Why coaching?

Our journey toward wholeness is a lifelong expedition and one I’m on as well. Sometimes a coach or guide is helpful when the terrain we’re journeying through is complex, unknown, or too difficult to navigate alone. Every one of us could use a coach at some point in life.

We can focus on our failures, or our beauty and thus potential. Coaching assumes health, not pathology, as we pursue higher levels of functioning in any area of life. It functions out of a paradigm of hope. We may be struggling with transitions (e.g. divorce or retirement), or need help overcoming failures in our lives. We may be stuck relationally or struggling with our spirituality. Life coaching can address all of these areas of life and move us forward.

So whether you find yourself repeating old relational patterns, struggling to free yourself from the impact ADHD has on your life, wrestling with a career, uncertain about your future direction, or simply wanting to learn how to believe in and be kind to yourself, Life Coaching can help.

In my former work as a Psychologist, I diagnosed clients. I worked with process oriented relational models and attachment theory, narrative work, insights gained from a cognitive behavioral framework, etc. While these continue to inform my work, in recent years, I began to emphasize a model grounded in neuroscience. As a coach I explore solutions, not diagnosis. I assume health, not pathology. I collaborate with you, and celebrate your forward movement, as you move toward higher levels of functioning and rewire your brain.

My world view

It is important to consider our humanity and health from a holistic perspective. We are physical bodies, and our brain is part of this, therefore physical health and biological realities are important to honor. 

We are social. We are capable of being mindful of others, and are deeply influenced by the context of our lives: families, friends, culture, faith communities, etc.

For some, their cultural context provides strength and nurturing, while for others the rigidity and lack of flexibility causes an utter loss of self, fear of being punished, etc. If the social context of our life is chaotic this brings another set of issues with which we need to wrestle.

The ability to succeed requires bringing balance to each area of life: physical, relational, cultural, spiritual, etc. moving away from rigidity or chaos and toward a more fully integrated brain that enables us to adapt to each change life brings.

There are many frameworks through which we can view life. Neuroscience provides us with an understanding of the “current” that’s moving underneath and thus driving all of them. It reveals how our struggles are relational in nature, down to the very cellular level. During my 20+ years in practice as a Psychologist I discovered how psychology can help us gain insight, but change only comes as we rewire our brains. Learning about our brains helps us understand the normalcy of our struggles.

Mindfulness, which comes from a Buddhist tradition (not psychotherapeutic) and whose value is now being understood by science, can help us gain more control over our brains. Mindfulness is also an aspect of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian frame of reference, though it is not likely to be called this. In practicing mindfulness, we can learn to create space between a reaction and following action, so that we can alter the traits in our lives that keep us from succeeding in our goals as we literally rewire our brains. Making us wise beyond our years.