A resource for coaches navigating the boundary between coaching and therapy.

Most coaches recognise when a client might welcome a referral to therapy. Perhaps you have noticed the client bring up material that sits outside the coaching work. It might be more personal, more painful, or simply more persistent than coaching alone can address. Perhaps coaching opened the space for them to talk about an issue, or helped them become ready to face it. When you refer a client on at a moment like this, you want to know they will be in safe hands.

I've put this resource together to help coaches who are considering that step. Before training as a psychotherapist I spent over 25 years as a senior consultant in global communications, and I am an ICF-accredited coach. I understand the environments many of our clients work in, and what those environments demand. I also recognise the importance of the relationship you have built with your client, and I approach any referral with deep respect for it and for the work you will have done together.

When a referral might be considered

The ICF frames a referral as worth considering when a client shows signs of struggling with difficulties that sit outside the scope of coaching: ones that interfere with everyday functioning, such as sleeping, eating, or focusing on tasks. These often become a barrier to the progress you would usually expect to see. They may signal that the client is ready to move towards deeper, more painful emotional ground. Often the clearest signal is simply that an issue keeps coming up in coaching, and the client cannot seem to move through it, despite engaging fully with the work.

Suspecting a referral could help does not mean you have to diagnose anything. It is about recognising when someone might be better served by a different kind of support. If it ever helps to think it through, you are welcome to contact me.

The ICF's own guidance is also useful:

- Referring a Client to Therapy: A Set of Guidelines (ICF)
- One-page summary of indicators and the referral process (ICF)

Therapy alongside coaching

Therapy and coaching can run alongside each other, or one after the other. The relationship a client has with their coach, together with the outcomes focus of coaching, can be grounding as they begin therapy. Where the two run at the same time, it helps for the client to discuss the arrangement with both coach and therapist, so that the two pieces of work support each other rather than blur together.

Some clients prefer to focus on one thing at a time. For those used to the outcomes focus of coaching, it can take a while to settle into a less directive therapy space, where the value is not in reaching a goal but in staying with what is difficult. Ending coaching, or pausing it, can help them make that shift.

Whatever they prefer, this is a decision for the client to make on their own behalf, with the support of both coach and therapist.

When you make a referral, the coaching relationship stays with you. As a rule, a dual-qualified coach and therapist would not move a client between the two roles: a coaching client would not become their therapy client, and a therapy client would not become their coaching client, because the change of relationship creates a conflict of interest.

A referral, and everything that follows it, is confidential. You can expect the therapist to handle any referral professionally, but not to report back to you on whether your client made contact, or on anything discussed. If your client chooses to share something with you, that is their decision, on their own terms. This protects both the therapeutic relationship and the trust you have built with your client.

Important note on client safety

If you are ever concerned that someone may be at immediate risk, that is beyond a referral conversation and calls for immediate support. Please encourage your client to follow local crisis guidance. In the UK, they can contact NHS 111, or a crisis line such as Samaritans on 116 123. In an emergency, call 999.

Next steps

If you would like to talk through whether a referral makes sense, please get in touch.

You are also welcome to share my Private Therapy Page with any client who might want a recommendation, so they can make contact in their own time.