Life Coach vs. Spiritual Director: Which One Do I Need?

We all need a little extra help and support at times, especially if you’re a busy, often overwhelmed mom like many of my clients. This is why many seek guidance from a life coach or spiritual director.

I recently read the following from Father Jacques Phillippe:

“When one does not know what is best, one must reflect, consider and take counsel….

The Lord doesn’t want us to be self sufficient and permits that sometimes we find ourselves in the impossibility of peace by ourselves so to accept help through the intermediary of another person to whom we can open up. 

Regarding interior peace, which is precious, we know that at certain moments in our lives we cannot find it by ourselves without the help of someone to whom we can open up our souls.”

Perhaps you have wondered about finding someone to whom you can open up your soul.

Should you go to therapy?

Hire a life coach?

Chat with a spiritual director? 

Today I want to help you better understand the difference between a life coach and a spiritual director so you can decide which might be right for you. But there's also a third option: a spiritual life coach.

What is a Life Coach? 

A certified life coach is someone who has an established process for helping you get real results in your life.

A life coach is future-focused, meaning that she helps her client create the results they want moving forward rather than spending time focusing on past pain or experiences, as you might do in therapy.

A life coach can help you achieve any kind of goal you have for yourself. She provides a space for you to show up to every single week with whatever negative feelings and problems you need to work through. She helps you see the thoughts causing the negative feelings and create intentional thoughts to use instead. 

A life coach has a library of tools to help you overcome limiting beliefs, self-doubt, overwhelm, and anxiety. 

A life coach helps you do things you thought were impossible, keeps you accountable, shows you where you’re growing, and tells you the truth. 

A life coach can help you transform ANY area of your life:

• your relationship with God
• your marriage
• your health
• your parenting
• your career, your money
• how you show up to your life each day

What is a Spiritual Director?

The purpose of spiritual direction is rooted in forming and cultivating a relationship with Jesus Christ. A spiritual director is someone who can specifically help you deepen that relationship. She can help you see where God is communicating with you and guiding you.

It is not about solving problems in your life and it’s not confession. It is about cultivating a life more attuned to spirituality and God. 

A spiritual director intends to facilitate your relationship with God and is not someone who has all the answers themselves. She often asks questions to assist you in deeper reflection. A commitment to an active prayer life is a necessary part of receiving spiritual direction.

The goal is to specifically grow your own spirituality.

What is Spiritual Life Coaching?

Combining life coaching with spirituality as a Spiritual Life Coach

The benefit of working with a Catholic Life Coach like me is being able to combine life coaching with some elements of spiritual direction — and a foundational focus on faith. 

Because my Catholic faith is a central part of who I am and how I coach, it is natural for me to bring God into the conversation of coaching.

We have a foundational understanding that God is the creator of this human mind of ours. We know that He wants us to look to Christ’s teachings and example as well as our own minds and ways of thinking that either move us closer to or further from Him.

In working with a Spiritual Director, you would likely be focused entirely on the spiritual life, but with a life coach, we can talk about absolutely anything.

We can work together to improve your marriage, relationships, career, health, home and life management, scheduling your time better, overcoming overwhelm, and so much more. 

And best of all, in working with a Catholic Life Coach like me, every conversation will be rooted in the shared understanding of faith.

What do YOU need?

Now that you have a better understanding of the difference between a life coach and a spiritual director and how my niche blends benefits of both, I encourage you to think and pray about what it is that YOU need moving forward in your life.

Trust in your ability to discern by the Spirit which is the best fit for you right now.

Do you need someone to specifically help you grow in your relationship with God or to offer direction during a life or career transition? Are you less interested in specific life coaching tools and want to remain entirely focused on spiritual matters? A spiritual director may be a good fit for you.

Do you need someone to help and support you in one specific area (marriage, health, relationships, etc.) outside of spirituality — or even in many areas of your life? Do you want to learn the life coaching tools and skills to be able to achieve your goals, get past overwhelm, and create specific results in your life? If so, a life coach would be a great fit for you.

And if the idea of having a Catholic or faith-based life coach appeals to you, I’d love for you to join me on a free 30-minute consult. I can get to know you, offer coaching tools, and tell you about working with me to reach your life goals and help you make improvements.

>> Schedule your call here.

by Danielle Thienel

@daniellethienelcoaching

Danielle is a wife, mom, member of the Catholic faith, certified life coach, host of The Peaceful Mind Podcast, and author of The Cyclone Mom Method. She is dedicated to helping moms live with more peace, balance, and joy and stepping into their God-given potential.