I WALK WITH YOU

It is a very powerful form of support, aimed at a specific topic or goal and usually limited to a specific period of time. It was born in the world of high-performance sports to help athletes reach their maximum potential when external “tasks” were no longer enough and it was necessary to achieve a result by a specific date.

That’s why it has often been transferred into the business and corporate world, since its structure greatly fits the need for achieving concrete objectives (and, let’s be honest, companies tend to have more budget for this kind of service). I believe that is part of the reason why, in the collective subconscious, whenever people hear the word “coach” or “coaching,” usually the image of a headset wearing, energetic keynote speaker is conjured. When I mention “coaching”, the comments from people are very often along the lines of: “ah, right… motivation, productivity and that sort of thing…”. And yes, many coaches do that, but I see it quite differently.

In fact, if you’re here because you need to increase your sales quota or improve your team’s productivity, I warmly invite you to look for other people who focus on that—and as always, my recommendation is that they be certified professionals with solid training backgrounds. And don't worry, there are many who fit.

Coaching can be applied to almost every area and dimension of life. Some coaches work with people with addictions, others accompany end-of-life processes, some focus on family matters, others specialize in revealing our life purpose, and so—literally—a countless list of examples.

When we talk about the differences between coaching and therapy, the first thing I think is important to mention is that we’re making  generalizations. There are many ways of doing therapy and many ways of doing coaching, with very different approaches. What follows is not meant to pigeonhole or dictate, but to offer an orienting idea that will hopefully be helpful.

That said, one difference that is often useful to point out has to do with the starting point and viewpoint of each process. In general terms, therapy starts from the present and often passes through the past in order to understand it clearly, with the intention that this understanding enables change in the present. Coaching, by contrast, often starts from a functional—though improvable—present and keeps its gaze on a future of maximum potential: what the person wants to build.

This doesn’t mean that in coaching we avoid topics from the past. They show up—a lot. As in any other deep process, we encounter limiting beliefs, interpretations, projections, patterns…. The difference resides in how we work with them. In coaching we usually identify the limiting factor, look at it from different angles, and broaden awareness of what is happening, but without “going into” it as you would in a therapy session. At that point the focus turns to: what do you want to do with this? Go around it, go through it, jump over it? What matters is that you can keep moving toward what you want to achieve.

Another important difference has to do with the professional’s position. In therapy, sometimes—not always—the therapist occupies the position of expert authority and may offer interpretations or proposals. In coaching, you are the expert in your life. The coach—while being an expert in the coaching process—stands beside you to accompany and support the process and help you gain clarity, but does not give advice or propose paths. The direction of the work and the decisions always belong to you.

Gestalt therapy is one of the most widespread humanistic, person-centered therapies. The word Gestalt is often understood as figure: that which emerges and stands out against a background, like the figure of a drawing that appears over a neutral background.

Born from the work of Fritz and Laura Perls, Gestalt draws from Freud’s teachings (Fritz was his disciple), going deeper into areas not necessarily addressed by psychoanalysis, such as the body, emotions, direct experience, and the here and now.

One of its pillars is the idea of organismic self-regulation: our psycho-physical organism is naturally designed to detect and satisfy its own needs. For example, dryness appears in the mouth, we recognize it as thirst, understand we want water, go to the kitchen, drink, and feel satisfied. In this process, the need appears as a figure against the background of a neutral state.

Problems arise when we interrupt some phase of this self-regulation cycle. These interruptions are usually learned mechanisms—especially in childhood and during socialization—although they can also be related to trauma or other significant experiences. When a need cannot be satisfied, an unfinished Gestalt is created that tries to resolve itself again and again, generating discomfort and unwanted consequences. In most cases, all of this happens unconsciously.

Therapeutic work consists of getting to know oneself, bringing awareness to these processes—always from the here and now, the only place where they can be addressed—and taking responsibility for them. Responsibility understood not as blame, but as the ability to respond instead of reacting automatically.

The goal of therapy is to help the person develop greater awareness of themselves, of what happens in their inner world and in their experience in contact with the environment and others. From there, allowing the process to move forward without interruptions, those parts that have been fragmented or left unfinished are reintegrated, fostering a growing sense of coherence, wholeness, and maturity.

Gestalt therapy is also integrative in the sense that it does not focus only on the cognitive, but includes the bodily and instinctive—where all the truth of experience resides—and the emotional, approaching the person as a whole.

Core Energy Coaching, developed by iPEC, starts from a premise that differs from many coaching methodologies focused mainly on changing behavior. In this approach, it’s understood that for an action to occur, there is first an internal process that begins with the energy that drives it.

Here, energy is not necessarily understood as a spiritual concept, but as a metabolic process: the way our organism mobilizes internally based on how we perceive and interpret reality. This energy can be more constructive (anabolic) or more limiting (catabolic). Neither is better than the other; both are necessary for survival, adaptation, and growth. The “flavor” of this energy shapes our actions, which produce results that we then interpret again through the same internal filters, creating a continuous feedback loop.



The Core Energy Coaching process focuses above all on increasing awareness of this cycle. Through the work, the person learns to identify their perceptual filters and the energy levels from which they face life’s challenges. This awareness becomes the key that allows them to choose how they want to shape their energy and act from there—to move from being at the effect of life to becoming the cause of their own lives.

I believe the first and most important thing to say about the ELI Assessment (Energy Leadership® Index), developed by iPEC, is that it is not a personality test. It doesn’t box or label a person; instead it offers a dynamic snapshot of how you are using your energy at this moment in life. It doesn’t describe who you are, but from where you are responding to what happens to you—a mirror held up to your inner world.

Precisely because of that, the ELI reflects the internal changes that occur throughout a coaching process. As a person increases awareness, identifies their filters, and learns to relate differently to life’s challenges, those changes are reflected in the assessment results. That is why I often start coaching processes with the ELI, and it can be especially interesting to repeat it periodically—every six months or a year—and at the end of the process. This helps to clearly observe the evolution.

The ELI can be taken individually or in a 360º format, also incorporating the perspective of people in your environment (family, team, collaborators…), which allows you to compare how you perceive yourself with how you are perceived.

The debrief session can be, in itself, tremendously illuminating—even if you don’t want to do a deeper process afterwards. Many people experience a significant impact with that first meeting, as they become able to put words and bring awareness to their unique mix of energies and how it influences the way they live, decide, and act.

It’s fascinating how our mind struggles to categorize and label everything that makes up our reality in order to feel safe. I’m afraid my answer to this question is not aimed at your mind.

I strongly believe that what creates real impact in a process is not any particular technique or methodology, but the bond that is created between us. It is from there—from trust, presence, and genuine humanity —that the work becomes meaningful.

My vocation is to accompany people in their processes, especially when they move through unknown spaces, moments of change, or searching. For that I use the entire arsenal at my disposal: what I’ve learned and experienced, what I continue to learn and train in, and also my intuition and creativity. Not as a rigid set of tools, but in service of what each person needs in each moment.

All with a single focus: you.