Life Is Full of Choices

Choosing a Life Coach is a decision that, should not be taken lightly. Life/Relationship Coaches are just like any other profession. A Dr, a Dentist, a Hairstylist; there are great ones, good, ones and bad ones.  ALL according to the perception of the Client!

When we find a professional in the area of expertise we are looking for and they meet our needs or in some cases even exceed our needs, we know and appreciate it almost immediately. The same is true when the opposite is the case.

When choosing a Life/Relationship Coach there are many things to look for and quite honestly if you are unsure of what to look for, I strongly encourage you to google that. What I will say though, is that it should be someone you feel comfortable with. You may likely be sharing parts of your personal life with them, and while-yes you can trust that it is all confidential; if you do not trust and feel comfortable being open and honest with your chosen coach it could hinder your progress. 

There may also (probably quite likely) be times that you will feel challenged by a coach, so having that comfortable trust is very important. There will be many different kinds of emotions that will come up in the context of this type of relationship. 

It is a working relationship, a one sided one at that. A Life/Relationship coach will feel like a friend, especially when/if we are effective and have brought relief/success into your life, and in my opinion that is how it should feel. Even though, you have "hired" a coach, it is ok if it feels familiar and safe.

There are of course exceptions to every rule, and it if that relationship develops dependency issues etc, a good coach will quickly be able to recognize and address that. This is a working relationship that should be a comfortable one though. That is why I always make sure we get an opportunity to assess one another before we enter into a coach-client relationship. 

If one of us, or perhaps even both of us, does not feel we are a good working match, there is nothing wrong with that at all by the way, it just simply means you are better suited to another coach or another kind of professional. 

Most often however, by the time someone reaches out to me for the first time they have a pretty good idea of who they will be working with before they even do so. 

Why a Life/Relationship Coach?

If only there were a simple answer to that-right? In some cases it's pretty easy to know what kind of professional help to look for other times its not so cut and dried. When it comes to issues that arise in our lives and our relationships finding the right kind of help can be very daunting.

When I was taking my course in certification, the explanation of the difference between a Phycologist (including all others in this field) and a Life Coach came up. There are many differences of course but, the main differences are Phycologist can diagnose certain mental illness's, prescribe medications, and they usually deal with issues of the past. They are also bound by confidentiality. As coaches by law we are not, this only means that if there is criminal activity and we are questioned we are not protected by the law of confidentiality. 

That all being said, of course ethically we do protect your privacy it is just that the law will not protect our right to do so. Also, when/if a client comes to see me and I know that they need help beyond the realm of what I can do, I will quickly let them know and or even help guide them to the right kind of help.

So what do coaches do then? In that same answer to that explanation we were given is; we help people move forward. So put quite simply Phycologists work in the past we work in the now and onward-we help move you forward or through life/relationship issues. There are absolutely times when we delve into the past and when/if that is the case it is only as far as YOU want to go with that. When/if we do go there it is for information, clarity, and yes to ultimately move you forward in a positive direction.