What is the difference between life coaching and traditional therapy?

I have a doctoral degree in psychology which has given me a fantastic background and wealth of knowledge about human nature and behaviour from which I can draw as a life coach.

As I see it, therapy and my approach to life coaching share some important core principles, e.g., a person-centred, empathetic approach and unconditional positive regard for the client. However, I believe there are three key differences between the way I coach and therapy, namely:

Orientation: in therapy the focus is on helping clients deal with the past; whereas I focus on the future and assume you are ready to attempt to pursue a fulfilled, authentic life.

Goals: therapy aims to ‘fix’ problems, or at least make them less debilitating; I aim to help you create new opportunities and get more out of life.

Relationships: the therapist:client relationship is often based on an expert:patient model; whereas in coaching, you and I are more like partners.