Coaching is for someone who is motivated to overcome an obstacle, seize an opportunity, see things in a new way, get unstuck, or live with more intentionality.

You don’t have to be an executive, an athlete, or a high-perform. (Though, of course, those people can benefit from coaching, too).

Coaching is a tool that can be applied in an endless number of ways and contexts.

Coaching and therapy or counseling are not the same thing.

Therapy starts by asking about problems. What’s not working, what’s wrong, what’s missing. I’m a big believer in therapy and have benefited from massively. It’s helpful for managing mental health issues, exploring root causes of challenges, and equipping people to develop tools for navigating difficult emotions, relationships, trauma, and complex challenges.

Coaching, on the other hand, is focused on asking about solutions or opportunities. What are you aiming for, what would success be for you, what would lead to satisfaction or fulfillment? How do you want to move forward? Why does growth, accomplishment, or simply growth mean to you? Coaching is helpful for choosing action, creating accountability, and leveraging your experiences, strengths, and inner wisdom that help you move toward thriving.

Coaching sits squarely in the arena of “helping professions.” What does that mean? Therapists, coaches, social workers, doctors and nurses, human services workers, psychiatrists, and more fit within the category of helping professions. Having a diverse set of roles and ways to support people is something we can easily take for granted for. The biggest opportunity for everyone is to build up your own network or team of helping professionals, who can contribute to specific aspects of your wellbeing, along with your overall wellbeing. Working with a therapist, a coach, a physical trainer, and a nutritionist, therefore, shouldn’t be seen as redundant or unnecessary—rather, it might be seen as a highly intentional support system to help you be and become all that you want to be.

We start by making sure there is a good fit between the coach and the person seeking coaching.

From there, we spend time getting clear on what your desired outcome or growth area is, explore what’s already working, identify possibilities, and then make a plan. Coaching works best over the course of several conversations, always at the pace and spacing desired by the person receiving coaching.

Labels aren’t always helpful, as they bring along preconceived notions and limit both our experiences and our interactions with each other.

That said, no, I don’t consider myself a life coach. I’m an emotional intelligence coach, an optimism coach, a brain-based coach, a nature-based coach, an adaptive coach. (I’ve been a management, leadership, and executive coach as well, but even those labels feel like unhelpful labels at times).

What does that all mean? It just means I have experience and training to help me understand you and the most effective ways to help you see, think, and act with intentionality and impact.