What does a Life Coach do? (and what they don’t do)
What can a Life Coach do for you?
In short: A Life Coach helps you gain clarity on what you want, understand what may be holding you back, and take confident, practical steps forward. You can expect a practical, future-oriented process focused on compassionate self-reflection to help you make decisions that are right for you.
Gain clarity on your direction
Understand what’s holding you back
Cultivate self-compassion and self-awareness
Make confident decisions
Take practical, consistent action
Breaks cycle of rumination and calms your mind
Improves connection with self and others
Create meaningful, lasting change
what can a Life Coach not do for you?
In short, a Life Coach should not diagnose mental health conditions, treat trauma, tell you what to do, oversell your results, cross professional or personal boundaries, put their needs before yours, or promise you unrealistic results. Life Coaches never shame, exploit or pressurise you, and they don’t overshare their own life’s story.
When you’re thinking of working with a Life Coach, this comprehensive guide will take you through what you can expect from working with a Life Coach. Plus what they can’t (and shouldn’t) help you with, so you can decide for yourself if you’ll benefit from hiring one.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
What is a Life Coach? Clear definition of what a Life Coach is
What does a Life Coach actually do? Six benefits you can expect from a skilled Life Coach
My own experience of receiving Life Coaching, from when I was sitting in the clients’ seat
What can a Life Coach not do?
What is the difference between Psychotherapy versus Life Coaching?
What can you expect during a session with a Life Coach?
Karin Peeters, Life Coach & Therapist
About the author:
Karin Peeters is a certified Life Coach and qualified Psychotherapist, in private practice since 2008, with over 12,000 client hours. I integrate coaching with therapeutic depth, offering both clarity and emotional safety in one approach.
Clients often come to see me with that particular mixture of frustration and hope that I’ve come to recognise when they say, ‘I know something needs to change. I just don’t know what I want instead, or how to get there.’ That line, in one form or another, is why many people explore if hiring a Life Coach is beneficial for them.
If you’re like my clients, I image you’re capable. Intelligent. Self-aware. And you want to live with kindness. You’ve talked things through with your closest people, listened to some podcasts, possibly even started reading a book on the subject you’re struggling with. Yet the same patterns keep repeating.
This is the moment a Life Coach enters the picture. Not as a magician who swoops in with answers and a magic wand (even though I wish I had one on many occasions). In my view, a Life Coach helps clear the clouds that are blocking your view, so you can see clearly and act with confidence. They help you make positive changes that previously felt out of reach.
Let’s start at the beginning: What is a Life Coach?
The definition of a Life Coach
A Life Coach is a trained professional who helps you close the gap between where you are now, and where you want to be. A Life Coach offers a structured, practical, future-oriented process focused on compassionate self-reflection, gaining clarity and action aligned with who you really want to be.
Life Coaching focuses on the present and the future, helping you explore what you want, what’s holding you back, and how to move forward in a way that aligns with your values, strengths, and deepest, truest sense of self.
Most people enter Life Coaching without knowing what they want, and the coaching sessions involve getting clarity on the desired result. A Life Coach helps you gain clarity, direction, and the confidence to act on what matters.
What to expect from a Life Coach? A Life Coach offers:
Structured, compassionate, reflective space where you can think clearly about what it is you really want, who you truly are and can become (without making you feel that your current self is somehow ‘not good enough’)
Clarity regarding how you’d like to shape your future (and how to get there!)
A rare opportunity to experience someone fully focused on you, listening deeply and wanting the best for you
Life Coaching is a structured, future-focused process that supports you to:
Clarify what you want when things feel unclear or stuck
Understand what is holding you back
Take practical, conscious, intentional steps forward
Build confidence and self-worth
Live aligned to who you truly want to be
To be treated with such care, warmth, interest and appreciation is a very healing experience. Of course your family and friends have your well-being at heart, but they also have their own agenda. Your Life Coach does not, they are not invested in your decisions and the outcome, so they can be solely focused on helping you discover your own truth. At the same time, a Life Coach is refreshingly honest and direct, and will point out to you where you are getting in your own way. Again, in ways friends or family will not very likely do, as they care about the harmony in the relationship in an entirely different manner compared to a neutral professional.
You’ll also love these posts on the benefits and pitfalls of hiring a Life Coach:
And this one about the different types, styles and approaches of Life Coaches:
What does a Life Coach actually do?
Six benefits that you can expect from a skilled Life Coach:
Identify what you want (which is the part you likely have been struggling with for ages, trying to figure it out by yourself)
Define the steps to get there
Create compassionate awareness and overcome what blocks or sabotages you in moving forward
Teaches tools, techniques and strategies that genuinely work for you to cope and thrive during the challenging moments
Stay consistent, focused and empowered for change to take hold in a sustainable way
Celebrate your progress so your qualities, healthy self-beliefs and strengthened self-confidence get deeply integrated in your new way of being
What do Life Coaches actually do?
What can a Life Coach do for you:
Helps you gain clarity and set meaningful goals that are right for you by helping you move from feeling lost and indecisive to clear, confident decision-making.
Supports emotional resilience and personal growth by offering a safe, non-judgmental, compassionate space for reflection and honest self-inquiry without telling you what to do or making decisions for you.
Provides structure, tools, techniques and accountability (without judgement) so you can turn intentions into consistent action and create sustainable change in your daily life. Tools and resources that a Life Coach shares with you are in the area of mindset, behaviour, self-confidence, communication, nervous system balancing and emotional resilience.
Asks powerful, reflective questions that shift perspective, uncovers blind spots, challenge limiting beliefs, helps you think differently, changes your perspective and sense of possibilities and strengthens your belief in yourself.
Identifies your strengths and qualities by helping you recognise successful past decision making, realise when and where your innate qualities flourished and encourages the patterns that empower you, so you can consciously choose behaviours that genuinely support your goals.
Helps you see blind spots, unhelpful patterns and the ways you self-sabotage. Awareness and mastery of when and how you hold yourself back is crucial to be able to maintain your progress on your own in the future.
Walks alongside you as a partner, not as an expert on your life. A Life Coach empowers you to become more grounded, confident, aligned, and authentic in how you live and relate to others.
Creates steady, sustainable change in how you think, feel, and make decisions which builds confidence in your own capacities;
Helps you understand yourself deeply, so you can make conscious, intentional decisions and take action on what truly matters to you;
Makes your life feel authentic and aligned with who you really are, empowering you to become grounded, real, and authentic in how you live and relate to others.
Refer you to other professionals when they recognise your needs will be better addressed by a psychotherapist, counsellor or other specialist. In the case of Vitalis Coaching & Therapy, you’ll be working with Life Coaches who are also qualified psychotherapists, giving you all the support you need under one roof.
In short, Life Coaches help you think more clearly, make conscious decisions, and take steady action by offering reflective questions, tools and techniques, and a safe space for honest reflection. A Life Coach offers heartfelt compassion and practical structure, a caring listening ear to off-load your worries and accountability, facilitates honest inner self-reflection and pragmatic steps to see a change for the better in your daily life.
At Vitalis Coaching & Therapy you’re guided in finding out what you truly want, the steps to get there, overcoming how you might be blocking yourself along the way, and celebrating when you made it!
Karin Peeters’ own Life & Executive Coaching experience as a client
From my own experience of receiving coaching, back in 2006 by a wonderful woman called Judith, I remember the healing effect of being with someone who listened with a caring heart, helped rebuild my belief in myself, mirrored back to me that I was kind and caring even though I was getting things wrong and made mistakes. She helped me see myself with compassionate eyes again, gave me my confidence back and the courage to make crucial life decisions.
These decisions made me live in India and Nepal, meet the man who later became my husband, and embark on a career in coaching and therapy. If a year before someone would have told me this was on the cards for me, I would have never believed it…
Curious how Life Coaching sessions can help you find clarity, confidence and joy?
"The purpose of life coaching is to help people clarify their goals, identify the obstacles holding them back, and come up with strategies for overcoming each obstacle."
Tony Robbins
What can a life coach not do? What should a Life Coach never do?
It’s equally important to name what good, ethical Life Coach does not do. A Life Coach cannot:
Diagnose mental health conditions (this is the domain of a psychiatrist);
Process trauma or treat your mental health (this is therapy’s domain);
Make decisions for you;
Tell you what to do;
Promise a miracle transformation in a few sessions;
Manipulate you in buying more sessions without results;
Replace financial or medical advice;
Make you feel worse about yourself;
Miss, cut short, arrive late or change sessions without communication, or on a regular basis;
Get distracted during the session;
Talk about themselves (unless very briefly and related to your material in a way that is helpful for you, ideally having asked your permission before they do);
Work without a clear written agreement sent in advance;
Violate intimate or sexual boundaries;
Give bland, generic advice that you could have picked up anywhere for free;
Forget important details of your life story in a way that makes you wonder if they truly listen to you;
Uses your contacts, network, position etc for their own gain;
Oversell the results and underdeliver.
In short, a Life Coach should not a enter the domain of a therapist, counsellor, or clinician, unless they are specifically trained in those modalities. Traditional coaches should not treat trauma, diagnose mental health conditions, or manage mental health crises.
A Life Coach does not tell you what to do, blur roles, put their needs before yours, treat mental health conditions, oversell results, cross professional or personal boundaries, or promise unrealistic results. They never shame, exploit or pressurise you, and they don’t overshare their own life’s story.
What is the difference between Psychotherapy versus Life Coaching?
Important distinction: Coaching vs. Therapy
In a nutshell: The difference between Psychotherapy and Life Coaching is that Life Coaching focuses on the present and future‑oriented goal‑setting, whereas Psychotherapy addresses past trauma, mental health and patterns of the past that are sabotaging your progress.
Coaching is not therapy, yet working with me means you’ll get a certified coach and a qualified psychotherapist in one. Meaning you’re held safely when deeper material arises. If you like, you can receive the forward movement of coaching, with the depth, safety, and emotional connection of therapy.
“To move forward, people should not only focus on what to do next. Instead, they should consider what they are holding onto that is keeping them stuck.”
Jay Shetty
What can you expect during a session with a Life Coach?
You can expect a typical Life Coaching session to be conversational, grounded, curious, and future-focused. Some sessions are insightful; others are practical or spiritual. All are designed to help you move forward in life.
What does a Life Coaching session include?
Exploring what has happened in your life recently that inspired you to reach out and work with a Life Coach;
Clarifying what you want to explore as part of the coaching process;
Finding out what is it you want (exploring the desired result);
Reflecting on behaviour patterns, emotional blocks or limiting beliefs to overcome what’s getting in the way to getting what you want;
Identifying new perspectives and new ways of being;
Exploring options and strategies to move forward;
Developing personalised tasks and a step-by-step plan of action;
Somatic, breathing, meditation, mindfulness or mindset tools;
Dream interpretation;
Accountability and follow-through planning.
Some Life Coaches use structured one-size-fits-all step-by-step frameworks. Others (like myself) use more intuitive and integrative approaches, resulting in a bespoke offering for each unique client.
“I started my journey with Karin being a very confused thirty year old, anxious and quite overwhelmed by the life choices I had to make - the weekly coaching sessions have truly helped me so much into finding my inner calm, setting a clear focus and also understanding why my inner voices very often clash with each other. I can honestly say I feel a different person - I am starting some new adventures with a lot of positive energy, thank you!”
Laura Goossens - 30 years - Dutch national in London
Meet Karin Peeters - Life Coach & Psychotherapist
Karin Peeters is a qualified and experienced Life Coach and Psychotherapist, in full-time private practice since 2008. She supports people through life transitions, emotional overwhelm, trauma, career change and questions regarding love, direction, meaning, and self-worth.
Karin is trained in Counselling and Psychotherapy, a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and draws on a wide range of approaches including EMDR, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Jungian and Transpersonal Psychotherapy. She combines therapeutic depth with practical coaching, and compassionate spiritual wisdom, helping clients heal what asks to be let go off, while moving forward in their lives with clarity and confidence.
Karin is regularly featured in national and international media and has contributed expert commentary to publications such as The Guardian, Psychologies Magazine, Stylist, Cosmopolitan, Breathe Magazine, Metro, Reuters, and Women’s Fitness, among others.
She works in English and Dutch with clients worldwide via Zoom and is known for her warm, grounded, and ethical approach.
Final Word - What does a Life Coach ultimately help you achieve?
A Life Coach helps you gain clarity on what you want, understand what may be holding you back, and take confident, practical steps forward. The goal is not to change who you are, but to help you become more aligned with yourself and create a life that genuinely feels right for you.
A Life Coach helps you become more yourself, not a shinier version of who you think you should be.
At Vitalis Coaching & Therapy, sessions combine practical coaching with therapeutic depth and emotional awareness, so you can move forward with clarity, confidence, and a deeper sense of alignment.
When you’re ready to take your life back into your own hands and move forward with clarity, you’re warmly welcome to book a free Discovery Call.
Not yet ready to talk? Download your free clarity mini-course today:
Feeling unsure about your next step in life may be a common experience for all of us, but continuing to feel lost or stuck is optional. Begin your journey today: this free clarity mini-course helps you get clear and reconnect with what matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A Life Coach is a trained professional who helps you close the gap between where you are now, and where you want to be. A Life Coach offers a structured, practical, future-oriented process focused on compassionate self-reflection, gaining clarity and action aligned with who you really want to be.
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What does a Life Coach do (in short)?
A Life Coach helps you:
Gain clarity on your direction
Understand what’s holding you back
Cultivate self-compassion and awareness
Make confident decisions
Take practical, consistent action
Create meaningful, lasting change
-
You can expect a Life Coach to facilitate a structured, future-focused process that supports you to:
Clarify what you want when things feel unclear or stuck;
Understand what is holding you back;
Take practical, conscious, intentional steps forward;
Build confidence and self-worth;
Live aligned to who you truly want to be.
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A Life Coach can not diagnose mental health conditions, treat trauma, tell you what to do, oversell your results, cross professional or personal boundaries, put their needs before yours, or promise you unrealistic results.
Life Coaches never shame, exploit or pressurise you, and they don’t overshare their own life’s story.
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No. A Life Coach does not tell you what to do. Instead, they help you think clearly, explore your options, and make decisions that feel right for you.
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The difference between Psychotherapy and Life Coaching is that Life Coaching focuses on the present and future‑oriented goal‑setting, whereas Psychotherapy addresses past trauma, mental health and patterns of the past that are sabotaging your progress.
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A Life Coach helps you achieve clarity on what you want, understand what may be holding you back, and take confident, practical steps forward. The goal is not to change who you are, but to help you become more aligned with yourself and create a life that genuinely feels right for you.
I love helping you find clarity and direction when life feels uncertain. I’m a qualified Life & Career Coach and Psychotherapist, in private practice since 2008.