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

Most coaches work with a client at some point where something surfaces that sits outside the coaching work. It might be more personal, more painful, or simply more persistent than coaching alone can address. Having someone you trust to refer to, who understands the coaching context and will handle the transition with care, makes that moment considerably easier to meet.

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About me

Before training as a psychotherapist I spent over 25 years as a senior consultant in global communications, and I work as 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 referrals with that in mind.

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I work as an existential psychotherapist with adults, many of them senior professionals navigating pressure, transition or a sense that something is no longer working. I see clients in person near Harley Street and online.

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I also work with clients based outside the UK where we are able to put appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place. I do not work with clients in the United States due to local regulatory restrictions.

 

​​​​​​​​​​When referrals might be considered

The ICF frames a referral as worth considering when what a client is carrying sits outside the scope of coaching: when it starts to interfere with daily life, when it becomes a barrier to the progress you would usually expect to see, or when it is rooted in deeper, more painful emotional ground. Often the clearest signal is simply that someone keeps returning to the same place and cannot quite hold onto what they gain.

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None of this asks you 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 always welcome to contact me. The ICF's own guidance is also very useful:​

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• Referring a Client to Therapy: A Set of Guidelines (ICF)

• One-page summary of indicators and the referral process (ICF)

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The referral process

A referral, and everything that follows it, is confidential. I would not 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 entirely their decision and on their own terms. This protects both the therapeutic relationship and the trust you have established. 

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If you would like to talk through whether a referral makes sense, you are welcome to get in touch. When you are ready, you are welcome to share my Private Therapy Page with your client so they can make contact in their own time.

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Therapy alongside coaching

Therapy and coaching can run concurrently or sequentially. There are good reasons for each approach, and times when running both at once calls for some care. I see that as a decision the client makes, ideally in separate conversations with both of us, so that the two pieces of work support rather than blur into each other.

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In line with the BACP Ethical Framework, I cannot offer therapy to my own coaching clients, and I cannot convert therapy clients into coaching clients. The coaching relationship with your client remains with you.

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Important note for client safety

If you are ever concerned that someone may be at immediate risk, that moves beyond a referral conversation into needing immediate support. Please encourage your client to follow local advice for crisis support. If they are in the UK, they can contact NHS 111, or a crisis line such as Samaritans on 116 123. In urgent situations call emergency services on 999. 

 

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