Whether you're a budding coach, a marriage family therapist intern, or a seasoned psychotherapist, I can help you build your practice into a flourishing adventure that you look forward to everyday.

Professional mentoring can be particularly helpful when you want to discuss something with a professional who isn't your supervisor or a colleague. As a mentor, I can help you:

• Identify your ideal niche and target clientele
• Design your ideal practice and stay motivated
• Set up your business
• Plan and implement an effective marketing strategy
• Handle challenging client issues
• Continue to develop as a professional

A professional mentor is like a sounding board, they can give advice but the partners is free to pick and choose what they do. The context does not have specific performance objectives. A coach is a little different in that he or is trying to direct a person to some end result, the person may choose how to get there, but the coach is strategically assessing and monitoring the progress and giving advice for effectiveness and efficiency. In summary, the mentor has a deep personal interest, personally involved - a person who cares about you and your long term development.

Professional mentoring is a power free, two-way mutually beneficial learning situation where the mentor provides advice, shares knowledge and experiences, and teaches using a low pressure, self-discovery approach. Teaching using an adult learning versus teacher to student model and, being willing to not just question for self discovery but also freely sharing their own experiences and skills with the partners. The mentor is both a source of information/knowledge and a Socratic questioner.

What are the Key Differences Between a Coach and a Professional Mentor?

The use of coaching and mentoring is becoming increasingly popular, but there are some subtle differences which will impact on the outcomes achieved.

Coaching and mentoring are both ‘helping’ activities, employed either as distinct interventions or together as part of a package of personal development. The differences in the application of these processes are naturally reflected in the outcomes.

A coach is a person who teaches and directs another person via encouragement and advice. The use of the term coaching (as in the art of coaching people) has its origins in English traditional university "cramming" in the mid 19th Century. In the US, most college sports team employed coaches as well as managers and by the 20th Century, non-sporting coaches were emerging.

Professional Mentoring

Mentoring, on the other hand, refers to a developmental relationship with a more experienced ‘expert’ and a less experienced protégé. The term ‘mentor’ has been around for centuries, originally derived from a character in Homer’s Odyssey, who guides a young boy through a difficult time.

Both of these activities have developed with the demands of a modern society. Coaching, in particular, is one of the fastest emerging industries of the past decade specifically within the United States, Australia and the UK.

Three Key Differences

Both processes enable individuals (and organizations) to achieve their full potential and therefore share many similarities. However, there are three key differences, which influence choosing the most appropriate intervention.

1. Qualifications and Experience. Coaches do not need any specialist experience within the area in which their client requires support and as such, do not offer ‘advice’. They are skilled in questioning and listening (as are many mentors) but it is the coach’s role to enable individuals to find answers within themselves. Mentors are usually experts within a particular field and have a wide-ranging and recognized wealth of experience within the field in which they are advising and supporting others. Nonetheless, mentors should be skilled and experienced in managing relationships and communication processes.
2. Focus. Coaching intends to improve and develop work-related skills and knowledge, which are often performance related. It concentrates on specific issues (goals) with clear outcomes. It is the coaches’ role to enable the individuals to find answers within themselves and is dependent upon each individual's motivation to succeed. The focus of a mentoring relationship is more on developing individual and work-related capability and talent. For example, it may be part of a career development program. It has a structure but less ‘defined’ outcomes than specified for coaching. The mentor supports and guides the individual as part of a development path, which opens doors, shares experiences and widens networking systems.
3. Timing. Coaching is usually a ‘time bound’ relationship with a defined duration to meet the specific goal identified. Individuals will often use the same coach to support them with different issues. Mentoring relationships can go on for a long time, seeing progress through many stages and often survive through numerous relocation and career changes.