f you’ve been considering working with a mindfulness coach but aren’t quite sure what that means — or how it differs from therapy — you’re not alone. It’s one of the questions I hear most often, and it’s a good one. The distinction matters, both for finding the right kind of support and for understanding what mindfulness coaching can and can’t do.
As someone who is both a licensed clinical mental health counselor and a mindfulness coach with more than 40 years of experience, I’ve worked on both sides of this line. Here’s what I’ve learned.
What a Mindfulness Coach Does
A mindfulness coach teaches you how to work with your mind — how to pay attention to your present moment experience with greater clarity, kindness, and skill. The focus is on building practical tools and habits that support well-being, resilience, and a more intentional way of living.
In a mindfulness coaching relationship, we might work on:
- Developing a personal mindfulness meditation practice
- Learning to recognize and work with anxious or stressed states more skillfully
- Building resilience in the face of difficulty or change
- Cultivating self-compassion and a kinder relationship with yourself
- Using mindful awareness to make clearer, more grounded decisions
- Integrating mindfulness into daily life — not just on the cushion but in conversations, relationships, and work
- Creating a more intentional and creatively inspired life
Mindfulness coaching is forward-focused. We start from where you are now and work toward where you want to be. Sessions are typically structured, practical, and skill-building in nature.
How Mindfulness Coaching Differs from Therapy
Therapy — particularly psychotherapy or counseling — is designed to explore and heal. It often involves working through diagnosed mental health conditions like depression, anxiety disorders, or PTSD.
Mindfulness coaching, by contrast, is not designed to diagnose or treat mental health conditions. It is not therapy, and a mindfulness coach — unless also licensed as a therapist — is not trained to provide clinical treatment.
The simplest way I describe the difference to clients:
Therapy tends to ask: what happened, and how has it shaped you? Mindfulness coaching tends to ask: where are you now, and how can you move forward with greater awareness and skill?
Both are valuable. They serve different needs, and sometimes people benefit from both — either simultaneously or at different points in their lives.
When Mindfulness Coaching May Be the Right Fit
Mindfulness coaching may be a good fit if you:
- Are generally functioning well but feel stressed, overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself
- Want to develop or deepen a mindfulness meditation practice but aren’t sure how
- Are navigating a difficult life transition and want support in moving through it with greater clarity
- Feel stuck in patterns of worry, self-criticism, or reactivity and want practical tools to shift them
- Are interested in living more intentionally and with greater presence
- Have completed therapy and want continued support for growth and well-being
When Therapy May Be More Appropriate
Therapy is likely the better starting point if you:
- Are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, or other mental health conditions that are significantly affecting your daily functioning
- Have a history of trauma that hasn’t been addressed clinically
- Are in crisis or experiencing thoughts of self-harm
- Need a diagnosis or clinical assessment
If you’re unsure which is right for you, it’s always worth consulting with a licensed mental health professional first. A good mindfulness coach will tell you honestly if therapy is what you need.
What Makes Jen’s Approach to Mindfulness Coaching Unique
Because I am both a licensed clinical mental health counselor and a mindfulness coach, I bring a clinical lens to my coaching work. I understand the neuroscience of stress, anxiety, and resilience. I know how trauma lives in the body and how mindfulness can support — and sometimes need to work alongside — clinical treatment.
This means I can meet you where you are with both depth and skill. My coaching work is grounded in more than four decades of experience, advanced training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn and ongoing study of the neuroscience of well-being.
What I offer is not a generic mindfulness program. It is a deeply personal, carefully tailored practice built around your life, your needs, and your particular way of moving through the world.
A Note on Finding the Right Mindfulness Coach
If you’re looking for a mindfulness coach, here are a few things worth asking:
- What is their training and background in mindfulness specifically?
- What is their training in coaching?
- Do they have a personal mindfulness practice of their own?
- Are they also licensed in a clinical field, or do they have clear boundaries around what they do and don’t address?
- Do they have experience working with the specific challenges you’re facing?
Mindfulness coaching is an unregulated field, which means the range of training and experience varies widely. Taking time to find someone whose background genuinely matches your needs is well worth it.
Ready to Explore Mindfulness Coaching
If you’re curious about what mindfulness coaching might look like for you, I offer a free 15-minute consultation. It’s a chance to ask questions, share what you’re navigating, and get a sense of whether we might be a good fit.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation
Jen Johnson is a mindfulness coach, licensed clinical mental health counselor, and mindfulness teacher with more than 40 years of experience. She teaches people how to cope with difficult times more skillfully and more fully embrace life’s joy and beauty. Learn more at jenjohnson.com.