subject: Skeptical About Online Life Coaching? How To Shop Smart And Find The Life Coach You Want [print this page] As life coaching has become a profession widely accepted and accessible to the public in recent years, many are beginning to question the validity of the field as a whole. Many of these questions are coming directly from psychotherapists who hold deep beliefs that a person's capacity for change is inextricably linked to resolving issues from their past.
Work with a life coach does not involve prying open the dark places of pain from the past and slowly healing the wounds one-by-one. This intense process truly does need to occur before moving forward for those who are struggling with severe mental health disorders, such as Major Depression, Bipolar or Personality Disorders. If a life coach begins to see that this is the case, it is their professional responsibility to promptly refer the client to a psychotherapist. It is equally important for life coaches to refer out to psychiatrists if they sense that medication may be a helpful treatment component. For instance, simply learning how to manage time better may be enough structure for mild cases of Adult ADD, but if that structure is not sufficient, medication can be a helpful option to explore.
Life coaches must be clear about this distinction: we do not provide therapy. Coaching is focused on setting and attaining reasonable goals. As a client, you will receive expert problem-solving from a coach who keeps all attention on your future.
With support from a coach and a positive mindset clients see results, but the critics of the field warn that those results may be short-lived. This is true of all and any attempts to personal progress. If you begin practicing guitar with a great teacher, then end the lessons and slowly stop playing on your own, eventually you will have lost your guitar-playing skills. Coaching can jumpstart your journey to greater health and wellness, but unless you make a personal commitment to change, once the coaching relationship ceases, so may your personal success.
For this reason, many online life coaches prefer to maintain contact with clients even after they have met some of their short-term goals. A monthly check-in can hold clients accountable for maintaining their stride toward success. Simply being mindful that you will be reporting your progress to another psychologically inspires you to stay on track.
It is also important to note that life coach training has become a saturated market, with institutions for a myriad of coaching certifications, all costing thousands of dollars and promising a successful future for graduates. With so many life coaches out there, potential clients must also realize that this profession is currently unregulated. There are coaches out there without education or training to competently guide others. Unqualified coaches may have begun this career path because someone told them they're good with people, or because they thought it'd be a lucrative business endeavor. It is up to the consumer, then, to research and be aware of the training obtained by the coach they choose.
In short, purchasing coaching services leaves the responsibility on the client. If you seek an executive coach, then someone with a background in business and success of their own may suit your needs. If you are more personally driven, seeking to find emotional balance and overall wellbeing, a coach with an education in health, social work or even psychology may be your best bet.
by: Melinda Stonecliffe
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
