Take Good Care of Your Mental Well-being：Understanding Therapy, Mentoring, and Coaching
Just as we exercise and eat a balanced diet to keep our bodies healthy, it’s essential to nurture and strengthen our minds. Understanding the differences between therapy, mentoring, and coaching can help us choose the right path for our mental health and personal growth.
In this article, I’ll explore these differences and share insights from my own journey — transitioning from a UX researcher to a Generative Coach, and overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome.
By reflecting on my experiences, I hope to provide you with a clearer understanding of each approach and help you make an informed choice about what might be best for you.
My Journey into Mental Well-being
In 2023, I experienced a perfect 10 out of 10 day, which inspired me to dive into the field of mental well-being. By documenting and analyzing my days in my Good Time Journal, I discovered that quality conversations, which encouraged positive actions and mindsets, gave me the most energy. These activities averaged a 9.5/10, compared to 8.5/10 for solo activities like arranging flowers or making art.
Despite my enthusiasm, I wasn’t sure which specific focus within mental well-being to pursue. To find clarity, I researched various fields and then interviewed over a dozen professionals, including those in Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, Organizational Psychology, Body Therapy, Art Therapy, RTT Therapy, Co-Active Coaching, Career Coaching, ICF Coaching, and Mentorship.
Differences Between Therapy, Mentoring, and Coaching
In my initial eight practice clients’ coaching sessions, I’ve gathered valuable feedback that shed light on how my coaching was perceived:
- Therapeutic Playback: Some felt the conversation had a therapeutic effect, helping them reflect deeply and explore their thoughts more systematically.
- Desire for Clarity: Others found it vague and wished for more direct advice on what to watch out for or improve.
- Effective Blend: Some appreciated how the conversation combined deep analysis of their anxiety with actionable steps to help them manage and prevent future anxiety.
These diverse perspectives highlighted some variations in understanding the roles of therapy, mentoring, and coaching. Based on my previous field research and to address these variations, I’ve put together a quick guide to help you navigate these three approaches and set clearer expectations:
Therapy is the Medicine for Mental Health: If you’re feeling mentally uneasy, stuck in past memories, or want to understand the deep root causes of your behaviors and thoughts, therapy might be right for you.
Mentoring is the Vaccination for Immune System: If you admire someone who is ahead of you in a field you want to develop in, and you want to benefit from their advice and expertises, mentorship is the way to go.
Coaching is the Multi-vitamin for Thriving Mental Health: If you’re open to change, willing to take risks to learn and grow, and eager to achieve goals that maximize your potential, coaching is for you.
Insights into Each Path
Below are my interpretations and experiences in these three areas, which might help you decide:
Therapy
Therapy involves understanding and healing from past experiences, especially childhood ones. It digs deep into your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to uncover how your past shapes your present.
My Choice: I worked with a Rapid Transformational Therapist (RTT) for hypnosis treatment because:
- Efficiency: The RTT therapy package includes a pre-assessment, a deep-dive hypnosis session, a 21-day affirmation audio, and a post-treatment assessment, all within 30 days.
- Risk-free Trial: I wasn’t deeply troubled, so I wanted to try something new and non-traditional.
- Cost-effective: It cost under 1k USD, which I found affordable compared to traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) over multiple sessions.
Mentoring
Mentoring is about receiving guidance from someone with more experience in a particular area. Mentors share knowledge-based advice from their personal experiences.
My Journey: I mentor on ADPList as a User Research mentor, helping people build appealing portfolios and suggest alternative user research methods, etc. Initially, I approached mentoring with an expert mindset and telling-mode, but recently, I embody a wondering and learning mindset, focusing on empowerment and learning together.
Coaching
Coaching helps you unlock potential and achieve goals by focusing on your present and future. Coaches work with you to identify strengths, set goals, and develop action plans without delving too deep into past experiences.
My Approach: While understanding past experiences is fundamental, coaching emphasizes taking ownership of our choices today for a better and desired future, differentiating it from therapy and mentoring.
This summer, I’m excited to continue offering free practice sessions and invite new partners to join me on a journey of growth., especially those who are planning to be parents, expectant parents, or parents with young children, to join me as partners in growth.
Conclusion
Whether you need to heal from the past, seek guidance from a mentor, or unlock your potential with a coach, each path offers valuable support for your journey.
Choose the right approach and take good care of your mental well-being.
Wednesday Wondering:
Every week, I share the most wondering thing I’ve learned in Generative Coaching. Drawing from my coaching notes, insights from user research, and my passion as a meditative art facilitator, I’ll share short lessons that help me rediscover joyful purposes in life and work. With a beginner’s mind, join me on the tide of coaching together.
Resources and References:
- inviteCHANGE: An organization dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations to live authentically, align with their values, and cultivate prosperity.
