F Mentoring, Coaching & Counselling: Is There A Difference? - My Local Adventures Blog

Mentoring, Coaching & Counselling: Is There A Difference?

Who is a mentor a coach and a counsellor? This post will help clarify the differences between these words.

These three terms are often used in the place of each other because people think they mean the same thing. Their definitions are not very different but there exists a clear difference between what a mentor, a coach and a counsellor do. 

This clarification will also help you understand which of them you need to work with in order to guide you through your career and life. 

Mentoring, Coaching & Counselling: Is There A Difference?


Who is a Mentor?

A mentor is a resourceful person you can depend on for general guidance and advice concerning life or career. It's a person who challenges and helps you with self-development. S/he helps you to become a better version of yourself, to grow and stay motivated to be successful in life goals. 

A mentor is more of a generalist because he doesn't really focus on one aspect of your life but he inspires you to think and come up with your own systems and methods to work and achieve your goals. S/he guides you to grow positively and gives you constructive criticism.

S/he may ask you questions that will motivate you to discover yourself and know yourself better. S/he guides you to find new inspiration for your life or career. As well as help you discover new ways to manage your weaknesses and strengths. 

A mentor can also be a role model because they are usually solicited because of their experience in life or a domain that they practice in or a domain that they seem to have a lot of knowledge about. 

Who is a Coach?

A coach works just like a mentor but s/he is more specialised in one domain of your life. That's why it's possible to have many coaches like a sports coach, a voice coach, a speech coach, a love coach etc because they are very specific and qualify in a particular domain. They show you step-by-step how to obtain the results you want and they guide you along. Coaches are more task-oriented compared to Mentors.

Coaches can be very specialised and may focus only on one aspect of a particular industry. For example, in sports, we have different coaches for every sports type. There are also specialized coaches in each sports type. 

So when choosing a coach, you need to have to know the kind of results you are expecting to get from them so that you can choose well. 

Who is a Counsellor?

A counsellor on her part is focused on the problems you face and how it affects your life. They help individuals get out of their psychological and personal problems. They are also looked upon as a confidant.

Counsellors just like coaches specialise in various aspects for example; marriage, education, depression, etc.

Most of the time, coaches and counsellors require some specialized education or training to qualify for what they do. But mentors use their experience acquired to mentor their mentees. And they continue to learn from those they work with because every individual is different. Everyone has a different life, problems, past, beliefs, goals or dreams and needs to be guided differently.

It's possible to have people who are mentors and counsellors at the same time or mentor and coach or all three in one person. This distinction is meant to help you know that difference and understand what you really need for your personal life and career.


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