended - fixed number of sessions | Open-ended - you agree with your therapist when you're ready to end |
Do you need coaching or therapy?
Sometimes, people need both, and that’s okay. You wouldn’t be the first coaching client of mine to undergo therapy at the same time, whether that’s therapy through the NHS or funded privately. However, I’ve gotta say,, doing both at the same time isn’t for everyone as it can feel quite emotionally intense. Therapy (if you need it) is usually the first step, so you can come to coaching with a clear and open mind.
The most important thing you can do right now is take that first step. It’s the hardest step (a brave one), and I will do everything in my power to make that easier for you.
Ready to book a call?
If Access to Work approved your funding for coaching and you’re now looking for a coach, book a discovery call and let’s talk about what you need and how I can help.
Other useful links:
Access to Work - A guide for the self-employed
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About
I'm Victoria Tretis, and I coach neurodivergent adults (including ADHD, ASD and Dyslexic) who feel stuck and overwhelmed in the chaos of daily life. They want to design and achieve their version of success. (I don't believe there is one right way to accomplish this.)
I also work with line managers who want to strengthen the support they provide within neurodiverse teams.
My work is not about rich people getting richer. Instead, sessions are centred around clients wanting to better understand themselves and those around them.