FAQ
Frequently asked questions
"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge."
~ Bertrand Russell
Frequently asked questions/ Coaching
"So how does this work?" (What is your typical process for working with a new customer?)
The first meeting, typically over Skype, FaceTime or the phone, is a (free) 15-minute consultation. We establish a base line. What are you struggling with, what do you need support with? If we agree to work together we will find a program that works for you (a basic package or a more advanced one). The coaching is customized around your struggles and happens at your own pace. Some clients turn their entire lives around after only one coaching session! Others stay with me for two years, take a break, come back… The typical length of time my clients work with me is 3-6 months.
"What types of clients have you worked with?"
I have worked with clients from all walks of life and professions, both men and women, in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. My youngest client was 12 years old, my oldest 71. I work with people in the areas of career counseling, business and personal goal attainment, marriage counseling and communication, and overall emotional health. They create breakthroughs in confidence, self-esteem, courage, personal success, and finding their true purpose in life and what they really came here to do. Some start their own businesses out of working with me, get the promotion at work they always wanted, or if they are younger, choose a career path that they are passionate about. Some of my clients come to me because they are depressed or have anxiety and want to get to the bottom of their issue and stop taking medications. I help them work through suppressed and unresolved emotions and in the process they oftentimes wean themselves off their medications.
"What are your clients' most common reasons to work with you? What are they struggling with?"
All of my past and current clients have one thing in common: they want to confront one or multiple, subconscious blocks they can’t surpass by themselves. They have been creating success for themselves but just can’t get past that one (or multiple) hurdles. They need a “spotter”, someone who is able to help them get past that block. They are already successful in their lives. They want to get onto a different level of success though and they benefit hugely from the tools I give them. The most common areas they are working on are career, finances, relationships, communication, emotional health and purpose.
"Why are you qualified to work with them? What education and/or training did you have?"
I studied biology and biological sciences in Germany. I worked in biological research (mainly cancer research) for 12 years before leaving the industry, looking for a career that would help prevent disease. Restoring the emotional health is highly supportive of preventing – and healing – physical illness. I got trained as a life coach for 3 1/2 years (during Landmark Education's Introduction Leaders Program), worked for a holistic doctor and an organic farm and learned about herbal and nutritional healing. I got certified as a regenerative detox specialist, learning to help people detoxify, cleanse and regenerate diseased tissue and organs in their body, through herbs and biologically appropriate nutrition.
"What makes you different from other life coaches and therapists?"
I don’t just coach my clients. I also teach them my exercises and train them to coach themselves and to be self-sufficient for the rest of their lives – if they choose to do so. I give them practical tools they can apply to their daily lives – and my most successful clients do. If they practice what I teach them they will be able to break through any hurdle in their lives, for the rest of their lives, even if a new or previously undiscovered hurdle shows up years from now.
"What is the success rate for your coached clients? How much did they improve and how do you measure it?"
I let them fill out assessment questionnaires at the beginning of our program and after completion (2-6 months). The completion questionnaire measures their success in percentages. Clients have reported an increase in confidence, self-esteem, goal setting and achievement, clarity, communication, forming positive habits, focus and accountability of up to 100%!
"What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?"
Ask them for a free consultation. Ask questions about their training and background and make sure they have actual exercises and tools they can teach you. Life coaching isn’t regulated and trainings differ. A certificate doesn't necessarily mean that they had good training. (Some weekend courses hand out certificates at the end.) Make sure you hire someone who has had good training, is knowledgeable and has effectively helped others.
"What is the difference between consulting, (mentoring, psychotherapy, counseling..) - and coaching?"
A personal coach (life coach) has no other relationship to the client than that of a coach (unlike a mentor). They focus on the client’s growth and development in all areas of their life. Frequently they help them define and clarify their goals and once those goals have been articulated, they then work with them to develop a plan of action for achieving those goals. Subconscious blocks along the way will be addressed and transformed. A good coach empowers their clients to find the answers to their own questions (rather than telling them what to do) and to develop a strategy for their life that is consistent with their values and beliefs.
A mentor is a trusted person who may act as a guide or consultant suggesting a path or course of action. Mentors are often respected teachers, relatives or trusted supervisors and may become role models as well.
A consultant is usually a paid expert within an existing business setting. They get paid for their expertise and opinion for the duration of a specific project. Once the project is completed, the relationship terminates.
Therapy deals with issues of mental illness or dysfunction and resolving past traumas that affect personality development. It focuses on the past and the present. The general assumption is that there is something wrong that gets in the way of a person’s functioning that needs fixing. (In coaching the assumption is that there is nothing wrong with the client, but something to manage, and that if managed, will help the client achieve an even better life).
Counseling is very similar to therapy. Clients who seek counseling are usually coming with a dysfunction or they are in (emotional or mental) pain. “Progress is sometimes slow and painful in counseling, but it is typically “rapid and usually enjoyable” in coaching.” (Quote Patrick Williams, a psychologist of 28 years who helped to found ICF – International Coaching Foundation. Read the full article here. (link) https://ct.counseling.org/2008/12/counseling-vs-life-coaching-2/
