Coaching and Therapy

At Still Waters, Inc., all of our services are provided within a Judeo-Christian Biblical worldview and always include a prayerful focus.

A provider may be both a therapist and a personal coach. They will clearly define which role they are in with each client's mutual consent. A client may have both a therapist and a coach, but they would not generally be the same person for both. A coach can and should refer a client for professional therapy if that appears to be needed and a therapist may well refer a client to a coach for specific areas of need. Even if a coach is also a therapist, they would generally refer to another therapist if that need were evident in order to prevent confusion of expectations in their already established relationship. Coaches and therapists can and do refer to one another if they see specialty needs.

In the end, for all of our efforts to describe our coaching relationships, we come down to the bedrock fact: that each one will be unique in itself because we are leaning into the Spirit to guide us as we stand with each person in the way that is most needed.

Need vs. Want

Therapy is often about what people need to do to alleviate symptoms or recover from mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.

Coaching is something people want to receive in order to improve the quality of their lives.

Location

Therapy is generally provided in a face-to-face session held in a specific office. It is generally restricted to that setting by state guidelines (and therapists preference). These guidelines in many states do not allow for provision of services on a regular basis by telephone or across state lines.

Coaching may be provided in a face-to-face office setting but is most often provided by telephone or Internet connections or in an alternate location acceptable to both coach and client, such as a restaurant, park, etc. There is no restriction to the locations of coach and client so people can choose a coach in their home town across the nation or across an ocean. Coaching boundaries are little more flexible than therapy boundaries but remain subject to appropriate considerations for the safety and well being of both coach and client.

Back to Main Coaching Page

Many Christians worry that if
they have DEPRESSION there is something
wrong with their FAITH.

Are you one of them?

• Have you wondered if feeling discouraged means you are failing God?
• Does taking medication mean my faith is weak?
• Shouldn't Christians who have received the Holy Spirit be protected from depression?
• Do you feel the need to look "perfect" while your friends seem so high in their faith and you feel so depressed?
• Do Christians choose to be depressed or are they being tested by God?
• How do you reconcile unkind or dishonest behavior from those who claim the title of Christian?
• Why do Christians feel so uncomfortable acknowledging depression?
• Does Hebrews 10:26 bother you and seem like a condemnation for one in depression?
• How do I help a friend or relative who is both a Christian Believer and struggling with depression?

After collecting real questions that Christians have, I put my faith and years of counseling and coaching experience to work to respond to these heart cries in a written format. My goal was to provide sound basic information and then address these questions in a conversational style, as though I was sitting together with the questioner.