Are we a fit?
What you can expect when you work with me
There are as many types of coaches and helping professionals as there are types of people and so it’s important that you find someone you resonate with. The following can help you in the process of finding the right coaching fit for you.
These are some attributes about me and what I offer that may help you determine if you want to have that first session:
- Safety. It is proven that healing, recovery, and change are much more likely to occur if a person feels safe. When the brain and nervous system can shift out of a state of arousal (alert, vigilant, anxious, fearful, etc.) a person will have more resources to problem solve and rewire, creating healthy neuropathways. Safety is the foundation of all treatment.
- Support AND challenge. I’ve learned through my training that those who are interested in personal growth and development, should look for relationships, therapists, counselors and coaches that offer both support and challenge. Too much of one can keep a person stuck; too much support enables and helps people stay asleep at the wheel and too much challenge can cause people to feel defeated, making them want to shut down.
- Collaboration. Coaching is a collaborative process; it is a relationship and an intimate one at that. Like most things, there is a correlation between what we put in and what we get out. Both the client and the coach are expected to participate and do their part.
- A “radical” or root approach. The word radical is Latin for “grasping something at the root.” Most of our issues are symptoms of something systemic/deeper/unconscious. And through the coaching process we can discover the why, therefore finding more holistic and sustainable solutions.
- Cultural lens. While I like to talk with people about their family and personal history, those do not exist in a vacuum. So much of our mental health status is influenced (“conditioned”) by the culture we grew up in. It is the water we swim in. We need to be aware of how culture has affected different aspects of our lives, and build resistance and resilience to what might be undermining our health, while identifying and utilizing what promotes our health.
- Ally and advocate. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a heart for advocacy, which means I focus heavily on not only empowering others, but teaching others how to empower themselves.
- A sense of humor and lightheartedness. There is a lot of hard stuff in life, and it’s important to remember the good stuff too. Humor is an access point for it and often a healthy and appropriate way to discharge tension.
- Emotional literacy. Through both natural proclivities and a lot of work on myself, I have a capacity to explore, accept and express my own emotions, which means I have the capacity to explore and accept your emotions, as well as help you learn how to express them in healthy ways. Getting to know our emotions intimately and work with them skillfully is the basis for emotional literacy.
- Someone who is constantly working on her own issues. I am always learning and growing myself. I have blind spots too, and am interested in what those are, so I surround myself with honest, loving people who support and challenge me, and I seek out tools and support to help me improve.
Attributes I look for in a client, someone who:
- Wants to do it differently
- Is looking to develop self-awareness
- Is looking to develop emotional literacy (if lacking)
- Wants to look at root causes of thoughts, feelings and behavior
- Is interested in personal growth and development
- Values relationship (even if you feel you’re not good at it)
- Wants to be challenged as well as supported
- Is open to exploring their cultural conditioning (external influences on thoughts, feelings and behaviors)
- Does not want to rely on blame as a coping mechanism
- Wants to find and use healthy coping skills
- Is willing to put in the time and effort necessary to improve their life
- Wants to be empowered and learn to self advocate
- Wants authenticity in their life
- Is open to psycho-education about their symptoms and the treatments/interventions