Creative Conversations

Differences between Mentoring/Coaching

and Psychotherapy

 

There are inevitable areas of overlap between the two, for a start my knowledge and experience as a therapist comes with me to mentoring work. There are also important distinctions to be aware of. At the end of the page is an 'at a glance' guide. Psychotherapy and mentoring each have many different forms, so my comments here are exclusively in relation to how I approach them. 

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Art Psychotherapy is a profession regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK. My work as a Creative Mentor is something entirely separate, and when we work together in mentoring I am not acting in my capacity as an Art Psychotherapist, and we are not engaging in Art Psychotherapy.  

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If you are seeing a psychotherapist whilst we are working together this is of course private, however it might be beneficial for you and I to discuss how we can ensure our mentoring work is complementary to that process, and avoid any blurring of boundaries. 

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For full information on my Psychotherapy practice, see this section of the website.

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Who I can work with as a mentor/coach,

and who I am unable to work with

 

For reasons relating to personal and ethical boundaries, potential conflicts of interest, and professional obligations, I am unable to engage in mentoring with people who I have previously worked with as a psychotherapist. The same also applies the other way around.

 

If we already know one another in some capacity, it is for us to decide whether working together in mentoring would be appropriate for each of us. The difference with psychotherapy is that I cannot work with people I already know personally, and people who are related or closely connected to people I know.

 

Working together online in Psychotherapy is only available to those living in the United Kingdom. Mentoring is available for UK and international clients.

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Reasons for beginning

 

Mentoring maintains a focus on the themes described in the Mentoring area of this website; Art and Creativity, Spirituality, Psyche and Soul, Nature, Work and Purpose. Whilst we all have our work to do in terms of understanding and resolving inner conflicts and pain, this will not be the expressed intention of our mentoring work together. Mentoring will be 'therapeutic' in the broad sense of the words original meaning, to care for the soul.

 

What usually brings an individual to my Psychotherapy practice is some form of suffering or distress, problem, or challenging circumstances, resulting in what we might think of as ‘symptoms’ that manifest in ‘disturbance’ to emotions, thoughts, and behaviour. The primary intention at the start is generally the healing of troubling psychological experience. The work may then deepen and expand from there, with a particular emphasis on healing inner wounds. 

 

In both mentoring and therapy I am concerned with the life of the soul, and how difficulties or challenges can be guides and openings to depth, meaning, and transformation. Or in other words; the lifelong task of becoming yourself.  

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Process of the work

 

In psychotherapy you can express whatever comes to mind at the time, and we will follow the ebb and flow of psyche's weave - wherever it may lead. There is an intentional exploration of the emotions, thoughts, and behaviour, how they are subject to influences from the unconscious (both personal and collective), as well as factors such as culture and environment. Examining the clients relationships to both self and other is also a core ongoing aspect of therapy, but not in mentoring.

 

During mentoring you may need to describe various aspects of life which feature in your work, provide inspiration, or present obstacles, but there will be a certain limit to which we explore personal problems and difficulties. Mentoring will have genuine depth and healing potential to it, and you are welcome to be open with me about your experiences. I will gently guide us back towards our agreed intentions for the work if I feel we are moving too far from the scope of a mentoring perspective.     

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The working relationship and boundaries

 

In psychotherapy we actively utilise the relationship between therapist and patient by exploring what is going on between us, and how our relating is being experienced. This is one of the main ways of finding out about the inner life and personality of the client/patient. This is not a feature of the working relationship in mentoring. We would also be paying particular attention to how the practical aspects which comprise the ‘frame’ of the therapy (consistent session timings, attendance, the therapy space, the fee and its payment, etc) are also of symbolic significance to the therapy itself. In mentoring we will not be thinking about these elements in the same way as we might do in therapy.

 

Interaction between therapist and client is limited to the therapy session, and correspondence through email for administrative purposes only.

 

In mentoring/coaching the relationship is still professional, but with a different sense of formality to it than a psychotherapeutic one. You are employing me for a particular purpose, and that is to be there for you as a mentor rather than as a friend or any other kind of relationship. However, if there is genuine mutual ground, perhaps in terms of shared interests or work, then the boundaries do not need to be as stringent as they would be in the psychotherapy relationship. You can expect me to maintain a high standard of integrity, require nothing from you other than payment of the fee, and not to impinge upon you in any way.     

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Which is right for you?

 

You might decide that you would value the freedom to look closer at whatever may present itself as we go along, in which case Psychotherapy would offer you this opportunity. You will find detailed information on the Psychotherapy area of this website.