If you are drawn to holistic work with people, two paths come up again and again: holistic counselling and holistic coaching. Both are client focused, both work with the whole person, and at The Australian Holistic Academy both start from the same foundation. So how do you choose? This guide compares holistic counselling vs holistic coaching as careers and as courses, so you can see where they overlap, where they differ and which one fits the work you want to do.
The short answer
Holistic counselling helps people work through what they are carrying: grief, stress, relationship strain, old patterns and painful experiences. Holistic coaching helps people move toward what they want: clarity, direction, confidence and a life that matches their values.
In practice the two overlap. A counsellor helps clients look forward, and a coach often meets old beliefs along the way. But the starting point is different. Counselling starts with what is weighing a client down. Coaching starts with where the client wants to go.
What a holistic counsellor does
A holistic counsellor offers a safe, supportive space for emotional healing. The work draws on counselling skills such as active listening, client assessment and building a trusting relationship, combined with mindfulness, somatic awareness and nervous system regulation. Holistic counsellors often support clients through grief and loss, relationship difficulties, life transitions and the lasting effects of trauma, working in a trauma-aware way and referring on when a client needs clinical care.
Most holistic counsellors run their own practice, seeing clients one to one in person or online, and some add group support sessions.
What a holistic coach does
A holistic coach helps clients get clear on what they want and make changes that last. Coaching is forward focused, but a holistic coach also works with mindset and limiting beliefs, the nervous system and personal values, because what stops most people is rarely the lack of a plan.
In the empowerment coaching model taught at The Australian Holistic Academy, that includes empowerment-based coaching frameworks, values-based visioning, goal setting from a sustainable place, intuition development and integration tools that help clients keep growing after the sessions end.
Like counsellors, most holistic coaches are self employed and work one to one or in groups, online or in person.
What the two courses have in common
This is the part most people do not expect. At The Australian Holistic Academy, the Master Practitioner of Holistic Counselling and the Master Practitioner of Holistic Empowerment Coaching share a large part of their training. Both begin with the same foundation course, the Certificate in Meditation Teaching, and both include the same nine units:
Autonomic Nervous System Realignment Therapy (ANSR)
Brain Body Medicine
Advanced Holistic Counselling Therapy
Holistic Telephone and Online Counselling
Holistic Grief and Loss Counselling
Holistic Trauma and Abuse Counselling
Holistic Marriage and Relationship Counselling
Holistic Therapies for PTSD
Inner Child Work
So coaching students learn core counselling skills too, and counselling students learn the same foundations as coaches. Both courses are studied online and self paced, with a monthly one-hour live masterclass on Zoom (attend live or watch the recording) and an online student community. Both are IICT-recognised and lead to industry-recognised certifications.
Where the counselling course goes further
The counselling course adds a tenth unit and a substantial practical component:
Unit Ten, a Certificate in Holistic Psychotherapy, which combines counselling methods with complementary therapies
Supervised clinical practice, where you work with clients face to face or by video, with feedback to your supervisor
Case studies covering a range of real-life counselling scenarios
A research thesis on an area of holistic counselling that interests you
Four live online classes of six hours each, which are required for completion
The counselling course also awards the coaching certifications along the way. Graduates receive certifications including Advanced Practitioner and Master Practitioner of Holistic Empowerment Coaching, as well as Master Practitioner of Holistic Counselling. In other words, the counselling pathway includes the coaching qualification, plus the extra depth and supervised practice that counselling work calls for.
How long each course takes
Holistic counsellingHolistic coachingFull time12 months, about 22 study hours a week12 months, about 20 study hours a weekPart time23 months, about 12 study hours a week24 months, about 10 study hours a weekLive sessionsMonthly masterclass plus four live six-hour classesMonthly masterclass
If you have already completed the Certificate in Meditation Teaching, you can enrol in either course as a postgraduate student at a lower fee. For counselling, the postgraduate pathway runs about 10 months full time or 20 months part time. Of the two courses, coaching has the lower fee. Current fees and payment plans for both are listed on each course page.
Which one should you choose?
Choose holistic counselling if:
You are drawn to sitting with people through difficulty, not only helping them plan
You want supervised practice with real clients before you graduate
You would like to support clients through grief, relationship strain or the effects of past experiences
You want the broadest qualification, since the counselling course includes the coaching certifications
Choose holistic coaching if:
You are energised by helping people find direction and take action
The clients you want to work with are broadly well and looking for momentum rather than healing
You want a slightly lighter weekly study load
You already work as a practitioner and want to add coaching to what you offer
Still unsure? Because both courses share the same foundation, you do not have to decide on day one. You can start with the Certificate in Meditation Teaching and choose your next step once you have a feel for the work.
Next steps
Read the full outlines on the holistic counselling course and holistic coaching course pages, including the study options and the certifications you graduate with. For a closer look at each career, see how to become a holistic counsellor in Australia and how to become a life coach in Australia. If accreditation matters to you, the IICT accreditation page explains what it means in practice.
