Your emotional, physical and spiritual health has a direct impact on your personal and professional relationships and successes. With our diversity of specialties within the consulting and coaching staff, we are uniquely qualified to offer a complete and well-balanced professional and personal experience that can combine coaching, counseling, and consulting into one.
When to Choose a Coach, Consultant, Therapist, Pastoral Counselor, or Mentor?
These days there are so many terms for professionals who help you meet goals or move toward life changes- but what does it all mean, and which one should you hire? Perhaps you already have an idea which area of life you need support, but from whom? Coaches, counselors/therapists, consultants, advisors, spiritual/pastoral counselors, mentors, ect. There are so many options out there! We find it helpful to distinguish what these services are, and it is ethically necessary to share the differences between these service types.
Here are some helpful definitions:
Coach (life coach, leadership coach, ect) – A collaborator who asks the right questions, provides structure, and a process to maximize the potential for a future experience in the client’s career, business, or any area of life. The focus is on the future with an emphasis on vision and growth. Coaches are not required to have specific training or certifications, nor are they experts in any specific industry.
Consultant (advisor, executive coach, speaker, trainer, ect) - A subject matter expert through experience or training and provides advice, answers, and resources to an organization, business, or individual. The focus is mainly on a project, problem, or performance and is exclusively professional in context. Consultants should have training or experience specific to the area of expertise.
Therapist (counselor, psychologist, mental health provider, etc) - A licensed professional who provides clinical knowledge and expertise to facilitate a healing process. The focus is on the past or present and specifically mental health and healing. Professional training and licensing is required and regulated at the state level. In Iowa you might see these letters after their names: LMHC, LISW, LMFT, LCSW, or LPC.
Pastoral Counselor (pastor, minister, spiritual direction, director, ect.) - A companion who notices God’s presence, prays, listens, and occasionally gives biblical guidance. Bible training and pastoral certification is available and commonly expected. They differ from a counselor because they are not licensed, regulated, nor do they have mental health expertise.
Mentor (church leader, sponsor, discipleship, friend, ect) - A companion who has gone before and can lead by example or share advice.
Let's take these definitions and think of it like building a house, where the house is your life (see image below):
- A coach is going to ask you questions, learn about your vision, and give you a blueprint to build the house.
- A licensed therapist will help you clear out the debris and create a strong foundation for your house.
- The Consultants are the various experts (electrician, plumbing, builders) that help build the walls and windows in your house; they know what to do and how to get your house built properly.
- A mentor is that friend that recently built a house; they can recommend professionals and offer advice based on their personal experience, but they are not experts.
- And finally, a pastoral counselor can offer spiritual advice about how God says your house should be built and decorated inside.
Why Can We Combine Coaching, Consulting & Counseling?
At Dr. Don Coaching and Consulting we can actually approach your needs with a combination of coaching, consulting, counseling, and pastoral counseling.
Specifically, we can do this because Dr. Don is a licensed mental health counselor, a licensed pastor, and a certified coach and consultant. We also have other coaches and consultants that specialize in health, wellness, nutrition, marketing, branding, and business analytics.
What does that mean for you?
It means that we create a customized plan just for your needs. It means that when you meet with Dr. Don he will seamlessly switch through his coaching, consulting, and counseling hats. If you need help from one of our other coaches/consultants, they can sit in on the appointment and offer the services to you directly. It means that the process just got a whole lot simpler for you and your team!
At Dr. Don Coaching and Consulting we help people to clarify and achieve their dreams, hopes, purpose, and calling. We help you create more fulfillment, balance, and joy in your life and work.
What does this look like in real life?
Not sure if coaching or consulting is right for you?
Mission Statement
Dr. Don Coach and Consultant’s mission is to help people clarify and achieve their dreams, hopes, purpose, and calling. We specialize in working with business owners, ministry workers, and leaders who want to create more fulfillment, balance, and joy in their lives and work.