Psychotherapy, Counseling, and Coaching: different alternatives for Promoting Psychological Well-being

This chapter analyzes three dominant approaches to mental health interventions: psychotherapy, counseling, and coaching. Their commonalities, as well as their main differences, are emphasized by using a continuum model encompassing time perspective; recipients of these interventions (ranging from patients with severe psychopathology, to distressed individuals, to normal populations); and types of therapeutic strategies that are applied. Psychotherapy, counseling, and coaching are differentiated in some ways because the first mainly refers to a medical model, whereas counseling and coaching rely on communication strategies. However, in current practice the distinctions are not as clear. Furthermore, they all share common ingredients, such as the working alliance, positive expectations, and the promotion of well-being.