When you want something to change in your life, it’s helpful to seek out a professional. Once you accept that you need help, you may be thinking – do I need a therapist, a coach, or a consultant?

It depends on your stage of life and your needs. You may even need a combination of professionals. And that doesn’t mean that you need any of them forever. We all go through different seasons in our lives and it’s perfectly fine to get some outside help.

For me, I like to look at in the terms of our baseline. Your baseline is where you are content. Your life feels pretty normal and you’re good with how things are. When you are at your baseline, then you don’t necessarily need any professional assistance. Also, everyone’s baseline is different. Do not compare your baseline to someone else. You know yourself, so trust yourself when thinking about what it is that you need.

When you are not feeling your best, you are below your baseline. When you are below your baseline, it is usually best to work with a therapist. Therapy is provided by a healthcare professional that can diagnose and resolve mental and physical behaviors. A therapist usually focuses on past traumas to change behaviors and work through feelings. A therapist can analyze past situations and identify how they have impacted present behaviors. Resolving issues with a therapist is very powerful to move forward and to get you back to your baseline.

When you are at your baseline and have a desire to want more and to achieve a new goal, a coach is recommended. A coach works with clients to help them get clear on their goals and make an actionable plan to achieve results. A coach can help you identify your blocks and come up with strategies to overcome any issues so that you can keep moving towards your goal. When working with a coach, they help you to pull out the answers from within yourself to get you to where you want to be.

Another route to go when achieving something new is a consultant. A consultant is an expert in a particular field and has the knowledge that you are seeking. Consultants are able to provide a how to manual or teach you a specific process to achieve results. When you work with a consultant they provide you with the answer to a specific problem.

I also like to think of therapy, coaching and consulting as walking on a path. If you’ve gotten off of the path you want to walk on then you need therapy to get back to your path. If you want to find a new path that’s best for you and want some guidance along the way, get a coach. If you want to walk on the same proven path as someone else, get a consultant.

We are all on different paths and need different resources along the way. I hope that you have found this useful in determining whether you currently need therapy, coaching or consulting right now.

If you are looking for a coach, I would love to help you along your path. Book your free coaching call here.

Be YOU. BeYOUtiful.