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by Connor D. Jackson, JD<\/a><\/p>\n Connor D. Jackson is a healthcare attorney based in Chicago who serves independent practices in several states. Visit his firm\u2019s website here<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Therapists have the education, license, and clinical training required to prepare them for their day-to-day work with clients. But those things also come with restrictions: licenses are usually state-specific, and each state\u2019s laws set forth a therapist\u2019s legal responsibilities (like mandatory reporting). This leaves some therapists eyeing the \u201ccoaching\u201d industry and profession with envy and asking, \u201cWhy don\u2019t the same rules apply?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Or at least they <\/span>should<\/span><\/i> be very different things! Therapists are healthcare providers, while coaches are not. While every state requires therapists to be licensed, no state regulates or licenses coaches. Due to the lack of license requirements, coaches do not necessarily have\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A coach is not a healthcare professional and cannot do work that infringes on a therapist\u2019s legal scope of practice.\u00a0 Under the law, coaches cannot do any of the following:<\/span><\/p>\n Any coach who delivers services that mirror the scope of practice of a licensed psychotherapist <\/span>risks felony charges<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Illinois, for example, regulatory authorities have sanctioned unlicensed persons who step into the realm of licensed mental health care. The following examples are from <\/span>disciplinary reports from IDFPF<\/span> (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation):<\/span><\/p>\n Other states have been similarly strict. For instance, Oregon found that a woman\u2019s \u201ccoaching\u201d services were professional counseling services and <\/span>sanctioned her.<\/span><\/p>\n In many states, licensed providers have protected language. In other words, people who do <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> hold that same license are not legally allowed to use certain words to promote or describe their services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In California, for example, LMFTs\u2019 practice act says:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo person may engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy… unless he or she holds a valid license as a marriage and family therapist\u2026 nor may any person advertise himself or herself as performing the services of a marriage, family, child, domestic, or marital consultant, or in any way use these or any similar titles, including the letters \u201cL.M.F.T.\u201d \u201cM.F.T,\u201d or \u201cM.F.C.C,\u201d or other name, word initial, or symbol in connection with or following his or her name to imply that he or she performs these services without a license as provided by this chapter.\u201d (BPC \u00a7 4980(b))<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Coaches who use protected words or abbreviations can be penalized for practicing the licensed profession without a license. So even if she\u2019s never seen a single client, \u201cCarrie Coach, MFT\u201d is illegally holding herself out to the public as a marriage and family therapist.<\/span><\/p>\n For patients, a string of letters after a professional\u2019s name can signal credentials and qualifications<\/a>. But in healthcare, letters mean something specific.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As an example, consider a life coach who works with couples, Jane Jones, CPC, CSC, CHLC. Jane\u2019s credentials? She\u2019s a Certified Professional Coach, Certified Sex Coach, and a Certified Health & Life Coach. She obtained all of these certificates from nonaccredited, for-profit businesses, and some of them were non-interactive, online-only programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In healthcare, some of the acronyms that Jane is using also mean other things. A CSC may be a licensed nurse who has completed additional training to earn a cardiac surgery certification. And a healthcare practice may require that their administrator be a CPC\u2014or a certified professional coder trained in medical billing.<\/span><\/p>\n Imagine that a couple experiencing marital strain rooted in a traumatic event is searching for help. They find a listing for Jane, who has glowing online reviews from those who claim she saved their marriage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The couple compares Jane\u2019s online profile with that of Tara Thomas, LCP. Tara is a licensed clinical psychologist with no reviews, as soliciting them from patients violates her practice act. Tara holds a Ph.D. in psychology from an accredited university, and she has significant clinical experience. She has completed all of the requirements to obtain her state license, and she bills her services to insurance. She can also diagnose one partner\u2019s PTSD, and she protects her records per HIPAA.<\/span><\/p>\n Jane Jones and Tara Thomas have starkly different experience and qualifications, yet they\u2019re sometimes \u201ccompeting\u201d for the same clientele. However, it\u2019s crucial to note that a coach whose work too closely mirrors Tara\u2019s is likely practicing psychology without a license \u2014 a criminal offense in many states!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Licensed psychotherapists may view the grass as greener in the coaching industry<\/a>. However, while it may be tempting for therapists to call themselves coaches to avoid regulatory oversight, doing so can create more (not fewer) headaches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Coaches are subject to the same legal regulations as therapists \u2014 they just have a much harder time satisfying them! Therapists have the credentials, practice acts, and legally articulated role in population health. Meanwhile, coaches\u2019 conduct isn\u2019t regulated by any state\u2019s law, but if they step into any of the areas within the scope of therapists\u2019 practice, they, too, will face legal consequences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the end, there are no shortcuts to becoming a healthcare provider.<\/span><\/p>\n This article is made for educational purposes and is not intended to be specific legal advice to any particular person. It does not create an attorney-client relationship between Jackson LLP Healthcare Attorneys and the reader.<\/span><\/i> It<\/span><\/i> should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n by Connor D. Jackson, JD Connor D. Jackson is a healthcare attorney based in Chicago who serves independent practices in several states. Visit his firm?s website here. Psychotherapy vs. Coaching: What?s the Legal Distinction? Therapists have the education, license, and clinical training required to prepare them for their day-to-day work with clients. But those things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[627,1509,1899,529,207,159],"tags":[1753,560,579,707,1527,1524],"class_list":["post-41693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-of-therapy","category-entrepreneur","category-for-therapists","category-good-therapy-announcements","category-marketing-for-therapists","category-therapy-news","tag-best-practices-for-therapists","tag-coaching","tag-for-therapists","tag-life-coaching","tag-marketing-for-therapists","tag-private-practice-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Psychotherapy vs. Coaching: What\u2019s the Legal Distinction?<\/span><\/h1>\n
Therapy and coaching are very different things.<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Protected Language<\/span><\/h2>\n
Licenses vs. Certificates<\/span><\/h2>\n
Psychotherapists Who Practice as \u201cCoaches\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n
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One key benefit of psychotherapy regulation is fundamentally protective. Both mental health providers and the public benefit from a clear definition of roles and responsibilities in the practice of psychotherapy. A regulatory body can to step in and discipline a therapist who is acting outside their scope of practice; nothing like that exists in the world of coaching. Check out our classic article “50 Warning Signs of Questionable Therapy and Counseling<\/a>” to learn more about behaviors to avoid as a therapist, both regulated and unregulated.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"