Do You Need a Coach or 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. Trauma Recovery Coaches have a different approach.

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.

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.

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, or somatic parts work.