Upcoming Classes at
ILCT
Pat's Ponderings - Pat Williams
Editor's Pen - Annette Miller
Therapy vs. Coaching: How Do We Know
the Difference? - Wyatt Fisher
Colorado Legislation Regarding Coaches
as Psychotherapists
Two Hats Can Be Better Than One:
Ways in Which Coach Training Strengthens Therapy -
Horace Lukens
Resources for Coaches
Issues in Transitioning from Therapy
to Coaching - Susie Strauss
CRG's Workshop in Canada
Liability Reduction Tips for Coaches -
Greg Lewis
Coaching and Humanistic Psychology -
Niela Miller
Announcement: 2004 Christian Coaches
Conference
"One of the best free newsletters,
Tomorrow's Life Coach consists of well-researched,
informative articles on a variety of key topics
for coaches. While a publication of the Institute
for Life Coach Training, many of the articles
are written by other well-known coaches." Highly
recommended by Peer Resources (www.peer.ca/coaching.html)
Upcoming
Classes at ILCT
Foundational Courses
Foundational Coach Training for Therapists
- starts January 19 (M/Th. evenings) and January
20 (Tu/F days)
Foundational Coach Training for Christian Counselors -
starts March 22 (M/W days)
Coaching
Skills
Coaching Skills Practicum
Group Coaching
The Art of the Question
Life Coaching from "Falling Awake"
Coaching
Tools
Computer Savvy/Cyber Skills
Overview: Using Assessments in Coaching
Advanced Course in Using the DISC and PIAV in Coaching
Practice
Building Courses
Creating a Referral Based Business
Practice Made Perfect
Ethics
Coaching
Applications/Specialties
Coaching with Spirit and Soul: Coaching through the Midlife
Transition
Coaching the Entrepreneur/Small Business using the Business
Wheel
Executive Coaching and Development
Executive Coaching Practicum
Relationship Coaching
Marriage Coaching
Wellness Coaching Certification
Dreamwork in Coaching
Employee Assistant Coaching Specialist
For additional classes, details
and online registration, visit our course
section. Some schedules may change; check listing
or contact Edwina Adams, Administration/Registration,
at edwina@lifecoachtraining.com or
Diane Menendez, Director of Faculty and Curriculum,
at diane@lifecoachtraining.com.
Pat's
Ponderings
Dear Readers,
October 29th - I just returned from a weekend in San Diego with
Debbie Ford and her Shadow Process and I am glad to be home
safe and sound from the devastating fires in Southern California.
We all know friends, family, and colleagues who have been affected
by this horror. God bless all of those affected and for those
of us who are so moved, please donate time, energy, money, and/or
resources to those in need.
This month's newsletter is about the distinction between coaching
and therapy. I speak around the globe on this topic and it is
ever present in any discussion today about the evolution of
the profession of coaching. I had the most profound experience
in San Diego recently with Debbie Ford, author of many best
selling books, guest on Oprah and many radio and TV shows. Over
the past few years Debbie has developed her Shadow Process and
other advanced personal transformation experiences that I believe
help clarify the changing face of psychotherapy and counseling
and the evolution of personal coaching. Debbie's weekend experiences
are transformational and yet loving and safe for people to explore
the SHADOW of their personality. We are all familiar with the
concept of the shadow from Carl Jung, Roberto Assagioli and
even Peter Pan. But the fact that we can meet and embrace and
express our SHADOW so that we can live a more authentic and
balanced life is what LIFE COACHING is all about.
Today, people may find the need from time to time to hire a
therapist to help overcome or express deep fissures in their
soul, and yet many powerful and safe intensive trainings such
as Debbie Ford's Shadow Process (www.debbieford.com)
are a way for responsible and healthy individuals to begin to
design their future free from the shackles of their past. That
is what draws me to Life Coaching and compels me to continue
to influence the changing face of counseling and psychotherapy.
In this issue, you will find many articles to stimulate your
thinking and practice of life coaching, distinct from the healing
work of therapy. In 2004, I will be announcing a very special
partnership with Debbie Ford as she and I will be co-teaching
a weekend on the Shadow Process for Therapists only in May of
2004. Watch for it in future mailings.
Pat
Patrick Williams Ed.D., MCC
Chief Energizing Officer, ILCT
Department Chair, Professional Coaching
International University of Professional Studies
www.iups.edu
Editor's
Pen
As you will see from the articles
in this issue on Coaching & Therapy and from
current happenings in the coaching industry, we
are still in a formative stage of our profession.
Progress continues to be made by establishing standards
and defining the coaching profession. Here
are three actions you can take that will support
this progress.
First, provide coaching services
in an ethical manner. For example, never cross into
the realm of therapy with a coaching client, allow
clients to make their own decisions without coercion
and effectively describe the coaching relationship
and process prior to accepting each client. Second,
participate in a professional coaching organization
and honor a professional code of ethics. Periodically
review this code of ethics to ensure you are on
track. Third, continue your learning of professional
ethics by taking a course such as ILCT's new class "Ethics,
Risk Management and Professional Issues."
In support of the coaching profession,
Annette
P.S. Please send your articles
and tidbits related to "Gifts of Coaching" by
November 30 for our December issue--the theme is
open and can include types of gifts you like to
send clients, events you routinely celebrate with
coaching gifts, the gift of yourself to your clients
as a coach, etc. Articles should be 500 words or
you can send a short item. Also next month we will
announce the themes for 2004 and we are still accepting
suggestions from our readers.
Annette A. Miller, Professional Life Coach
annette@lifesync.com
Editor, Tomorrow's Life Coach
Graduate, ILCT
Member, ICF, CCN, IAC
Founder, LifeSync Coaching®
We understand our clients quicker and coach more effectively
by using the Extended DISC assessment system as a foundation
for our coaching programs and workshops. You can accelerate
your client's success with these assessments which are proven
to help people make better decisions. Contact LifeSync Coaching
for Extended DISC certification or assessments services. Details
at www.lifesync.com.
Therapy
vs. Coaching: How Do We Know the Difference?
I am a therapist and a certified
coach, which makes it very interesting for me to
compare and contrast the coaching model with the
psychotherapy model of helping others. In summary,
I have found several similarities and several differences.
In terms of similarities, both are aimed at helping people improve
their lives. Second, coaches and therapists are both trained
at assessing where an individual is and helping them get to
a higher level of functioning. Third, both require good listening
and attending skills.
Fourth, therapists and coaches both need to know how to ask
the right questions at the right time. Fifth, both come alongside
a client for a period in their life to be their encourager and
guide. Lastly, therapists and coaches both use various interventions
in order to help a client achieve their goals.
In terms of differences, one is that coaches and therapists
help people at different functioning levels. Therapists, on
average, help people who are in a crisis and who have serious
dysfunction. Coaches, on the other hand, tend to help people
who are already doing well but want to do even better.
Another difference is the structure. Therapists generally meet
with their clients for one hour each week in an office. In contrast,
coaches typically have 30-minute sessions once a week over the
phone. Third, therapists focus more on the past and developmental
issues of a client, whereas coaches focus more on the future
and growth oriented issues of a client. Lastly, counseling sessions
tend to be more "feelings" and "process" oriented,
whereas coaching sessions tend to be more goal and action oriented.
In conclusion, both therapists and coaches are invested in helping
individuals, yet the clients for each have different functioning
levels, which requires different methods of helping.
Wyatt received his Master's degree in Clinical Psychology
from Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. He also is a graduate
and certified leadership coach from Transformational Leadership
Coaching in Virginia Beach, VA. Wyatt also is president of Gold
Key Coaching, which provides coaching services to corporations.
 |
Colorado
Legislation Regarding Coaches as Psychotherapists
There is legislation in Colorado
which has been interpreted to classify
coaches as "unlicensed psychotherapists." In
response, the Colorado Coalition of Coaches
(C3) has been formed. The philosophy of C3
states: "We believe that coaches belong to
a clearly defined profession that is separate from
psychotherapy, and that coaches who have coach specific
training, who serve clients exclusively in the capacity
of coaches, and whose client agreements specifically
state they do not practice psychotherapy should
also be exempted from the mental health legislation,
just like mediators, clergy, and other professions
that the current legislation exempts."
C3 has prepared draft legislation
that exempts coaches from the mental health legislation. According
to their website, this draft has been endorsed by
the three Colorado coaching associations as well
as the International Coach Federation, International
Association of Coaches, Worldwide Association of
Business Coaches and the Association of Coach Training
Organizations.
Funds are being collected to support
the lobbying effort and lobbyist that has been
hired to support this effort. Checks may be sent
to Colorado Coalition of Coaches, Debra DeVilbiss,
Treasurer, 2147 Cypress Street, Longmont, CO 80503.
Coaches interested in being added to an email broadcast list
can subscribe by sending a blank email to ColoradoCoaching-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
For more information, see C3's Web site at www.coloradocoaches.com.
The Editor thanks Michael Beck
for providing this information.
 |
Two Hats Can Be Better Than
One: Ways in Which Coach Training Strengthens
Therapy
In my years as a private practice psychologist, much has changed!
In 1973, my fee was $25, collection rate was 100%, overhead
was less than 10%, I had no support staff, no claim denials,
no pre-certification requirements, and I was fully responsible
for the treatment process. Today, my fee is $100, managed care
contracts require restrictive pre-certification of services
and discounts of up to 50%, overhead is 35-40%, and a full time
support staff is needed for each therapist. I am no longer working
as an "independent " practitioner.
It's no wonder that therapists in record numbers are adding
another hat to their professional repertoire: life coaching.
Coaching has drawn on the traditions of counseling and psychotherapy
in its formative years. The similarities and differences between
the two fields have been well articulated: past vs. future focus,
pain vs. passion motivations, and reparative vs. growth models
of change. As the profession of life coaching matures, I would
suggest that it has some important lessons to give back to the
counseling field which can results in improved services in both
arenas.
Responsibility and accountability: Therapists
maintain the responsibility for diagnosing, prescribing and
implementing the treatment plan. Coaches are the "holder
of the vision" for their clients who define their own goals
and who maintain responsibility for their own changes. Coaches
hold their clients accountable for saying what they mean and
doing what they say. Therapeutic work might well be enhanced
with a greater emphasis on empowering the client with increased
responsibility, participation, and ownership in the treatment
process.
Mobilizing strengths: Therapists
too often ignore or minimize the importance of client strengths
in the healing/recovery process. Our coach training reminds
us to hold these strengths up to our clients and assist them
in discovering how to utilize those strengths to the fullest.
Might not therapy clients benefit from an active and increased
recognition of their strengths and positive coping skills as
they seek to work through difficult and troubling issues?
Empowerment: Working from
an illness/pathology model, therapists can easily become myopic
in focusing on pathology, deficits, and limitations which give
symptoms and dysfunction too much power and leads clients toward
dis-empowerment and victimization. Coaching has a lot to teach
us here: As coaches we seek to encourage, support, and empower
our clients as they draw on their personal resources and strengths
in order to lead more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
Purpose and meaning: All therapists
have had conversations with patients around the search for meaning
and purpose. Since these discussions don't represent diagnosable
disorders unless accompanied by significant symptoms and distress,
full exploration of them is necessarily very limited. By drawing
on coaching's strong emphasis on discovering and walking out
life purpose, meaning, and mission, therapists can add value
and movement to their clients' progress toward a healthy life.
As these two fields continue to develop and mature, it is exciting
to see that what we have learned and experienced as life coaches
may well be informing and strengthening our work as therapists.
So perhaps two hats are better than one!
Horace Lukens, ILCT graduate, is the co-founder with his
wife, Carol, of LifeWalking, LLC (www.lifewalking.com)
a life coaching service which focuses on assisting clients in
finding purpose and vision. In addition, he is the Director
of Counseling Services at Family Medical Care in Tulsa, Oklahoma
as well as an author, conference speaker and teacher.
Resources
for Coaches
Training & Certification:
ILCT
The Institute for Life Coach Training, (formerly
Therapist University), is the first-of-its-kind
training institute that specializes in training
psychotherapists, psychologists, counselors and
helping professionals in building a successful coaching
practice. Prompted by the ever-increasing number
of therapists wanting to offer coaching services
to their clients, Dr. Patrick Williams, psychologist
and Master Certified Coach (MCC), founded the Institute
in late 1998 after completing his own advanced training
at Coach University and other notables in the field.
As a successful psychologist-turned-coach, Dr. Williams recognized
that therapists and helping professionals are the most well-positioned
professionals to transition to the lucrative world of coaching.
Because therapists and helping professionals already have the
requisite skills for effective coaching, he developed a training
program that emphasizes the important distinctions between therapy
and coaching--and builds upon therapists' existing skills so
that they can quickly translate those skills to coaching in
as little as 40 hours of teleclasses.
Since its inception, the Institute has graduated hundreds of
students across the US, Canada, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
The program has expanded to include Advanced Coach Training,
and offers a Certified Life Coach designation. The curriculum
for the Foundational Coach Training is approved by the International
Coaching Federation (ICF) to be an Accredited Coach Training
Program.
 |
Book: Therapist as
Life Coach: Transforming Your Practice
At last, a book for mental health professionals considering
a transition into the new and dynamic field of life coaching! Therapist
as Life Coach explores life coaching as a profession, examines
the relationship between life coaching and therapy, and details
the variety of options for professionals considering either
a transition into coaching or expanding their practices to include
coaching.
This book, written by Patrick Williams and Deborah C. Davis,
is one-stop-shopping for the therapist wishing to explore the
coaching field. Chapters include: The History and Evolution
of Life Coaching; Therapy and Coaching: Distinctions and Similarities;
Getting Started as a Life Coach; The Basic Life Coaching Model;
Developing and Marketing Your Life Coaching Practice; Self-Care
for Life Coaches.
Available for purchase online at http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/resources/books/books.shtml.
 |
Issues
in Transitioning from Therapy to Coaching
After many years of having a satisfying therapy practice, I
was recently introduced to the coaching profession. While at
first I saw it as an adjunct training program, I now am shifting
from providing therapy to providing coaching. I find myself
in that nether land area of career transitioning and offer this
article as an attempt to gain some insight and clarity into
my own reactions, thoughts, struggles and intentions.
One transition challenge is considering new therapy clients
as potential coaching clients. While wearing dual hats can broaden
one's skill base and perspective, it can also provide some opportunity
for confusion and blurring of disciplines and expectations.
If a client comes in for therapy, but would be a more appropriate
coaching client--would it be ethical to suggest making the change?
And even though the assumption would be how to best serve the
client, could the client experience shift as confusing and bewildering?
A second transition issue concerns potential problems from referring
a therapy client to a coaching group/workshop which is led by
the same therapist/coach. Conflict could arise in the coach's
versus therapist's differences in presentation and client interaction.
These differences can also be seen in how the relationship is
structured--the therapy relationship is hierarchal with the
therapist seen as the 'expert' while the coaching relationship
is more of a partnership and peer-like. If the professional
is crossing between disciplines there may be possibility for
a diffusion of boundaries.
A third transition challenge is honoring the absence of interpretations
and analytical comparisons/statements (both internally and with
the client) in the field of coaching. Coaching does not focus
on identifying the cause of a conflict or problem but rather
on mirroring the coaching client's wants and desires. However,
often the therapist-turned-coach may have to consciously command
him/herself to sit in silence during the coaching session rather
than to instinctually make an interpretation or analytical connection.
Finally, as a professional, the lack of consistent and recognized
standards and credentials for the whole coaching field provides
much conflict and concern. While the ICF has begun to create
standards for credentialing, school accreditation and coursework,
there are many people out there who call themselves coaches
who may not be part of the ICF. Some I have recently met include
a purchaser for a cable shopping channel, a massage therapist,
an accountant, a consultant, and human resources workers. I
worry about the credibility of calling myself a coach, especially
as it seems to be so loosely defined. Awareness needs to be
made of obtaining and maintaining high ethical, credentialing
and training standards as a profession, along with accuracy
and clarity on how coaching and its tenets are presented to
the general community.
As with any transition, there brings with it a reluctance to
letting go of the 'old' and familiar, while questioning the
uncertainty of the 'new'. One way to conceptualize the change
for me is to see my career as 'evolving' from therapy to coaching,
moving from a problem-oriented, history-based model to one that
is present and future-oriented and which emphasizes the peer
partnership and client's brilliance. Both disciplines speak
to my purpose of assisting those who desire fuller and happier
lives while based on the beliefs to hold the client in the highest
esteem and to 'do no harm'.
As I traverse the path from therapist to coach, I find many
unknowns, successes, discoveries, bumps and joys both for myself
and my clients. These serve me well as I continue on this exciting
and fulfilling journey!
Susie Strauss, MSW, CLC, ILCT graduate, is establishing a
coaching practice in Birmingham, Alabama, helping clients in
'Creating their Ideal Bodies' regarding natural eating and movement
patterns and holding workshops and coaching groups based on
Dave Ellis's Falling Awake. She would love to hear from
other therapists who are on a similar journey: 205.969.1223
or sestrauss@mindspring.com.
CRG's
Workshop in Canada
From Pat Williams: After hosting and personally attending Consulting
Resource Group's 3-Day "Train-the-Coach/Trainer Workshop" with
Ken Keis, President of CRG - I am now recommending that
ALL my coaches and colleagues attend this training! I am so
impressed with the CRG resources, they will now be included
as part of the Institute's Coaching Certificate Program.
If you:
