| Mental Health Practitioners Comparison Chart | |||||
| Life Coach | Counsellor | Therapist | Psychologist | Psychiatrist | |
| Main Focus | Present and Future. You are committed to yourself and to your future, and you are ready to move forward and live a fulfilling life. | Present and Past. The client needs to work through things from their past that's impacting their present in order for them to move forward. | Present and Past. The client needs help to cope with their mental illness(es) and work through things from their past in order to move forward. | Present and Past. The client needs help to cope with their mental and emotional disorder(s), and work through things from their past in order to move forward. | Present and Past. The client needs help to cope with their mental illness(es), and work through things from their past in order to move forward. |
| Areas of Specialization | Future and solutions focused. To help you connect to your vision of who and what you want to become for the purpose of developing long lasting perceptual and behavioural changes so that you can reach your personal goals, and have more satisfying relationships with others and with yourself. | Focuses on specific past issues that are preventing someone from moving forward. To help a person address particular issues from their past through developing problem solving skills or learning specific techniques for coping with or avoiding certain problem areas. | Focuses on a person's patterns of thinking and behaviours. To understand how someone interacts with the world in relations to their mental illness with the aim of figuring out the best way to help them cope and manage their symptoms. | Focuses on the evaluation and treatment of mental and emotional disorders. Disorders include, for example, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and post traumatic stress disorder. Psychologists normally works hand-in-hand with psychiatrists. | Focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illnesses. Illnesses include, for example, depression, anxiety, ADHD, or bipolar disorder. Psychiatrists normally works hand-in-hand with psychologists. |
| Approach | Empowers you to come up with your own solutions and action steps. A professional coach does not give advice or their opinion on matters, instead, the coach supports you to come up with your own revelations and solutions to your goals through series of powerful questions. | Gives advice and provides opinion on matters. This approach may be helpful for those individuals that are working through trauma. | Gives advice and provides opinion on matters. This approach may be helpful for those individuals that are working through trauma. | Gives advice and provides opinion on matters. This approach may be helpful for those individuals that are working through trauma. | Gives advice and provides opinion on matters. This approach may be helpful for those individuals that are working through trauma. |
| Practitioner is Objective and Neutral | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Client Led Sessions | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Diagnose Mental Illnesses or Disorders | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Perform Medical Procedures | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Prescribe Medication | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Relationship Length | Short or Long | Short or Long | Long | Long | Long |
| Regulatory Body | International Coaching Federation (ICF) | Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) | Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) | Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organizations (ACPRO) | Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) |