I sometimes wonder how people can think that life coaching is “just for celebrities”, “a pyramid scheme” or any other type of hoax when it is such an accepted facet of the business industry… then I discovered  Nik and Eva Speakman. Advertised as psychotherapists and motivational coaches, the Speakmans boast of developing a “patented Visual Coding and Displacement Therapy” which can “cure most fears and phobias in under ten minutes.”

This is NOT what life coaching is about; I’m also fairly certain most psychotherapy is hardly this accelerated either.

When anyone talks of the pressures of “curing” people on live television and radio, it’s bound to make the general masses skeptical. Using a replica of the DeLorean in their therapy sessions probably doesn’t help either.

DeLorean_DMC-12_Head_with_doors_open

(Photo by: Kevin Abato)

Yes, that DeLorean.

So where does the crossover happen? Why are personalities like the Speakmans hailed as life coaches when their methods are so unorthodox, and, frankly, not at all what traditional life coaches do?

While I suppose it’s fair to argue that the “motivational coaching” part of their services covers their title as “life coach” and the “psychotherapist” title enables them to dole out “therapy” it surprises me that they are often referred to as “life coaches” versus “therapists.” Indeed, their tv show in the UK is entitled “A Life Coach Less Ordinary.” So how does this work? Are they legitimate life coaches, or are they using the life coach industry name to create certain expectations?

My feeling is that this type of “therapy” is largely a placebo effect with a sweet car from a classic 80’s movie…what do you think?