Do I need a coach or a therapist?
You might want to work with a coach if: you’d like some help setting and achieving goals. You need help clarifying your values and how to live a life aligned with them. You’re in search of an honest thought partner to help you level up your career or your life. Coaches focus on what is holding you back in the present and work with you to envision and create the future you want. Through powerful questions, intuitive listening, homework assignments and other techniques, you can expect to leave each coaching session feeling like you have moved the needle on the session’s topic, as well as on the overall goals of the coaching engagement.
You might want to work with a therapist if: You’re seeking help for mental health issues that are interfering with your daily life. You want to unpack and understand past trauma and its effects on you.
While there is some overlap, therapy focuses on emotional processing and healing the past, while coaching focuses on goal setting and the future.
An ethical coach will notice when coaching is not serving a client and offer a therapist recommendation.
Why are certification and accreditation important?
Would you trust a doctor that hasn’t gone to medical school?
Anyone can call themselves a coach. Certification from an ICF accredited school ensures professional training in ethics and techniques that produce results. Certification means your coach has had supervision, their own coaching sessions, and the support of a network of other coaches who are invested in maintaining the integrity and professionalism of the coaching vocation.
An accreditation from the International Coaching Federation is an assurance that your coach holds themselves to industry wide ethical standards and continues to receive coaching education.
What can I expect in a coaching session?
We’ll meet on zoom, at a cadence that works best for you – most people choose to meet every 2 weeks so they have time to integrate learnings into their lives. However, some people find that they prefer a weekly session. It’s up to you.
Each session we’ll:
- Identify a topic you want some help with.
- Set a goal for the end of the session.
- Identify what’s important to you about the topic.
- Dig into what’s holding you back.
- Explore some other perspectives and action steps.
- Assign some tasks and figure out accountability structures to start moving you towards your overall goals.