The name "coaching" uses a metaphor from the sports community where coaching is an established activity. I'm very familiar with this activity, given that my first job out of college was as a head baseball coach in a small college in the Midwest. In this position, my responsibility was to partner with and help the athletes I recruited to try to reach excellence. Although in my clinical and sports psychology work, I've stayed directly connected to both college and professional athletes (l am President of Alive+Well Sports @ www.aliveandwellsports.com), I've expanded my coaching and consulting to help individuals who work in the highest levels of business and government across the U.S. and around the globe.

 

Although most coaching practitioners tend to focus on Life Coaching, my practice can better be described as Positive Psychology Coaching. The difference between a "Life Coach" and a "Positive Psychology Coach" is described in detail in this article: https://tinyurl.com/nhdtwpk5. The gist is that Positive Psychology Coaching (PPC) is a scientifically rooted approach to helping clients increase well-being, enhance and apply strengths, optimize performance, and achieve valued goals. At the core of PPC is a belief in the power of science to elucidate the best methods for development and personal growth (Kauffman, Boniwell, and Silberman, 2010). Within positive psychology, many assessments, resources, tools, and feedback models can help me build a highly tailored, structured coaching journey that is ultimately backed up with measurable evidence. What's perhaps most important is that just like a clinical psychotherapist, a Positive Psychology Coach typically has professional degrees, qualifications, and accreditations. In other words, PPC and Psychotherapy are more highly skilled professions than Life Coaching (though coaching can be just as valuable to the right individual). A considerable body of professional research backs positive psychology, and a coaching model based on positive psychology concepts can offer a structured and reliable approach to supporting individuals in achieving their goals.

 

When considering either Life Coaching or Positive Psychology Coaching, it's important to understand that both of these approaches are different from Psychotherapy and Counseling in that they assume the client is not seeking Coaching to treat and resolve a psychological disorder like depression or anxiety. From a professional ethics standpoint, if you do have an active DSM V diagnosis your coach will insist that, in addition to coaching, you are receiving treatment for your disorder.

 

If you decide to work with me in a coaching context, I will make you more aware of your reasons for current habits, beliefs, attitudes, actions, and goals. I will also help you learn new skills, establish new habits, and provide you with tools to build a more satisfying and successful future that is consistent with your goals and ambitions. 

 

Finally, regarding coaching, I firmly believe in the old adage, "You cannot teach someone to go where you have not been." I make this point because I've "been there and done that" when it comes to solving many difficult individual, interpersonal, and organizational problems. In addition to the real-life experiences one gets after being married and raising a family, I have traveled the world and worked as a clinician and at the highest levels of local and national organizations. These experiences, taken together with my extensive training, allow me to provide you with a very broad and unique perspective on any things you may want to accomplish as you strive to optimize your performance and become your highest and best self.