Consulting, Mentoring, Coaching, Spiritual Direction, Counseling… How to Choose?
by Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader
I was serving as a therapist and pastoral counselor way back then (2002), noticing coaching creeping into the mental health field. Intrigued, I laid my hands on a newly published book, Therapists As Life Coach, Transforming Your Practice, by Patrick Williams and Deborah Davis, racing through the pages. When Patrick Williams came to our state to deliver a workshop, I was there. Coaching language and practice raised my awareness about what I was doing with clergy and church staff after they worked through their clinical issues yet remained in counseling. I found myself dreaming about doing coaching full time rather than peripherally.
That was long ago and far away, with the people development landscape radically changed since. After becoming trained as a coach, I discovered most clergy and church staff had no idea what coaching was. Early on, much of my coaching energy went into educating people about coaching.
How things have changed. Now it’s hard to find younger clergy and church staff who haven’t been introduced to coaching. Fortunately, coaching is in the water, having proven itself useful over time. Providing leadership coaching for individuals and groups is a major part of Pinnacle’s ministry.
Even though coaching is common now, there is still confusion around the multiple forms of people development available in 2022. When clergy and churches contact us for services, they are often unsure about the type of service they may need. This is understandable, since many options are currently available.
How does one know what form of people development to choose when needs arise? Well, it depends on many dynamics and factors. Add to this the numerous options available…and choosing can be overwhelming.
To that end, we created a very helpful chart, inserted into Disciple Development Coaching, Christian Formation For The 21st Century by Ircel Harrison and myself, published in 2013. We paint with a very broad brush, not doing justice to any of the services described, yet contrasting them in helpful ways for those trying to understand similarities and contrasts. Since we use that chart in our DDC training, we have it available for download at the end of this article. You will find descriptions of Consulting, Mentoring, Coaching, Spiritual Direction, and Counseling. We hope this provides a tool for awareness raising, empowering you to reach out more accurately for people development. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out to me or our Coaching Coordinator, Ircel Harrison for conversation.
Finally, we invite you to celebrate with us at Pinnacle the accreditation of Summit Coach Training. Please see the announcement below and join us in celebrating the formation of this quality coach training organization, part of the Pinnacle family of services.
May your next step toward partnering with others to discover and pursue God’s mission in the world accelerate your growth and progress in joyful ways.
Click HERE to download the form.