Have you been struggling to create some much-needed change in your life? Have you considered hiring a life coach? What’s the best way to hire a life coach, anyway?
As soon as you Google life coaching, you are immediately overwhelmed with so many options and so many different types of coaching. How can you possibly decide the best way to hire a life coach? There are so many factors to consider! One easy place to start is to ask yourself:
is it important to me that my coach uses evidence to inform their coaching practices?
This question narrows the field considerably. Some coaches are science-based and many, if not most, are not. Some clients prefer a more creative approach to coaching and others like a coach who knows the research. You need to decide what fits best for you! Good thing there are all types of coaches out there to choose from!
So how does using an evidence-based coach benefit you? Coaches who follow the research know what does and doesn’t tend to work for most people. It isn’t a “one size fits all” situation, of course, but using research as a tool does jump-start the process and helps optimize the results. It’s efficient: it saves you time and money. I trust science, and I’ve used it to help people for over 30 years.
Science-based coaches like me are highly trained. We stay current. We continue our training and read about positive psychology, mindfulness, professional and executive coaching, and more. I’ve found individuals (like Jack Kornfield and Robert Emmons) and departments at academic institutions (like UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Center) that I respect and trust. I’ve watched these people and places grow, becoming more and more successful in their research endeavors and producing practical tools that clients can easily integrate into their lives.
Let’s say you’re struggling with anxiety about sending your first child off to college this fall. We would discuss the difficulty you are having and review your many strengths. Based on what I learn about you, I would review the literature on effective strategies and tools that could be helpful. The strategies that I use to support a mom navigating the college transition, for example, are often a bit different from ones I might use for someone hoping to improve their health and wellness. We would then discuss what the research shows and chat about your thoughts and feelings about different options. What might you like to try? What are you definitely not interested in considering? We work collaboratively to build a menu of potential tools that fits you! Then, you try things on for size!
Maybe one week, you try a hard-copy gratitude journal but you quickly realize it doesn’t work well for your hectic, on-the-move way of life. Maybe you switch to a gratitude app that you use while waiting in the parking lot at school pick-up. You use the hard copy journal weekly when you have a few more minutes. Not everything will work for everyone, even if there is evidence supporting it!
As we explore the options, I listen to what works well for you and support you in the development of your own, personalized toolkit! Once we have a plan of action, we work together to keep you on track, overcome the inevitable obstacles, and reach your goals, one small step at a time! Feel free to reach out to me if you want to learn more about me and the services I offer.