The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released an article: "Almost anyone can become a life coach. A hidden camera investigation reveals why that's a problem”
Pretty much anyone can become a life coach.
The unregulated industry requires little-to-no training and offers the possibility of lucrative returns.
But a hidden-camera investigation into the business of life coaching by CBC's Marketplace found that some coaches are doing more than just helping people meet goals — they're offering advice about mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, even though they are not qualified to do so.
They're also using what experts call manipulative sales tactics to pressure people to spend hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars for their services on the spot.
Multiple experts, including psychologists, academics who specialize in mental health, and another life coach reviewed consultations and sessions Marketplace producers captured on hidden camera. And they say what they saw was concerning.
"It's a real Wild West," said Lorraine Bennington, a registered psychologist in Vancouver who has also been a life coach since the 1980s. She said that many unqualified coaches may veer into offering what's essentially therapy.
"There is potential risk involved whenever someone treats mental illness without having the appropriate background," she told Marketplace.
While there's no official definition, a life coach is widely regarded as someone meant to help clients set and reach personal and professional goals. Unlike with doctors, psychologists or psychiatrists, there is no academic qualification required to be a life coach, and no governing body to regulate the industry.
Globally, it's estimated that there were about 71,000 coach practitioners in 2019 — a 33 per cent increase from just four years earlier, according to a 2020 study from the International Coaching Federation.
While there are hundreds of programs claiming to certify and train life coaches, some even providing accreditation, life coaching is not a protected title.
Some training programs are as easy to complete as paying a fee and completing a quiz — something one Marketplace host was able to obtain in about an hour, while shopping, after skipping the course material.
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