When therapists lose their licenses, even for serious offenses, they don’t always have to change careers. They can try “life coaching” instead.
Life coaches are wellness professionals who offer clients advice on improving their lives. Unlike therapists, they’re not required to be trained or held to ethical guidelines, and they are not regulated by the state or federal government. This loosely defined group of professionals generated $4.5 billion in revenue in 2022, according to The International Coaching Federation.
While many people credit life coaches with positively changing their lives or careers, anyone can call themselves a life coach, and therein lies the problem.
Jodi Hildebrandt, a former therapist in Utah who famously ran the controversial parenting YouTube channel ConneXions with Ruby Franke, called herself a life coach for years. The two were sentenced this February for up to 30 years in prison for child abuse.
Hildebrandt is an extreme example. But a new ProPublica report found that at least a third of the 43 mental health professionals in Utah who’ve given up their licenses since 2010 have continued doing similar work. They refer to themselves on LinkedIn as mental health “associates,” motivational speakers, and, of course, life coaches.
There are a range of reasons a therapist might lose their license, from disclosing confidential information to engaging in inappropriate relationships. ProPublica’s analysis found that a handful of therapists who were still practicing had lost their licenses for “serious reasons,” ranging from drug and substance abuse to inappropriate contact with patients to sexual exploitation.
Mark Steinagel, a director in the Utah state government who oversees licensing, told the outlet that licensers can’t prevent these individuals from doing the same work as life coaches. However, investigators do try to watch them to ensure they don’t veer back into therapy.
The Hildebrandt case inspired legislation in Utah to regulate the life coaching industry. The bill is now undergoing legislative review.
In the meantime, prospective patients should research before choosing a life coach.
“Coaching is not therapy and I don’t want it to be confused in any way,” life coach Suzanne Culberg said in an interview about the ethics of life coaching with the YouTuber Danielle Ryan.
Over her career, Culberg said she’s seen life coaches misrepresent themselves by inflating their annual earnings and overselling their qualifications.
“They say all the right things, and their sales pages look slick,” she said. But “coaching is an unregulated industry.”
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