Frequently Asked Life Coaching Questions

Below are a list of questions that my clients frequently ask me.  Please click the question you would like answered or scroll through the answers. 

What is a personal life coach?

Essentially, a life coach is someone who can help one find satisfaction and fulfillment in life.  Whether you already know what makes you happy, and now would like a plan to pull things together, or you have absolutely no idea, life coaching will help you figure it all out. It helps you evaluate where you are now, where you want to be and how to get there. It explores what has gotten in the way of you reaching your goals and dreams in the past as well as see the things that are coming up right now in the present to prevent you from moving forward. It provides you with the necessary tools to be successful this time around.  Life coaching not only looks at what gets in the way of you achieving your dreams but it is also strength-based. 

Often-times clients have no idea what their strengths are and so they do not realize how capable they are achieving success in all areas of their lives. Helping you see your strengths can give you the confidence to try when you are afraid and might not believe you can create the life you want.  Life coaches give you hope when you might not have it.  Think of us as a partner who listens, takes into account your individual personality and circumstances, and provides insights that help you see things in new ways which in turn leads you to make behavioral changes. These changes in your actions start to change your environment.  This cycle leads to extraordinary changes that were not possible before.  A life coach does not judge you and will keep your conversations confidential. We are your teammates, we listen, we support, we encourage and help you become aware of all the things you need to be aware of to create your dream life.

What are the benefits of life coaching?

If you are willing to really commit and apply yourself there are so many benefits to life coaching, here are only a few:
  • Set and achieve realistic goals
  • Self-confidence in your abilities and relationships
  • Take the steering wheel in your life
  • Clear up time, space, and emotional/mental/physical resources for the most meaningful activities/people in your life
  • Pleasure derived from fulfilling your needs, wants and wishes
  • Find good health and balance in life
  • Change unhealthy thought patterns
  • Increases options for growth, learning and change
  • Examine your lifestyle and choices from a place of safety, warmth and caring

What is the coaching conversation?

Coaching conversations are intended to:
  • Enhance your understanding of what's going on in and around you
  • Better understand your needs and wants
  • Find the resourcefulness and power you have inside to define your goals, to say 'no' when warranted, and to make positive changes
  • Evaluate and take responsibility for your choices
  • Expand your belief in yourself to do anything

What type of issues does life coaching address?

Coaching addresses the following types of issues:
  • Stress and Anxiety
  • Loneliness and Depression
  • Job, Career Angst and Self Esteem
  • Relationships and Family Matters
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Specific personal aspirations and projects
  • General conditions in client's life or profession

What can I expect from a coaching session?

Some people seek coaching and are either under or over achievers in work, life and in relationships. Everyone brings a unique struggle. A life coach, therefore, not unlike a sports coach, gets to know you so that they can assist you in maximizing your strengths and to help you conquer and overcome your hurdles together.

Through getting to know each other we will develop a productive and trust-based relationship. Our experienced life coaches will tailor all of your sessions uniquely to you. Every client is so different and we pride ourselves in not using a cookie-cutter approach that does not fit everyone.  You come to us with your own past, personality, learning style, goals, and problems. 

Each session is designed to be most helpful for you and only you as this is what we've learned works best for our clients. We ask for your brutal honesty from the very start to help us to learn what works best for you. Please provide us with all of your feedback: what you like, don't like, want more of or less of.  Don't worry, we don't take it personally, but we do use it to make your sessions so much more powerful and that makes us happy and feel good about ourselves as coaches. 

Here are a few examples of our versatility and pragmatism:

If you come in with a crisis we will help you through that.  We aren't going to make you focus on things that aren't important to you.  For example, we will not be fixated on asking from a rigid list of questions we have on hand for formal assessments.

At other times, coaching is most effective when we begin it with a formal assessment.  In these circumstance we spend the hour really learning about you. We take tabs on your current status as well as your goal state. An exploration of what's lacking in your life and what is really working. Some activities might be done depending on whether we think it will be beneficial to you. The agenda of subsequent sessions is yours but we will give you our expert advice and opinions on what we think might be helpful. If you have trouble coming up with session goals that's very normal we can discover it together. 

How long would we work together?

A coach is a life-long partnership that you can use whenever you need.  Some clients come in when they need it and schedule routine maintenance sessions in-between.  Others do a long-term life overhaul.

The best way to know when you need your coach is to listen to your gut.  When things feel off and you can't figure out why or you can't seem to get back on track it's time to come in and see your coach.  When you have gained some momentum and things are going well it's time to space out your sessions or maybe just schedule some maintenance check-ins.

There will be crucial time periods in your life when you really need coaching (times of change, grief, relationship issues, lack of meaning, dread, etc.) and times when things are smooth and harmonious. Listen to these feelings to decide when to come in. In order to really get sustainable benefits a minimum three month commitment is helpful as change is not easy and it does take time, patience, hard work and some form of supportive supervision. 

Can we work together on a specific short-term project?

Coaching is highly effective with specific short-term goals and projects as well as long-term.

What if life coaching is not for me?

A full refund will be provided for any unused sessions if at any time and for any reason if you need to discontinue sessions.

What are the ethical standards of life coaching?

I adhere to and practice the Standards of Professional Conduct of the College of Psychologists of Ontario.

What is the difference between life coaching and psychotherapy? OR Do you do both coaching and psychotherapy?

Life coaching and psychotherapy often go hand-in-hand.  The goal of psychotherapy is to help people feel like they're functioning.  Serious problems such as major anxiety, depression or addiction may be getting in the way of life.  Psychology will often explore the past through deep feelings, past traumas and childhood to help get to the root cause of the issue. 

Life coaching will focus more on the future through change and action.  It is goal oriented and explores your values, achievements, what makes you happy and what practical actions you can take to reach your goals.  Coaching clients are functional people who just aren't quite where they want to be in life.  A coach will help them to get there!  
 
Coaching helps you to find and reach satisfaction and happiness in your life. It’s focused on creating and going for your dream life. 
 
Clients who come in for coaching always end up needing the psychotherapy/psychology part as well. When Krista first started out as a life coach she realized she didn’t have the skills to really help clients with the root causes of their issues and this prevented clients from moving forward, caused them to revert to old unhealthy habits and behaviours which prevented them from reaching their goals and keeping them sustainable. She found that getting a masters in psychology helped her to be able to help clients with such things as anxiety, relationships, addictions, changing habits, finding purpose, bearing procrastination, etc. When you look at the psychology behind it and understand why and where issues you have came from, you and your coach/therapist can create lasting change and growth. 
 
That’s why all of our coaches also have psychology backgrounds. The coaching takes people not just to functioning but to happy and joyful. And the psychology helps to understand and work through everything that gets in the way. 
 
Psychotherapy helps with functioning but life coaching guides functioning people to a happy, satisfied and fulfilled life.

What is the the difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist?

They both perform the act of psychotherapy with clients. They are governed by separate colleges. The college of registered psychotherapists and the college of psychologists. Psychologists diagnose clients whereas a psychotherapist does not. Diagnosing helps to provide a common language to describe and discuss certain presenting problems. It’s very helpful with certain problems such as learning disabilities A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. for example.
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In my experience most people do not fit properly into the diagnostic categories. Personally, I don’t like clients labeling themselves as the danger is they might start to define themselves that way and believe that’s who they are or how/who they always will be. As you can imagine this could potentially get in the way of the therapeutic change cycle. 

​What is the difference between psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists?

Psychiatrists diagnose and prescribe medicine to clients and psychologists and psychotherapists do not. A psychiatrist uses more of a medical theoretical model. Meaning they look at the brain chemistry, neurology and biology of a client and use drugs to help treat disorders and presenting problems. They are not specialized in talk therapy and many clients can be upset that they didn’t feel listened to or heard by psychiatrists. 

​What is depression and how can you help?

Depression is a mood disorder that causes overwhelming feelings of sadness and isolation. If it persists consistently for two weeks or longer. It is not just a temporary change in mood. Depression can be a serious medical condition with many emotional and physical symptoms. Such as, loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed, change in sleep or eating habits, fatigue, headaches, feelings of hopelessness, and many others. Therapy is often a very effective form of treatment. It provides the skills and awareness to begin feeling better and preventing the condition from returning in the future. There are many types of therapy available. But long-term therapy usually works best to help alleviate the symptoms.

​What are panic attacks and how can you help?

Panic attacks are unexpected periods of intense fear that may include physical symptoms such as: racing heart, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath or the feeling that something bad is about to happen.  These may all occur within minutes. Therapy can often help people who suffer with panic attacks to control the disorder without the use of drugs. It can help prevent future attacks and help you to develop the skills to cope when the attacks occur.

​What is anger management and how can you help?

Anger is a normal, healthy emotion, but when it feels uncontrollable it may be time to seek the help of a professional. Therapy does not try to stop you from feeling angry but helps you to control it and express it appropriately. A therapist can help you learn to understand your anger and how to express it in healthy ways to help resolve problems and conflicts instead of exacerbating them. Many people know that deep feeling of shame that can occur after an outburst of anger. Imagine using your anger in empowering ways to improve your life and your relationships.

​What is post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and how can you help?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating anxiety disorder that many experience after traumatic event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

What are phobias and how can you help?

Phobias are irrational, ongoing fears of specific situations or objects.  The fear can be so debilitating that people end up severely limiting their lives.

What is stress management and how can you help?

Stress management uses a variety of techniques to help you control your level of stress, especially for those dealing with chronic stress. Chronic stress will affect your daily life and function ability.  Therapy helps you to take charge of your lifestyle, thoughts and coping mechanisms. No matter how much stress you are dealing with, there are steps we can help you to take to relieve the pressure and feel in control of your life again.