What is a Life Coach?

A life coach assists clients in the determination and achievement of personal and/or professional goals. Similarly to sports coaches and personal trainers in the athletic world, life coaches employ various techniques to aid their clients to work on self-improvement in order to achieve success.

The focus of life coaching is on the client. With the help of the life coach the client can maximize his or her own abilities to achieve overall success in life and particularly in the area(s) he or she desires to succeed in. Under the guidance of the life coach a client will learn to alter his or her current and future behavior to reach the desired goal(s). Improvement can be achieved in all aspects of a client's personal and/or business life, including, but not limited to, relationships, spiritual life, dating, sports, conflict resolution, and career management.

Life coaching has its origins in management consulting and leadership training. It has since branched out into "coaching for life success" in several aspects of life.

While life coaching does include psychological counseling, mentoring, and the application of behavior modification techniques, life coaches are not considered therapists, psychologists, or consultants. In fact there are no official rules, regulations, statutes, laws, or the like, which govern the education, training, and practice of a life coach. Simply put, anybody can take on the title of a "Life Coach" and work with clients. No certification is necessary.

Because of the lack of real regulation, a client's search for a reliable and qualified life coach can be confusing. There are various "certifications" and "credentials" handed out by coaching schools and life coach training programs. But which ones are good indicators for the credentials of a particular life coach?

Some guidance is offered by internationally recognized accreditation bodies, which are the International Coaching Council (ICC), the International Coach Federation (ICF), the International Association of Coaching (IAC), and the European Coaching Institute (ECI). Although these institutions have established coaching standards and ethic rules for their members, they are privately owned and not subject to supervisory regulations or a supervisory authority.

Membership and certification with one of the institutions mentioned above can be a first indicator of a life coach's qualifications. Still a person in search of self-improvement and success in life should also check the references to make sure, the life coach has lived up to his or her promises in the past.

Ultimately, the cost might be a deterrent. A session with a life coach can easily run $100 and more. The investment might be worth it. Yet, the lessons and coaching a life coach might provide might be more easily and cheaper obtained by considering the advice and suggestions coming from family, friends, and peers.