Do You Need a Coach or a Therapist?
If you’ve been coping with the aftereffects of complex trauma for years or even decades, you may feel some pressure trying to choose the right recovery partner at this point in your journey. There isn’t a one-word answer, but there are very practical guidelines that can help you decide.
Choosing What’s Right For You
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A trauma coach (CTRC) isn't a therapist
CTRCs are not licensed mental health professionals, so unlike therapists, we operate from a support model of care, not a medical model of care: We don’t diagnose, prescribe, advise on medicines, treat, or cure, which means we don’t pathologize or label our clients’ trauma responses as codable mental health conditions or symptoms that need fixing. Instead, we recognize them as normal reactions to abnormal traumatic events. Certified Trauma Recovery Coaches have a different approach.
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Taking you from "just surviving" to thriving
Some of my clients have a therapist while others work with me only. Think of licensed mental health professionals as trauma first responders and of CTRCs as trauma support specialists. Unlike therapists, coaches are not trained for crisis work, such as suicidality, self-harm, or addictions. Instead, they support relapse prevention, self-belief rewiring, and trauma recovery in functional clients, by helping them grow from “just surviving” to thriving beyond trauma.
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What Now? cocoon-to-butterfly changes
A CTRC partnership goes beyond coping & becoming aware, by putting your new insights to work as part of your recovery plan. It fosters agency by helping you build the right skillset and support you through each step. It is collaborative, empowering, and safely paced after your own rhythms. If you have a strong desire to make sustainable shifts in your life right now, CTRC may be a more direct path for you.
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Oh, and just one last thing before I forget...
CTRCs often specialize, so consider choosing one that matches your specific needs by researching their credentials and getting a sense of their coaching style. If you’re a survivor of childhood, sexual, complex trauma, or suffer from anxiety or chronic issues, look for a coach with robust training in evidence-based somatic/body-mind modalities, like EFT, breathwork, hypnosis, inner child, Matrix Reimprinting, or somatic parts work.
"I’VE WORKED WITH MANY THERAPISTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT YOUR COACHING COMBINING SOMATIC MODALITIES TO SUPPORT PRACTICAL RECOVERY GOALS HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE FOR ME.”
—Kate V, Maine, USA
TRIGGER WARNING: CHILDHOOD, SEXUAL TRAUMA & SUICIDAL IDEATION MENTION Certified Trauma Recovery Coaches are trauma-sensitive and trauma-responsive, which means that we’re trained to safely support our clients through recovery and that we must obtain yearly approved training to keep current with evidence-based practices in our field.
TRIGGER WARNING: CHILDHOOD, SEXUAL TRAUMA & SUICIDAL IDEATION MENTION No matter your Adverse Childhood Experiences number (ACEs score), a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach can offer a safe space for self-healing to take place and help orient you to and teach you the evidence-based tools you need on your recovery journey.