Mental Health Referral From Life Coaches: How Life Coaches Connect Clients to Therapy

Louise Hartnett
Published: 08/28/2025 | Updated: 08/28/2025
Authored by: Louise Hartnett, B.A.
Edited by: Emma Loker, BSc, PgDip
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Life coaching is a popular source of support for people who would like to make significant changes to their lives. The profession merges the roles of mentor, advisor, and motivator, helping clients define their goals and deconstruct the barriers preventing them from succeeding.

Sometimes, life coaching gets confused with counseling, but it’s crucial to distinguish them from each other. Though both are helping services, people with mental health conditions should always get support from licensed therapists.

However, many life coaches will know when someone needs a level of support that they cannot offer and may refer you to a mental health service. Yet, since the profession isn’t regulated by law, clients should also be aware of its limitations and when to seek therapy instead.

This article can help you better understand mental health referrals from life coaches, as well as when to seek licensed mental health support, by exploring:

  • What life coaching is
  • Why it’s important to distinguish life coaching from therapy
  • Life coaching vs psychotherapy
  • Ways life coaching can help
  • How life coaches can connect you to therapy
  • Therapy options after life coaching
Mental Health Referral From Life Coaches: How Life Coaches Connect Clients to Therapy

What Is Life Coaching?

Life coaching is a helping profession that focuses on clients’ goals and obstacles to achieving these. It’s often discussed alongside other helping professions like psychotherapy, psychology, and social work, but it’s distinct from each of these in several ways. For example, instead of looking at the past, trauma, and mental health concerns, life coaches typically focus on their clients’ present circumstances and dreams for the future.1 

Life coaching is solution-focused. For instance, coaches often use motivational interviewing techniques to gain an understanding of what their clients would like to achieve and what’s been stopping them from doing so. Once this understanding is reached, they aim to empower their clients to make necessary changes in their lives, habits, and relationships.2 

Life coaches often give advice and help clients outline plans that can help them achieve their goals. Additionally, a life coach may have had certain life experiences that give them particular wisdom to impart to others. For example, they may have built their own business from nothing or overcome a health condition and decided to share how they coped with people going through the same thing.

Yet, while life coaches can use their skills to understand and empower their clients in these ways, they’re not qualified to work on a deeper level. In other words, they cannot treat mental health difficulties and conditions, and it would be dangerous for them to do so. Therefore, life coaches should be able to identify when a client needs to see a mental health professional instead and refer them on.6 

Why Distinguish Between Life Coaching and Therapy?

It’s important to distinguish life coaching from therapy and other forms of mental health support because confusing them can prevent people from getting the right care for their needs.3 

In general, we are more vulnerable when we’re experiencing mental health conditions and difficulties. Therefore, someone may be at risk of worsening symptoms if they go to a life coach instead of receiving psychotherapeutic treatments that are scientifically proven to work.3 

Furthermore, life coaching is an unregulated profession. This means there are no legal requirements in terms of training, education, licensing, or supervision. Life coaching organizations and their members usually regulate themselves and uphold standards, but they don’t have a legal motivation to do so.3 

While many life coaches are highly skilled in what they do and committed to working ethically, ultimately, if a client is harmed by coaching techniques, they’re not legally protected.3 

Therefore, clients must do what they can to seek out the right form of support, find a life coach who works ethically, and recognize when they need therapy instead.

Life Coaching vs Counseling and Psychotherapy

When you know the differences between life coaching and psychotherapy, you’re better able to choose the right form of support for you. Life coaching vs counseling and psychotherapy differ in several ways, including the following:

  • Life coaches focus on the present     and work on building mindsets and habits that can help their clients reach their goals. In contrast, therapists often explore the past to help clients understand themselves and process their emotions.7 
  • Life coaches aim to empower their clients right from the start of their sessions. In contrast, therapists allow clients to exercise their own autonomy. Through this autonomy, clients develop confidence in their own abilities to succeed.2 
  • Therapists facilitate change by helping clients process their emotions. They see self-understanding as essential for long-term change.6 Life coaches may not focus on the past, choosing to concentrate only on the present mindset and behavioral shifts for long-term change.
  • Life coaches may use their own life experience and expertise to pass on to clients as advice. Therapists do not give advice based on personal experiences, but enable their clients to discover their own inner wisdom.
  • Therapists typically practice a certain modality that has a well-established theoretical framework, for example, psychodynamic or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Life coaching can use a mixture of techniques, but is not founded on well-defined theories.
  • Life coaching is not regulated by the law, but there are professional ethics bodies that life coaches can register with. Each state has different regulations for psychotherapy, binding professionals to laws around confidentiality and requiring supervision.

These key differences in relationship, method, and foundation create totally distinct experiences for clients. Each offers a different take on ‘what goes wrong’ and how change can occur. Next, we’ll explore the issues you might take to coaching vs counseling.

How Does Life Coaching Help?

To ensure you’re safe and effectively treated, it’s important to know where life coaching should end and therapy should begin.3 On top of the differences listed above, coaching and therapy differ in terms of the issues they can safely deal with. Specifically, counselors and psychotherapists are trained to work with people who have different mental health conditions and have experienced trauma.7 

Meanwhile, life coaches can work with people who have less painful issues (though still meaningful challenges). They’re concerned with unlocking their clients’ potential and maximising their performance by helping them think in new and alternative ways. For example, they may help people cultivate a healthier lifestyle or diet.4 

Others may go to a life coach if they need help quitting smoking or losing weight. The coach may be specialized in helping people with health issues, perhaps from working in the fitness or nutrition industries. Alternatively, they may simply have personal experience in overcoming these issues.2 

Some life coaches specialize in the realm of careers. Clients might approach them if they’re job hunting or undergoing a significant transition in their career. For instance, they may need help with interview techniques and improving their confidence. Others may wish to talk with someone who can help them define what they actually want from a career.6 

In general, life coaching can help people build new skills, grow their self-belief, and feel they have someone keeping them accountable. As a result, many feel more resilient, capable, determined, and optimistic after life coaching.4 

If it becomes apparent in your life coaching sessions that you’re struggling with a mental health condition, your life coach may recommend that you also have therapy. Depending on their specialism and experience, they may be able to refer you to specific providers who can help. 

How Do Life Coaches Refer Clients to Therapy?

If a life coach is aware of their own limits, they will likely notice when a client needs a type of support that they’re unable to give. So, how do life coaches connect clients to therapy? The process may not be as formal as you might expect.5 

The following is an example scenario to explain the mental health care referral process for life coaching:

Someone approaches a life coach wanting help with cultivating healthier eating habits. A few weeks down the line, the coach may notice the client is showing signs of an eating disorder. Realizing their client needs specialist mental health support, they might raise their concerns with them. For instance, they may gently bring the issues into the client’s awareness and explain that it’s outside of the scope of their ability to help. Finally, they may then work with the client to research specialists they could see instead. 

Even if you do go through with the referral and access specialist treatment, your life coach can still stay in touch. They may feel checking in with you is part of their duty of care. Alternatively, although you may wish to continue getting support from your life coach after the referral, they might believe it’s unethical to keep coaching you when there’s an underlying issue.7 If this is the case, they will likely communicate this in open ways. 

Mental health referrals from life coaches are very important, perhaps leading you to appropriate treatment for the first time. Next, we’ll explore what your options might look like after referral.

Therapy Options After Life Coaching

Therapy options for life coaching clients are widely varied. Depending on your specific condition and difficulties, coaching referrals for mental health improvement may include one of the following:

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy     (CBT): This technique is proven to work very well for anxiety, phobias, and many other conditions. In sessions, people typically learn how to manage the automatic thoughts that perpetuate their condition. There are different types of CBT, including ones that specialize in treating insomnia or teaching mindfulness.8 
  • Psychodynamic therapy: This form of therapy specifically focuses on the past. In sessions, clients learn about themselves, including their inner conflicts and deep motivations for their beliefs and behaviors. The therapist would draw on these to explore experiences in the present moment, helping to identify patterns. Psychodynamic therapy can treat a wide range of conditions, but it is a longer-term commitment than techniques like CBT.8 
  • Inpatient therapy: Inpatient referrals through life coaches are usually for people with more severe symptoms. Inpatient care often involves intensive therapy, perhaps including group therapy, as well as medication management and 24-hour care. Therefore, it’s most appropriate for those struggling to take care of themselves or who risk harming themselves or others.

Within these three types of care, there are many specialisms and modalities. Whether you need support for depression, trauma, an eating disorder, or something else, there are many options out there. A mental health professional can advise you on the best approach for your specific needs. 

Mission Connection: Get Flexible Mental Health Support Today

At Mission Connection, we understand that traditional therapy models don’t work for everyone. This is why we offer a range of services to suit your personal circumstances. Whether you’d like it to be in-person, online, or in a group therapy setting, our therapies can be personalized for you.

We only operate using evidence-based techniques, so you can feel confident that your well-being and recovery success are safe in our hands. Referrals from life coaches are welcome, and we consistently strive to provide continued care – beyond just immediate symptom reduction. Get in touch with our team of licensed professionals to discuss your treatment today.

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References

  1. Chamlou, N. (2022, March 16). What is life coaching? | Psychology.org. Psychology.org. https://www.psychology.org/resources/what-is-life-coaching/
  2. The British Psychological Society. (n.d.). Coaching has great potential in the world of mental health. https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/coaching-has-great-potential-world-mental-health
  3. Aboujaoude, E. (2020). Where life coaching ends and therapy begins: Toward a less confusing treatment landscape. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(4), 973–977. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620904962
  4. Ammentorp, J., Uhrenfeldt, L., Angel, F., Ehrensvärd, M., Carlsen, E. B., & Kofoed, P.-E. (2013). Can life coaching improve health outcomes? – A systematic review of intervention studies. BMC Health Services Research, 13(1), 428. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-428
  5. Psychology Today. (2025). Life coaches and mental illness. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/women-who-stray/201402/life-coaches-and-mental-illness
  6. Psychology Today. (2024). Coaching. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/coaching
  7. International Coaching Federation. (n.d.). Referring a client to therapy. https://coachingfederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/icf-research-guide-referring-client-to-therapy.pdf
  8. Psychology Today. (2025). Therapy types and modalities. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/therapy/therapy-types-and-modalities/amp