What is it?

Quite simply, it is about what YOU want. It is a positive and practical process of self discovery, to help you see the choices you have towards fulfilment.

As human beings we are all born with the ability to be, do or have, whatever we want in life but by the time we become adults, many of us have lost this ability due to the influences of family, friends and society as a whole. Ultimately, we may experience the feeling that we don’t really know who we are and what we want and that “there must be something better than this”.

Life Coaching is about “the now and the future”; it gives people the confidence and ability to move forward in a positive manner in the areas of their life, where they crave change. Life coaching is about breaking down barriers that prevent this change from happening and creating the ideal environment for positive action to take place. It is a totally holistic approach that looks at the present and sets goals for a totally successful future.

How does life coaching differ from therapy or counselling?

In many situations, a therapist or counsellor will look to the immediate or distant past to understand the causes of their patient's issues, to enable them to move on. Although a coach will have a good understanding of how their client's past has created their present, the focus will be on where they are now and where they want to be in the future.

Who needs a life coach?

May be everybody at some point in their life.

It is very easy to accept or tolerate what is going on in our life because on our own, it is too difficult to overcome the barriers to change or in fact, to see that we have any options at all. Family, friends or work colleagues will have preconceived ideas and prejudgments about what we should be doing and hence will have an influence over our plans.

A life coach is an independent who maintains an open mind and has the skills to really make things happen.

Some examples of client issues

• They were doing well at work but wanted to increase progress towards achieving their career aspirations.
• They were unhappy at work but felt lost as to whether they were in right job, the right organisation or in fact needed a complete change of direction.
• They were stressed and burnt out with too many people pulling them in different directions.
• They were working far too many hours and not spending enough time outside work with their family or pursuing their leisure interests.
• They wanted to make more time in their life to focus on themselves and what they wanted.
• They wanted to be more assertive in certain situations and felt that a lack of confidence was holding them back at work and in life generally.

What actually happens?

• An initial, no obligation, discussion about coaching and what it can achieve.
• A 1½ - 2 hour introductory session to obtain a holistic picture of the client’s life and what they want to achieve.
• Appointments thereafter are preferably on a weekly basis to maintain the momentum and last approximately 45mins to 1 hour.

Where does it take place?

It is preferable that the introductory session is face-to-face and thereafter, it is the client’s choice as to whether the following sessions are face-to-face or over the telephone.

How long would you expect to be coached?

Depending upon the issues, a minimum commitment of 4 weeks is normally recommended, because although a client will start benefiting after the first session, they are unlikely to achieve significant results in fewer than 4 sessions.

The aim of coaching is to empower a client to take responsibility and become independent in their ongoing work towards fulfilment. It is therefore unusual for the coaching process to last longer than 3 months and the average is about 4-6 weeks.