Life Coaches: Who We Are & What We Do
By YourTango Expert's Team posted
What Is A Life Coach?
Life coaching has its roots in executive coaching, which drew on techniques developed in management consulting and leadership training through counseling practices. Life coaching also includes disciplines from sociology, psychology, positive adult development, career counseling and mentoring. Life coaches are particularly helpful in times of transition or stress, as they can help you determine and achieve personal goals that can be difficult to reach on your own.
Working with a life coach does not focus on examining or diagnosing the past, but instead focuses on affecting change in your current and future behavior. By acting as a sounding board on current behaviors, this pro is then able to offer tools and motivation for you to change unproductive behaviors, work on issues and problems, and get you to where you want to be in your personal life.
Why Do People Work With Life Coaches?
Life coaches help people gain clarity about situations in which they may have been stuck in the past. These pros offer clients a safe and challenging environment in which you can explore issues and receive objective and non-judgmental input. A life coach can increase your confidence level and help you create an action plan to move forward with positive results.
The path of life is usually not a straight line, and often the twists and turns can disorient us and make us forget what we really want. A life coach will help you discover and reconnect with your vision for your life and provide tools to help you reach your goals.
What Issues Can A Life Coach Help Me With?
Life coaches help clients in areas like relationships, career, finances, health, and spirituality. Because life coaches are able to help with such a wide array of issues it’s best to consider one area of your life that you want to concentrate on and begin there.
What Can I Expect When I Work With A Life Coach?
Before the first session life coaches will frequently ask clients to complete a questionnaire in order to get acquainted with the client’s history and needs. In session, you will discuss possible formats and the level of support you want, along with a strategy for addressing the areas you most want to focus on.
Sometimes there can be conflict between what the client wants to focus on and what the life coach sees as important. When this happens, the coach will work with the client to iron out inconsistencies and uncover issues that underlie the conflict. Through this collaborative work clients often discover the true reason they are stuck on a particular issue or have not achieved their desired goal.
Training & Credentials
Many service providers use the title of "coach." Multiple coaching schools and training programs are available allowing for many types of certifications or credentials. Organizations such as the 14-year-old International Coach Federation have been created to advance the coaching profession by setting standards for coaching, providing independent certification, and building a network of credentialed coaches both in the US and in other countries.
Nuts & Bolts
The services provided by life coaches range from personal, one-on-one consultations, to workshops and seminars. A large number of life coaches work over the phone or via e-mail as well as in person, providing great flexibility.
The first session with a life coach will usually run from 60 to 90 minutes so the partnership can be established and the coaching process begun. Follow up appointments will consist of weekly 30- to 90-minute sessions. The duration of time you spend with this pro is up to you. It might last three to six months or go as long as one to two years.
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