Needs-based Coaching and Counselling
A decision to hire a coach is a commitment to oneself, a way of taking better care of one’s needs, such as for support, understanding and empowerment. With that support, we can mobilise more of our inner resources, move towards creating the life we desire, and make more of a difference in the world.
Regular dialogue – in person, on the phone or by video call – is an essential part of the rhythm of coaching, but is typically not where the major shifts take place. Ideally the wheels are turning 7 days a week on the coaching journey; the weekly coaching session is like refuelling the tank. Of course, you might also want to check the route map at other times, or get new ideas when you run into an obstacle, and a good coach is there for you on those occasions as well.
My style of coaching is conversational and light hearted, even as we sometimes face major life issues. I will be by your side and on your side of course, but also ready to challenge you, on the assumption that you are motivated to grow. My coaching is not a substitute for pure empathy or for deep therapy work, if you need that first. It can be useful to identify recurrent patterns which restrict personal growth, but I try to keep diagnosis and analysis at a minimum; I’m most interested in supporting you to focus on where you are now and where you want to go next.
So, what you pay for is like a monthly subscription service. Included in my fee:
- four half-hour coaching sessions – you call me at the agreed time, by phone or video call as it suits you
- e-mails, text messages and emergency calls during the week – please keep these to less than 5 minutes each
- worksheets, study guides and aide-mémoires for specific areas of challenge and NVC learning
- my ongoing interest and caring. It really matters to me that you get where you want to go, because that satisfies my own longing to contribute and to see change in the world.
My fees for online coaching are £200 / €230 a month, payable in advance. I offer a free 15 minute consultation to help you decide whether this is something you might want to commit to.
What is the difference between coaching and counselling?
When it is needs-based, not so much as you might think!
Sometimes clients say they want coaching, but then it turns out that they really want counselling. That’s because the needs-based approach can go deeper and naturally takes us away from the action-based focus of coaching and towards the more interior awareness we normally associate with counselling. I don’t like to make distinctions too sharply, because my approach is the same: paying attention to feelings and needs, supporting clients to connect with themselves and assisting them to find strategies that support them to be more fulfilled. Often though, counselling explores the feelings more and facilitates more fundamental and far-reaching personal growth than coachees might want or need. It also benefits from longer sessions, and can work with variable intervals between sessions. For in-person or online counselling, I charge £65 /€75 for 50 minutes or £75 /€85 an hour.
Welcome to mail me to set this up or with any other questions about my coaching or counselling services!