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Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. (As defined by the International Coaching Federation)

If I were to add to this definition I’d say it’s a collaboration between coach and client to help the client become unstuck by understanding where they are and how to get to where they want to go.

Counseling/therapy focuses on past traumas and healing old wounds. Coaches do not diagnose or treat mental illnesses. While we may look at how those traumas or wounds effect you today, coaching is centered around looking at the present and setting goals for the future. Creating goals, recognizing obstacles and crafting a plan for reaching those goals by overcoming the obstacles. Coaching can be utilized at the same time as therapeutic treatments and a specific confidentiality consent form can be signed if the client wishes to have the coach and therapist collaborate on the client’s wellbeing.

In the coach-client relationship, the client is considered to be the expert on their own life and the one “steering the ship” so to speak. The client gets to “call the shots” while the coach provides feedback, insights and suggestions on how to materialize the client’s goals. While the coach may have gone through similar experiences or have knowledge to pull from, it is the coach’s job to facilitate and foster an environment where the client is able to come to their own conclusions and formulate next steps for themselves rather than the coach simply giving advice.

As a Certified, Trauma-Informed coach, I am specifically trained to notice trauma and how it effects behaviors, thought-processes and emotional regulation. I am able to determine if the client needs to be referred to a therapist or clinician for further treatment of those behaviors and issues. I am not qualified to diagnose or treat trauma as a coach. I am however, able to help clients pursue post-traumatic growth if they are at a stage in their recovery where they are willing and able to make meaningful steps forward.

Each coaching session is designed to help move a client through the process of identifying their needs, problems or set-backs, creating awareness around what is and what isn’t working, and then into a place of empowerment and goal-setting. The client and coach work together to create a game-plan for accomplishing the client’s goals through aligning with the client’s values and abilities.

IFS stands for Internal Family Systems and it is a widely accepted therapeutic viewpoint where an individual’s mind is made up of multiple parts that function as a team that make up the person. These parts can be split into categories of The Core Self, Exiles, Managers, and Firefighters.

The core concept of IFS is that there are “no bad parts”, meaning, the different aspects to someone’s personality or the different voices—such as the “inner critic” for example—are all trying to protect the Self whether functionally or dysfunctionally. The way to handle the parts of ourselves that have developed a dysfunctional way of operating, is to show compassion, acceptance, acknowledgement of what the “part” is trying to protect or accomplish, and then gently redirect it into something more healthy and functional. It is a shame-free, gentle approach to coaching and has proven extremely effective in my own life. If you’d like to learn more about this concept, I am happy to answer any questions you might have, so please do not hesitate to reach out. There is a book on this by the man who originally coined this concept named Richard C Schwartz called No Bad Parts. There is also a Christian book that speaks into this concept called Altogether You by Jenna Riemersma. I have read both and highly recommend either one.