Frequently Asked Questions

What is a life coach?
What is life coaching?
What is the difference between coaching and therapy?
What is the difference between coaching and consulting?
How does life coaching work?
When do client and coach meet?
Where do clients meet with their coach?
How long are the sessions?
What costs are involved with life coaching?
How long should I expect to work with a coach?

What is a life coach?

A life coach is a certified professional who supports, empowers, and challenges individuals to help them realize their personal and professional goals.

What is life coaching?

Life coaching provides a professional, results oriented, strategy to help individuals reach their personal and/or professional goals. The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines life coaching as an ongoing professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses or organizations. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life.

As defined by the ICF, life coaching adheres to a form of coaching that honors the client as the expert in his/her life and work, and believes that every client is creative, resourceful and whole.

The coach’s responsibility is to:

Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve.
Encourage client self discovery.
Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies.
Hold the client responsible and accountable.

In each meeting, the client chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions. This interaction creates clarity and moves the client into action.

Life coaching accelerates the client’s progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice. Coaching concentrates on where clients are now and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the future.

ICF member coaches and ICF credentialed coaches recognize that results are a matter of the client’s intentions, choices and actions, supported by the coach’s efforts and application of the coaching process.

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What is the difference between coaching and therapy?

Coaching focuses on the present and future and guides the individual to their own solutions. Therapy typically focuses on the past, family of origin and on healing deeply painful emotional issues.

What is the difference between coaching and consulting?

Coaches listen and ask questions to guide clients to their own answers and solutions. Consultants give advice, provide suggestions, recommendations and information. In some cases, coaches may serve as a consultant when they have expertise in a specific area of interest to their client. For example, if the coach also has experience as a professional business image consultant or as a bereavement counselor (as I do), they may offer information as a consultant to their client.

How does life coaching work?

In life coaching, a coach and a client work together as partners to help the client achieve more than the client could likely accomplish on their own. My clients have described working with a life coach as similar to assembling a jigsaw puzzle -- identifying and placing select pieces to create the life you want. As with a jigsaw puzzle, in life coaching, a coach and a client will first work together to identify just what the client wants their life to look like. Next, we identify the specific pieces that will create that picture. After we identify the big picture and the pieces needed to create it, we then build a strategic plan to “put it all together”.

The client creates S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Related) goals for each portion of the plan. The coach provides ongoing support, encouragement and accountability for the client on the path to accomplishing their goals.

When do client and coach meet?

Coaching meetings are usually held once a week at a scheduled time. Since coaching is geared to meet the client’s needs this can be flexible.

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Where do clients meet with their coach?

When determining location, confidentiality is a top priority. The other top consideration is time constraints. For this reason, most coaching sessions are conducted by telephone. Coaching sessions can also be conducted, by appointment, in the coach’s office or the client’s office. For team coaching, the coach travels to the team’s location.

How long are the sessions?

Coaching sessions usually last from 45 minutes to 1 hour, but can be held in 30 minute sessions if client and coach agree. Team coaching may be in 2-hour, half, full or multiple day sessions depending on the needs of the team and the strategy developed by the team leader and the coach.

What costs are involved with life coaching?

Rates vary according to coach. I charge an hourly rate. Each fee is negotiated and paid in full prior to the first session. I accept personal checks or credit or debit cards through Pay Pal.

How long should I expect to work with a coach?

Coaching is results oriented and client driven. Generally a 3 month or 6 month commitment is expected. However, it is not unusual for some coaches to work with individuals or teams for years; continually generating new dreams, new plans and new goals.

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