What is Life Coaching?
From Wikipedia: “Life coaching is a practice with the aim of helping clients determine and achieve personal goals. Life coaches use multiple methods that will help clients with the process of setting and reaching goals. Coaching is not targeted at psychological illness, and coaches are not therapists nor consultants.”
What values guide me as a Life Coach?
I believe that every individual has an internal compass directing them toward personal growth and self-actualization. As a coach, my intent is to connect the client more directly to that internal compass by using a variety of methods including empathic listening, role-plays, and sharing my insights.
My desire is to be present to the unmet needs of the client in the moment, encourage the client to fully experience these unmet needs, and assist the client in finding alternative ways to meet them. I see my relationship with the client as a partnership focused on improving the client’s well-being by increasing their understanding of their motivations, behaviors, and goals. While I intend to help the client explore their inner life and make suggestions about ways they might grow, the responsibility for change lies with the client.
What are the outcomes of a Life Coaching Relationship for the client?
• Consideration of the intention driving their behaviors
• Clarity on the issues affecting their well-being
• Greater understanding of the benefits and costs of their behaviors
• Creative ways to meet their needs and those of others in their life
• Concrete short and long-term goals focused on personal growth
What does a Life Coaching Session look like?
A Life Coaching Relationship starts with an assessment that takes stock of the client’s desires for change and their internal resources. The product of the assessment is an agreement about the desired outcomes and an estimate of the number of sessions needed to achieve them. Each session will contain a check-in about the client’s current state of being and a dialogue about what to cover in that session (and feedback about the last meetings action plan if applicable).
The body of the session will involve an interactive exploration of the issues using empathic listening, role-plays, and insights from the coach. I enjoy using the Compassionate (Nonviolent) Communication model as a guide to help clients communicate more effectively and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to explore how personality preferences impact the client’s well-being. The session includes an action plan that outlines the behaviors the client will undertake between sessions. The session will conclude with an evaluation about the benefits of the session and any suggestions for the future.
How many sessions are necessary to lead to successful outcomes?
The answer depends on the changes that the client is seeking. My preference is to have at least three sessions in order to allow sufficient feedback on action plans. I believe that we “learn from experience” only when we “reflect” on that experience with an intent to learn. These reflections are a path to wisdom that helps guide future behavior.
Fees
I don’t have set fees. My preference is to determine the “fee” that we are both comfortable with through dialogue at the session. This provides another opportunity to practice our skills. If you would prefer to discuss fees before the session, I’m willing to do that instead.
To schedule a 30 minute consultation
Contact me at davidrmccain@cox.net or 619-218-7554.
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