I recently joined a third-party website to promote my relationship coaching services. It is a good platform to earn money on coaching services and I have found two new clients in the past month. Not bad for starting out.

However, I believe some of these people are confused as to what relationship coaching actually is. I received several phone calls from people wanting to tell me their deep, dark secrets about fantasies and how their innate need to please themselves may be interfering in their relationships. Of course, a couple of individuals were not even in a relationship, nor were they interested in receiving help with dating.

Relationship Coaching

A relationship coach helps men and women discover what they may be doing wrong in their current relationship, or lack thereof, and devise a plan to make their relationship dreams come true. A dating and relationship coach helps people with getting over a break up, understand dating mistakes that are keeping them from meeting people, and discovering new or old ways to enrich their current relationships. Through relationship coaching, a person may even realize that he is unhappy in his current relationship and realize it is time to move on from a toxic partnership.

Sex Coaching or Counseling?

After receiving calls from some rather confused people (made me a tad uncomfortable), I decided to do a quick Google search. As I imagined, there are tons of websites currently offering sex coaching services. As a matter of fact, the site where I have my listing offers many licensed therapists and counselors who specialize in the “sex therapy” field.

All this leads me to question, “Does relationship coaching encompass sex coaching and should it?”

NO.

I am not quite sure what a “sex coach” is. However, I assumed and confirmed in my search, many sex coaches are in fact licensed professionals. During my coach certification training I remember being told that I must know when it is time to refer a client to seek the help of a licensed professional. I also believe we can or should be able to recognize when this needs to happen.

If a client says that he has been turned on in the past by simply speaking to his therapist, I would bet my coaching career that a relationship coach (or a sex coach for that matter) is not what the client seeks or needs. Once such a clue has emerged, is this not the time to refer him to a licensed professional who is trained and educated to deal with this type of situation?

In the end, there is obviously a demand for sex coaching. However, it is surely apparent that this is a distinct and separate niche from that of dating or relationship coaching.

 

Eda M. Handly
Certified Dating & Relationship Coach
Guest Writer, Coaches Training Blog community

 

About Eda M. Handly 

Eda M. Handly is a freelance writer and Certified Life Coach specializing in dating and relationships. She began counseling victims of domestic violence in 2004 as an advocate through the Erie County Prosecutor’s Office and has been helping people ever since. Handly is also an advice columnist and owner and creator of the dating and relationship advice website www.love-sources.com.