california professional-licensing
To what extent is coaching legal in California?
<p>According to the <a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/business-and-professions-code/bpc-sect-2903.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">California Code, Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2903</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(a) No person may engage in the practice of psychology, or represent
himself or herself to be a psychologist, without a license granted
under this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.  The
practice of psychology is defined as rendering or offering to render
to individuals, groups, organizations, or the public any psychological
service involving the application of psychological principles,
methods, and procedures of understanding, predicting, and influencing
behavior, such as the principles pertaining to learning, perception,
motivation, emotions, and interpersonal relationships; and the methods
and procedures of interviewing, counseling, psychotherapy, behavior
modification, and hypnosis; and of constructing, administering, and
interpreting tests of mental abilities, aptitudes, interests,
attitudes, personality characteristics, emotions, and motivations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To me, this sounds like it would cover a lot of behavior that people who market themselves as coaches engage in.</p>
<p><a href="https://wetrainlifecoaches.com/ca/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">WeTrainLifeCoaches</a> which trains life coaches in California suggests:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are no legal requirements to become a general life coach in
California, so the best way to show your legitimacy to clients is by
receiving certification from an agency. The best-known certification
agency is The International Coach Federation (ICF), which offers
different levels of life coach certification.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As they speak about there not being a legal requirement, it seems like the coaches they train are not automatically licensed via the above-quoted profession code.</p>
<p>In actual case law, where's the line between what coaches can legally do and what they require being licensed under that section?</p>

<p>In California, psychologists are regulated under <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=BPC&amp;division=2.&amp;title=&amp;part=&amp;chapter=6.6.&amp;article=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ch 6.6</a> within Division 2 (Healing Arts) of the <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=BPC&amp;tocTitle=%20Business%20and%20Professions%20Code%20-%20BPC" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Business and Professions Code</a>. §2902 identifies the essential restriction on the business practice, stating that &quot;A person represents himself or herself to be a psychologist when the person holds himself or herself out to the public by any title or description of services...&quot; using various forms of the word 'psychologist', as well as &quot;when the person holds himself or herself out to be trained, experienced, or an expert in the field of psychology&quot;. In order to say that you are a psychologist, you have to hold a professional psychologists's license. Likewise to hold yourself out as a nurse, you need a nurse's license. A consequence of being a licensed psychologist is that under the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, you may assess a patient's mental state, and you must keep that information confidential. A life coach cannot make a diagnosis, and cannot prescribe cures for mental conditions.</p>
<p>§2908 in particular allows other people to do some of what psychologists do:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent qualified
members of other recognized professional groups licensed to practice
in the State of California, such as, but not limited to, physicians,
clinical social workers, educational psychologists, marriage and
family therapists, licensed professional clinical counselors,
optometrists, psychiatric technicians, or registered nurses, or
attorneys admitted to the State Bar of California, or persons
utilizing hypnotic techniques by referral from persons licensed to
practice medicine, dentistry, or psychology, or persons utilizing
hypnotic techniques which offer avocational or vocational
self-improvement and do not offer therapy for emotional or mental
disorders, or duly ordained members of the recognized clergy, or duly
ordained religious practitioners from doing work of a psychological
nature consistent with the laws governing their respective
professions, provided they do not hold themselves out to the public by
any title or description of services incorporating the words
“psychological,” “psychologist,” “psychology,” “psychometrist,”
“psychometrics,” or “psychometry,” or that they do not state or imply
that they are licensed to practice psychology; except that persons
licensed under Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 4989.10) of
Division 2 may hold themselves out to the public as licensed
educational psychologists.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Analogously, we can talk about the law here without running afoul of UPL laws, because &quot;talking about the law&quot; is not the same as &quot;practicing law&quot;. It is a fairly formalistic distinction, but I or a life coach can talk about what would be good for your soul, as long as I don't claim to be a psychologist dispensing professional advice.</p>
