Lesson, Therapy, or Coaching?
Many musicians and artists come to my work knowing something isn’t working, but unsure where to turn. They’ve taken lessons. Some have been to therapy. Coaching, however, often feels unfamiliar or vaguely defined.
So let’s be precise.
These are not interchangeable modalities. They serve different purposes, hold different power structures, and ask different things of the person walking in the door.
Understanding the difference is not semantic. It’s how you choose the right container for the kind of change you actually want.
The Lesson Model
Skill, Correction, Replication
A lesson is built around instruction.There is an assumed hierarchy. One person holds expertise. The other receives guidance.
In a lesson:
The teacher identifies problems.
The student works to correct them.
Progress is measured against an external standard.
The goal is skill acquisition, accuracy, or mastery within a defined framework.
This model works beautifully for learning repertoire, technique, or style. It is efficient, directive, and outcome-oriented.
Where it breaks down is when the issue isn’t a lack of knowledge, but a lack of agency.
Lessons are not designed to address:
Why the same patterns repeat despite competence
Why confidence collapses under pressure
Why insight doesn’t translate into sustainable change
Why effort increases while freedom decreases
At that point, more instruction often adds strain rather than clarity.
Therapy
Healing, Processing, Stabilization
Therapy serves a fundamentally different role. It is designed to help people:
Process past experiences
Work with trauma, grief, anxiety, or depression
Understand emotional patterns and relational history
Restore psychological safety and stability
In therapy:
The therapist helps identify what needs healing.
The focus often includes the past and its impact on the present.
The goal is integration, regulation, and well-being.
Therapy is essential work. And it is not the same as coaching.
Therapists do not require readiness for change in the same way. Often, their role includes helping someone discover whether change is possible or needed.
That distinction matters.
Coaching
Authorship, Responsibility, Capacity
Coaching begins after a decision has been made.
Not the decision to feel better. The decision to take responsibility.
In my work, coaching is a structured partnership where:
I hold the container, process, and rigor.
You bring the willingness to engage honestly.
The work focuses on present-moment choice rather than past explanation.
Progress is measured by capacity, not reassurance.
I do not tell people they need to change. I do not convince, diagnose, or fix.
Coaching assumes:
You already know something needs to shift.
You are ready to stop giving your power away.
You want to practice choosing differently, not just understand why you haven’t.
This is not softer than lessons. It is not less serious than therapy.
It is more demanding in a different way.
Coaching requires:
Responsibility rather than permission
Participation rather than compliance
Engagement rather than performance
Why Artists Often Get Stuck Between Models
Many artists stay in lessons long after lessons are serving them. They enter therapy hoping it will restore creative agency. They feel confused when neither quite addresses the core issue.
That issue is often not skill, nor pathology.
It is authorship.
Who is leading your choices? Who decides when something shifts? Who holds your power?
Coaching is the container for people who are ready to answer those questions directly.
How to Know What You Need Right Now
You might be best served by a lesson if:
You want technical instruction or repertoire support
You are learning a new skill or refining a specific craft
You want clear, directive feedback
You might be best served by therapy if:
You are processing trauma, grief, or mental health challenges
You feel overwhelmed, destabilized, or unsafe
You need support identifying what healing looks like
You might be ready for coaching if:
You already know something must change
You’re tired of insight without integration
You want to stop outsourcing authority
You’re ready to practice responsibility in real time
The Work I Do
I work with artists and professionals who are already capable.
People who don’t need more information. They need a different relationship to choice.
When our work is complete, clients can:
See themselves honestly rather than through distortion
Recognize when they’re giving power away
Choose action in the present moment
Create without waiting for permission or reassurance
That is not motivation. That is capacity. And it only works when the desire for change is already there.
If you’re already clear that something needs to change and you’re ready to take responsibility for the process, you can learn more about Artist Coaching here.