As a “traditionally” trained psychologist I looked at a range of “talking” or psychotherapies that are available. I have even tried some of them!

However it is the life coaching approach that I think is the most sensible and likely to succeed with most people.With respect to other practioners of these psychotherapies this is my brief view of their strengths and weaknesses.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Freud and the psychoanalyists for inventing psychotherapy and showing that it can have a beneficial effect of people. Prior to this medical treatment had to take a physical form.

However I have two problems with how psychoanalysis subsequently developed.

It appears to look for solutions to your present problems in your past.                   Secondly it imposes a structure on interpretation of past events that appears to me to be similar to a religious system. I do not understand how it was developed and I am not allowed to question it. The practioner becomes a “priest like” figure and the client is manipulated rather than empowered.Courses of psychoanalysis can last for years!

In the 1960s the “um ur” school of counselling developed. This was based on purely listening and not making any input to the client. The theory was that the therapist just by listening the client would encourage a client to get their problems out in the open. The continued non-input from the counsellor would enable them to talk round the problem and in doing so solve it they. This has an element of life coaching in it in that the solution comes from the client and is therefore much more likely to succeed. The disadvantage is that with no structure for getting to the root of a problem finding or reaching a solution it would only helps a very articulate minority. There is no commitment on the part of the therapist to reach a solution. Specialist counselling is undoubtedly good and beneficial in that the practioner can gain specialist knowledge of an area of concern and can guide the client to the best outcome. In this category I would put relationship counselling, bereavement counselling, trauma counselling and gambling/debt counselling. I think that everyone thinking of using a life coach should decide if it is really a specialist counsellor they need either before taking life coaching or to run parallel to life coaching. A good life coach will explore this possibility and advise on this on the first meeting with the client.

CBT is the therapy of the moment and is very fashionable. At its basis is changing the client’s attitude so they do not focus on the negatives in their life but rather on the positives. They are to be persuaded that their glass is half full rather than half empty. We have all practiced this in its simplest form and for many people especially those suffering depression I think it is a good form of therapy and far preferable to drugs. I use a CBT approach with children as part of my work.  It does not help you sort out your priorities and give you a plan forward. It also appears to be based in the here and now and not in the future. I have great respect for CBT and think that it should be used far more in the health service. However it does rather medicalise a problem.