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What Co-active Coaching isn't

It's not counseling.
Counseling involves receiving advice or guidance from a knowledgeable person. Co-active coaching creates a partnership between the client and the coach which allows the client to find or create her/his own answers.

It's not mentoring.
A mentor is a "wise and trusted counselor or teacher." Co-active coaches might certainly be wise but their job is not to teach or give advice – it's to recognize and support the wise mentor the client has within her/himself.

It's not consulting.
Consultants provide expertise in particular areas. Their job is to make assessments, recommend solutions and perhaps help implement solutions. Co-active coaches may have expertise in particular areas but their job is not to make assessments or give solutions. Rather it's to support the client's ability to produce the kinds of results she/he wants in her life.

It's not therapy.
Therapists are trained to help their clients understand and heal from aspects of their past which may be holding them back. Co-active coaching has its focus more on the present and the future - and on taking action. While coaching may have a healing impact, the emphasis is more on growth and development. Coaches are responsible for identifying situations which are not appropriate for coaching and may make referrals to therapists.

Co-active coaching can include using many different resources. Sometimes clients work with counselors, mentors, consultants or therapists at the same time as they are in a coaching process.

What coaching is

And here's the official International Coach Federation definition:

Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Professional coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives.

Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful. The coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.

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