Therapy felt too slow and too clinical.

Coaching felt good for a while, but didn't quite get to the thing that actually needed addressing.

Sound familiar? As an international trauma therapist and coach working entirely online with clients around the world, this is one of the most common things I hear. And it's exactly why I built my practice around a third option that most people don't know exists. Therapeutic coaching.

The Third Option Nobody Told You About

Therapeutic coaching is a hybrid model that sits in the space between therapy and coaching.

Because I'm both a licensed therapist and a certified coach, I bring the clinical insight and diagnostic lens of a therapist to every session. And the relationality, forward momentum, and goal-focused championing of a coach. In practice, this means everything is welcome, everything is doable, and everything is within scope.

Calling in a Life Partner? On It.

Processing high-functioning trauma that's been quietly running the show for decades? Also on it.

Preparing mentally for a podium finish in your upcoming pickleball tournament? Genuinely, yes. I have the tools for that, too.

You don't have to decide which version of yourself gets to show up. All of you is welcome.

The Problem With Therapy. And It's Not What You Think.

Therapy is genuinely valuable. I want to say that clearly before I tell you what it can't do.

The barriers to getting started are real: finding someone with availability, the right expertise, and licensure in your jurisdiction is its own obstacle course. And once you're in, the first three or four sessions are almost entirely spent on history taking, background, and treatment planning. It can take that long before you even get to talk about the issue that brought you in the door.

Then There's the Endpoint Problem.

Therapy is supposed to end when your symptoms resolve or you no longer meet diagnostic criteria. Which means you never get to address the things you actually want to work on once you're feeling better. The book. A business you've been putting off. The relationship you want to call in. Therapy isn't really designed for that, and most therapists will tell you so.

The Problem With Coaching. Same.

Coaching feels good from the start.

You feel seen, heard, known, and championed right from the first session, which is genuinely wonderful. The energy is forward-moving, the focus is on what you want, and it's nothing like sitting across from someone who looks at you like a set of symptoms to be managed.

The limitation is that you have to bring your own topic and your own momentum.

If you don't have that on a given week, it can start to feel like one more thing on an already impossible list. Or you end up with a session that feels a bit flat, and somehow like it's your fault. And if there are traumatized parts, ingrained childhood patterns, or high-functioning trauma underneath what you're bringing, the coaching model isn't designed to work with those. 

Coaches who try to go there without the clinical training can actually make things worse rather than better.

Here's What Therapeutic Coaching Actually Does Differently

The first thing I tell every new client: I will always come to our sessions with a plan.

If you have something you want to bring, that's great. If you don't, I'll suggest what I think needs to be the focus. You are never left to drive the session alone. That's my job.

At my British Columbia online practice, we start with a deep dive discovery session where I learn everything about you: what you grew up with, what you're bringing to life, and what you'd love to have different as a result of our work together. It's collaborative and exploratory, and most people find that patterns they've been blaming themselves for start to make a lot more sense by the end of it. From there, I extract three or four core themes and build a personalized plan to get you where you want to go in the shortest possible time.

And because I'm not writing clinical notes designed to satisfy an insurance company or remain vague enough to survive a divorce lawyer, all of that energy goes toward you. 

Is This For You?

Therapeutic coaching works best for people who have done some work on themselves before and the patterns are still there. 

People who suspect there's something deeper but haven't been able to find it, and who don't think their concerns are "serious enough" for therapy but know that coaching alone isn't going to get them there.

My honest tip: if you can pay out of pocket, try therapeutic coaching. It really is the best of both worlds. 

And it will get you where you want to go faster than either therapy or coaching alone.

Ready to Begin? Work With an International Trauma Therapist and Coach

As an international trauma therapist and coach at therapyjane offering therapeutic coaching entirely online, I'm based in British Columbia and work with clients around the world. Wherever you are, we can work together.

When you're ready, here's how we begin:

• Book a One-Time Healing Session: Not ready to commit to a longer process? Start here. One issue, one session, and a chance to experience how I work before deciding anything else.
• Book Your Discovery Session: Ready to go deeper? Book a session. This is where we begin the real work. Ninety minutes to map your history, identify the patterns, and build a plan that's genuinely built around you.
• Get to Know Me First: Not quite ready? Fair enough. Have a look at my about page, read a few more posts, and get a feel for who I am and how I work. I'll still be here when you're ready.
• Show Up From Wherever You Are: A home office in Hong Kong, a kitchen table in Amsterdam, a flat in Geneva. All you need is an internet connection and a private space. I'll handle everything else.

Other Ways to Work With Me

Therapeutic coaching is the core of what I do at therapyjane, but it's not the only way we can work together. Whether you're looking for a single focused session, professional training, or mentoring, there's a way in that fits where you are right now.

Other ways we can work together include One-Time Healing Sessions for targeted, single-session work on one specific issue; Healing the Birth Story for those exploring early developmental and ancestral patterns; Consulting and Mentoring for therapists, coaches, and healers looking for guidance; and Live and On-Demand Courses for professionals wanting to deepen their trauma-informed practice. Whatever you're carrying and however you'd like to work, there's likely something here that fits.

About the Author

Jane McCampbell Stuart is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Certified EMDR Therapist, and Certified Professional Co-active Coach based on an island in British Columbia, though her clients are scattered across the globe. With over 20 years of experience as a trauma therapist and having lived in four countries on two continents herself, she has a particular soft spot for the expats, executives, aid workers, and globally mobile humans who are brilliant at everything except sitting still. Her approach is deeply relational, clinically precise, and just a little bit magical. She gets in, gets to the root, and gets to work. And then she teaches you how to do it too.