10 February 2025 Choosing a coach in Italy in 2025: clarifying some misconceptions
Choosing a professional coach in Italy: some clarifications
Often the term 'coach' is used in a generic and confusing way, associating it with all activities that provide some kind of personal guidance and support.
A coach, on the other hand, is a professional who accompanies people towards achieving their goals, stimulating them to find their own answers and develop their potential.
This takes place in a relationship of equal and equal exchange, in which the coach is responsible for the process of fostering dialogue, reflection and the discovery of new awareness, while the client is responsible for the content to be addressed with an attitude of openness to curiosity and possibility.
Coaching, in fact, focuses on experiencing and listening to the desires, thoughts and emotions of what emerges in the dialogue between coach and client.
The fact that the coaching experience is very personalised on the diversity of what the human being can experience with his individuality, leads to different, often wrong interpretations on the real role of the coach and the characteristics of the coaching activity.
I mention a few of them below.
Misconceptions about Coach and Coaching
Here are some of the most common misconceptions concerning the coaching profession and coaching:
- The coach solves your problem: One of the biggest misconceptions about the coaching profession is to think that the coach has all the answers and can magically solve the client's problems. In reality, the coach is a facilitator who helps the client find his or her own solutions by harnessing individual internal resources that he or she has or is not yet fully aware of.
- Coaching is like psychological therapy: Although there may be some overlap due to the fact that psychology and coaching both address the individual, they are two distinct professions. In particular, coaching does not diagnose or treat mental disorders. The focus of coaching is on developing the individual's potential and achieving specific results, from the present onwards.
- Coaching serves those in difficulty: coaching is not only useful for people who are going through frustrations and difficult times. It is suitable for every person who wants to work on themselves, to achieve their goals faster and easier, or to change something about themselves and their current situation and improve it.
- The coach tells you what to doThe coach does not provide ready answers. Instead, he asks challenging questions that invite the client to reflect and find his own solutions. The coach is a guide for a shared process, not a mentor or instructor passing on knowledge.
- Coaching is expensive: the cost of coaching varies depending on the professionalism and experience of the coach and the type of service offered. The value of a coaching service, however, goes far beyond the price paid because it is an investment in the person and his or her change for the better. It is an investment in the future, with the opportunity to achieve a higher level of personal and professional satisfaction because progress and results become visible in the modification of beliefs and behaviour and this has a decisive value for future well-being.
- Coaching is just conversation: Coaching is a real discipline that has existed for decades and is constantly evolving, also in connection with the spread of artificial intelligence language models. To think of coaching solely as a practice of language is rather reductive and does not give credit to the importance of what takes place in the exchange of human relationships. Scientific research concerning the benefits and results of coaching refer in particular to the significant improvement in work performance, the development of self-esteem and confidence in one's own abilities, and the promotion of greater individual personal well-being that occur through the exchange of equal experience between human beings.
- Coaching is primarily concerned with sports: Coaching can be useful for anyone, regardless of the area of application and personal situation. In fact, it is an activity with a well-defined process in which the coach can accelerate the attainment of awareness and solutions, and offer tools that are more difficult to achieve alone.
The most important thing is the willingness to involve oneself in the process, with confidence in one's own potential, in the professionalism of the coach and in the methodology.
The Coach Profession in Italy in 2025
The coaching profession falls into the category of 'non-organised professions'. This means that there is no specific professional register for coaches, even though there is a law, no. 4/2013, that recognises the existence and importance of non-organised professions, including coaching.
Law 4/2013 does not set minimum training or competence requirements for the exercise of unorganised professions, which leads to a certain heterogeneity in the quality of services offered and in the preparation of professionals.
However, it should be emphasised that although no specific initial training is required to become a coach, preparation and competence in coaching is achieved through specific training courses. These training courses are both theoretical and practical, and are followed by the accreditation test at the major International Coaching Associations.
The most important and well-known International Coaching Associations are EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) and ICF (International Coaching Federation).
The UNI 11601:2024 Standard
An important reference point for coaching in Italy is Standard UNI 11601:2024, which in 2024 updated the previous Standard UNI 11601:2015.
This standard, although not a law, outlines quality standards and requirements for the provision of coaching services.
It provides a clear and detailed description of coaching, specifies the different types of coaching according to the objectives and methodologies used, and defines the requirements that a coaching service must fulfil to be considered of quality.
The UNI 11601:2024 standard is recognised nationally and is a point of reference for all practitioners. In fact, this standard helps to distinguish professional coaching from other personal support methodologies such as psychology and counselling.
Conclusions: what you need to know to choose a coach in Italy in 2025
The coaching profession in Italy is still relatively undervalued at both the individual and corporate level.
Although the term 'coach' is often used loosely, the coaching profession falls into the category of unorganised professions regulated by Law 4/2013.
The training and skills required to become a coach are usually acquired in specific courses and further validated through accreditation with International Coaching Associations.
Choosing a professional coach, with specific training and accreditation, is a guarantee of acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively support the client's growth path.
Moreover, this often attests adherence to a code of ethics that defines the correct behaviour during coaching.
If you want to know how to start a coaching programme with me, please check the Q&A
And don't hesitate to contact me, I will be happy to talk to you.
You may also be interested in:
Life Coach, the professional to explore and reflect with
In this post on linkedin instead you will find some more information on my accreditation as a coach