Life Coaching vs. Therapeutic Coaching - Why Goal-Setting Isn’t Enough When Your Body Is Asking for a New Way
We often talk about change as something bold.
A leap of faith.
A decisive pivot.
A clear goal paired with a clear plan.
And for many seasons of life, that approach works beautifully.
Life coaching and leadership coaching are powerful when you know where you’re going—when the destination is visible and your nervous system has the capacity to move toward it.
But there are seasons when change doesn’t look like that at all.
There are seasons when your body is asking for something different—and you don’t yet have words for what that is.
In those moments, goal-setting alone can feel less like support and more like pressure.
When change isn’t about getting somewhere— but about not staying here
Many of the women I work with aren’t lacking motivation or discipline.
They’re tired.
They’re navigating a Health SHIFT—injury recovery, postpartum changes, perimenopause, burnout, chronic pain or prolonged stress.
They don’t know exactly what they want their life to look like yet.
They just know one thing:
“I can’t keep doing it this way.”
And they’re not built for blind leaps.
They don’t want to burn everything down or push through at all costs.
They want to change—without losing themselves in the process.
That is real change.
It simply starts differently.
When goal-setting becomes pressure instead of support
During high-stress or recovery seasons, the brain often defaults to productivity:
push harder
do what worked before
go fast or stop completely
override body signals in the name of efficiency
This can create a familiar cycle:
push → flare, reinjure/shut down → stop → frustration → repeat
Over time, this cycle quietly takes things away:
movement, confidence, trust in your body, connection to joy and spontaneity.
Many women internalize this as:
“Maybe this is just what getting older feels like.”
But it’s not aging.
It’s a nervous system that hasn’t felt safe enough to slow down.
The missing piece: nervous system safety
When your body has experienced pain, injury, illness, or prolonged stress, it adapts to protect you.
That protection may show up as:
persistent fatigue or tension
fear of movement or reinjury
overthinking, irritability, or shutdown
pushing through despite warning signs
This isn’t failure.
It’s intelligence.
But when you don’t know how to listen to what your body is communicating, the loudest voice—the productivity-driven mind—tends to take over.
And this is where traditional goal-setting can unintentionally keep you stuck.
Therapeutic coaching helps you return to alignment with your body, mind, and values as you heal—so you can move forward steadily, not forcefully.
Life coaching vs. therapeutic coaching: what’s the difference?
Life coaching typically focuses on:
goals and outcomes
mindset shifts and strategy
accountability and forward action
Life coaching works best when:
the destination is clear
your nervous system has capacity
action feels supportive rather than overwhelming
Therapeutic coaching includes those elements—and adds what’s needed when the destination isn’t yet clear.
Therapeutic coaching focuses on:
nervous system regulation
somatic (body-based) awareness
pacing, recovery, and capacity building
rebuilding trust after injury, burnout, or health transitions
It’s not psychotherapy.
It’s coaching with the body included.
Therapeutic coaching supports change when clarity comes after safety—not before.
Why relief often comes before clarity
In therapeutic coaching, many women experience relief first.
Relief from slowing down.
Relief from not forcing answers.
Relief from moving away from what’s been draining them—before knowing exactly what they’re moving toward.
As the nervous system settles:
thinking softens
priorities reorganize
intuition becomes accessible again
Only then does a truer sense of alignment begin to take shape—one that includes work, family, health, rest, and the life you’re actually living.
The SHIFT Method was created - to support women during a Health SHIFT
Moments when the body requires a slower pace, new boundaries, or a different way of living (often due to burnout, injury, illness, postpartum changes, or perimenopause). While these transitions are rarely chosen, they frequently create the conditions for meaningful reflection and values-based change.
In my work, I consistently see women discover that slowing down opens space — space to reassess priorities, reconnect with themselves, and realign their lives with what is genuinely important.The SHIFT Method
S — Step out of survival
Learn to recognize when your body is stuck in fight-or-flight and how to gently downshift. Internal safety is the foundation for healing and clarity.
H — Hear your body
Pain, fatigue, tension, and restlessness aren’t problems to fix—they’re signals. You’ll learn how to interpret them with curiosity rather than judgment.
I — Integrate sustainable recovery
Instead of all-or-nothing resets, we focus on small, consistent practices—movement, breath, rest, and daylight—that fit real life.
F — Feel safe resting
Rest isn’t a reward for productivity. You’ll learn how to rest without guilt, fear, or the need to earn it.
T — Trust your pace and intuition
Healing isn’t linear. You’ll learn how to honor your timing, set the bar down, and move forward with confidence and alignment.
You don’t need to leap—you need support while you cross
Your body is talking.
If you’re navigating a Health SHIFT and craving personal insight more than more information, therapeutic coaching may be the bridge you’ve been looking for.
📩 If this resonates, you’re welcome to email me.
There’s no pressure—just a conversation about what support could look like for you in 2026.
