Coaching, therapy, consulting, HR: what are the differences and how do you choose the right support?

Therapy: mental health professionals

Therapy is grounded in a solid clinical and scientific framework. It is practiced by licensed mental health professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists.

People turn to therapy when something hurts deeply, when the past continues to intrude on the present, or when anxiety, sadness or emotional numbness take up too much space. Therapy aims to restore, stabilize and heal what has been fractured. Its purpose is therapeutic.

A serious coach does not attempt to replace a therapist.

When I identify that someone needs clinical care (depression, unresolved trauma, significant symptoms,...), I do not push coaching. I refer them to a qualified mental health professional. This is a matter of ethics and safety.

Consulting: expertise applied to structure, not emotion

Before becoming a coach, I was a Senior Consultant. I worked in digital marketing consulting for two companies in California, then in a Big Four firm in M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions) and Business Intelligence.

Coaching and consulting are fundamentally different.

Consulting typically operates through defined missions: a question is framed, a scope is set, and a deliverable follows. The consultant analyzes, diagnoses and provides recommendations.

The consultant looks at the situation from the outside. This can involve improving decision-making and operational processes, supporting an ERP transformation, valuing a company or identifying potential buyers. I genuinely enjoyed these missions, and especially the time spent with leaders.

But the focus was not the person’s inner state. It was the quality of decisions and the systems they operated within. Consulting addresses strategic challenges. The approach is analytical. The outcome is operational.

I loved this work, but I wanted to reconnect it with the human dimension. Because behind every business, there are people.

Here is a metaphor I find helpful. Imagine crossing a mountain. The consultant studies the map, reads the terrain and defines the safest route. The coach walks beside you. They observe your breathing, your pace, your fatigue. They help you adjust, endure the effort and keep going when altitude takes its toll.

The consultant clarifies the path.
The coach supports the person walking it.

Both roles are distinct and valuable, depending on the moment.

I was a consultant. I am now a coach.

And I work with both professionals and individuals.

Coaching: clarity and personal trajectory

Coaching starts from the present. From how a person thinks, speaks to themselves, reacts, decides and sometimes becomes overwhelmed.

The past may be addressed, but only insofar as it influences the present. The core work involves clarifying what is happening, distinguishing facts from fears and expectations, understanding how mental overload builds up, restoring perspective and realigning decisions.

This work is deeply human, yet its effects are tangible in professional life. When inner clarity improves, decisions stabilize, performance recovers and effectiveness increases.

One stops enduring and starts steering again.

Coaching is about learning to manage oneself better in order to move forward more effectively, at work and in life. The process unfolds through guided conversation, combining moments of exploration and moments of action.

The goal is not to “hold on” a little longer, but to rethink how one moves forward so that it becomes sustainable.

Coaching does not address pathology. It addresses everyday human complexity. My approach is grounded in positive psychology (Harvard Medical School), the WOOP method (Yale), applied well-being science and my own professional experience across France and the United States.

Coaching does not give answers. It helps people build and sustain their own.

And what about Human Resources?

I chose to include Human Resources because, particularly in France, they are often confused with coaching. In reality, they serve a very different function.

HR represents a fourth space. Their role is neither therapeutic, nor introspective, nor centered on individual personal trajectories. HR structures the working environment through contracts, internal policies, legal frameworks, career paths and social dialogue. Their mission is institutional. They ensure organizational stability and coherence.

Four professions exist, but none operate in the same place.

Therapy treats suffering.Consulting structures and guides strategy.

Coaching strengthens clarity and the capacity to move forward.
HR regulates the collective environment.

Can these approaches be combined? 

YES. And in many cases, it is not only possible, but highly relevant.

Therapy, consulting, coaching and Human Resources should not be set against one another. In practice, they do not compete; they complement each other. Each intervenes at a different moment, for a different need.

Sometimes, a person needs to explore the past before they can move forward. At other times, a situation calls first for strategic clarity, and only then for inner work to carry that strategy with confidence.

No single door ever holds all the answers.

These approaches can follow one another, overlap or work together. Therapy may help soothe what was painful, while coaching can later restore movement, momentum and a more grounded way of positioning oneself. An organization may turn to a consultant to rethink its structure, and then to a coach to support the people who will live with those changes. Human Resources may identify exhaustion or loss of meaning and open a space for dialogue that leads to external support.

This is why I see collaboration as a strength, not a threat.

No one moves forward with a single tool.
What matters is using the right one, at the right time.