Coaching FAQs

1.    What is coaching?
2.    How, why, and when do you blend coaching and consulting?
3.    What can you expect from me?
4.    Do I need to have an identified problem when I hire a coach?
5.    What is the coaching process like?
6.    Is everything we discuss confidential?
7.    How are you going to get me to do what I try so hard to do myself and can’t be successful? 
8.    How long will it take to achieve my goals?
9.    If I stop working with you will I backslide?
10.  Why does a person whose life is okay need a coach? 
11.  How does coaching compare to therapy?
12.  What qualifies you to be a coach and why should I work with you rather than someone else?
13.  How can you be a life, health and wellness coach?
14.  How does your background in the health field effect your coaching?
15.  How can coaching work over the phone and are you available to meet with me in person?

1.  What is coaching?
“Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”  (International Coach Federation)  I believe it is also the art and process of facilitating a person’s learning journey. My mission as a coach is to accompany you on your personal and professional journeys so you can be happy, healthy, balanced, and productive at any stage of life.  I know that you have the inner wisdom to answer your own questions and it is my role, through powerful questioning, to produce insights that will allow this knowledge to surface.

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2.  How, why, and when do you blend coaching and consulting?
Although coaching may focus on specific challenges, each client owns the solution, because it is through his or her own  process of self discovery that insights occur and goals are established.  The end result, positive forward action, is a result of the collaborative partnership between the coach and client.  Consultants, on the other hand, consider a problem, arrive at a conclusion, and then recommend a procedure to resolve the issue.  I often use a blend of coaching and consulting, offering a combination of advice and expertise, motivation, brainstorming, and powerful questioning.

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3.  What can you expect from me?
You can expect a committed partnership, structure, suggestions, experience, and research-based information.  My style is questioning and challenging, but it is also supportive, creative, energizing, and just a little bit playful. I use an evidenced-based, solutions-focused approach and have no agenda to forward other than yours. I care about all of my clients and my goal is to have each and every one succeed.

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4.  Do I need to have an identified problem when I hire a coach?
No.  You own your beliefs and you are the architect of your dreams.  You may not be able to identify exactly what is challenging you, but instead just feel that things are not as great as they could be. 

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5.  What is the coaching process like?
As your coach, I will ask questions, encourage, advise, challenge, make requests, and listen for your truth so that you remain aligned with who you are, your goals, your values, and your vision. My focus will be completely on you and what you want in life:  I stand for you first and foremost, not just for your goals. The coaching relationship is designed by both of us, and is sculpted  through ongoing two-way feedback.  I am committed to your journey, but you drive the process and are ultimately responsible for your actions.

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6.  Is everything we discuss confidential?
Absolutely.

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7.  How are you going to get me to do what I have tried so hard to achieve myself without success? 
As your coach I can help you set goals and take actions to bring about change and form new habit patterns.  I provide structure and a committed nonjudgmental partnership.  I gently hold you accountable for the actions you commit to take to reach your goals.  I firmly believe that accountability is a key factor in the production of the new habit patterns that lead to altered behavior.

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8.  How long will it take to achieve my goals?
I recommend that you commit to coaching for a minimum of twelve weeks because the hardwiring and embedding of new habit patterns accrues over time.  To make the experience as valuable as possible, I encourage you to make this commitment to yourself.   However, every person is unique and the length and frequency of the sessions are adapted to you  and what you want to achieve. Learn more about the coaching services I offer.

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9.  If I stop working with you will I backslide?
There are no absolutes.  However, our brains have amazing neuroplasticity and we have the capacity to learn well into our nineties.  You develop and embed new habit patterns over the term of the coaching engagement. Because I give you enormous encouragement to maintain those patterns and I hold you accountable for your actions, the likelihood of a backslide is minimized.

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10.  Why does a person whose life is okay need a coach? 
Coaching can help you go from good to great.  Working with a sensitive and empathic coach is a healthy way to grow.  Most clients hire a coach to work on specific goals yet, with coaching, many of my clients rediscover themselves and find they adjust their goals to be more in alignment with who they really are. This discovery process is natural and you do not need to concentrate on it;you should just realize it may happen.   It is noteworthy that most great performers and athletes, even with their innate ability, work with coaches to help them reach and sustain their peak performance.

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11.  How does coaching compare to therapy?
Coaching is not therapy.  Coaching is not cheerleading.  Coaching uses a defined process to produce insights and changes in habit patterns.  Therapy analyzes, interprets, and probes various issues, usually focusing on what has already happened.  Coaching is action and solution oriented and emphasizes the present and what is possible in the future.   Some clients have been in therapy and some continue with their therapy during their coaching engagement.  If I feel that therapy would be better suited for your challenges than coaching, I will be candid with you about it.

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12.  What qualifies you to be a coach and why should I work with you rather than someone else?
I have a unique blend of educational preparation, professional achievement, personal experience, and a gift for listening and creative thinking.  For specific information about me please go to the About Me page.

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13.  How can you be a life, health and wellness coach?
We all play multiple roles in our lives.  My educational preparation and varied professional experiences have prepared me to operate in many arenas.  Basically, “been there, done that.”  The coaching process, moreover, is universal – the process remains the same even though each application is unique.  My depth of education and wealth of experience allows me to maintain the process while adapting it to each individual client.

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14.  How does your background in the health field impact your coaching?
Every person’s health and well-being plays a critical role in the way that he or she progresses through life.  My background in nursing, nutrition, and education allows me to offer my clients a broad range of expertise as they examine the role their health plays in their over all well-being.  My view of health is holistic and integrative and embraces the organic, dynamic, and interdependent relationship between the body and its parts.  I see the whole being as greater than the sum of its physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social components.  I believe that wellness is a part of overall health and describes an optimal state of well-being that is produced by balancing these components and by actively making and practicing healthy lifestye choices.

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15.  How can coaching work over the phone and are you available to meet with me in person?
The telephone offers a wonderful opportunity to have an in-depth conversation without you feeling as though you are under scrutiny.  The absence of eye contact is often very freeing and allows you to feel more comfortable in sharing information.  Experienced coaches are very attuned to changes in tone, tenor, and pacing as a reflection of  emotions. Although most coaching sessions take place on the phone, in person sessions are available as well.

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Next: Learn about the type of clients I work with on the My Clients page.