Coaching? Counselling? What’s the difference?

How does coaching with brainstrust work?

The coaching relationship is built on collaboration. It is not essential that the person coaching has more experience of the coachee’s situation than the coachee, and the coach will use questions to facilitate the coachee’s thinking.

At brainstrust, we listen, listen some more and then ask questions. We focus on achieving specific, immediate goals that relate to specific issues – for example, weighing up the pros and cons of having a particular treatment, or overcoming a problem encountered as a caregiver. We also know that, through coaching, clients can also experience a sense of healing, as they make courageous decisions about their lives and work. Coaching focuses on helping people to not just face the future but achieve a better quality of life, through developing practical solutions that work for them.

What is counselling?

Counselling comes into play when support is needed to understand psychological distress associated with what is sometimes referred to as ‘problems with living’. For example, it may be helpful for someone who is struggling to cope or feeling very anxious or depressed. Counselling tends to have a broader focus and greater depth than coaching. It helps people to explore and understand the feelings that are causing them grief and to identify and explore steps for moving beyond these feelings to make positive changes in their lives. Counselling can be very challenging, as it can often unearth very painful feelings, make people confront unresolved personal issues and challenge them to change the way they go about their lives today and in the future. Counsellors help people by building a supportive relationship that is based on the essential qualities of acceptance, warmth, genuineness and empathy. Like coaching, they do not offer solutions or advice, but instead help the client to identify their own issues and ways of moving forward.

What is right for me?

Both counselling and coaching can transform the way that people see themselves, how they can move forward and deal with the challenges they face and how they might have a better quality of life. At brainstrust, we are delighted to be able to offer both of these services to patients and caregivers as part of our extensive commitment to provide practical, effective support.

Our counsellors work with all adults affected by a childhood brain tumour diagnosis. We occasionally have a counsellor who can work with older teenagers too. Our coaches work with everyone affected by a brain tumour, and this includes teenagers. Get in touch to find out more about this service.

Coaching for parents

When your child is diagnosed with a brain tumour, your routine, role and responsibilities suddenly change.

The warp and weft of our lives, which we have woven together over years, is suddenly torn apart. We feel lost and question who we are, what our roles are and how to move forward. Such a diagnosis has a huge impact on us, our ability to support children, maintain our own well-being and be resilient. We worry about how we can juggle supporting a sick child, being strong when we feel far from strong, making sure any siblings are included, keeping on top of things and maintaining work priorities. Maintaining our levels of well-being is a key strategy to get through such an unprecedented time of change.

This is where coaching can help. Our qualified coaches can help you navigate your way through. Whether it is emotional support for you or for your child, or working out how to manage the shift in the changing family dynamics, or addressing the more pragmatic things, like how to deal with the overwhelm, how to live with uncertainty, we can help.