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Life coaches and therapists typically take one of two healing approaches toward these life-improving objectives:
Directive – involves structured and goal-oriented interventions that can be beneficial for addressing specific issues and providing immediate symptom relief. A drawback of this approach is that its prescriptive nature might limit exploration and personal growth.
Nondirective – involves the creation of an environment that promotes self-exploration, self-reflection, and the discovery of insights without the imposition of external interpretations or guidance.
These client-centered approaches, coupled with empathetic listening and the therapeutic relationship, often contribute to the occurrence of "aha moments" where clients gain sudden and profound insights into themselves and their experiences.
A nondirective approach may yield profound insights, but the absence of structure and guidance can result in slow progress.
On the other hand, a directive approach offers structured guidance, as well as the presentation of knowledge and personal growth techniques in a prescriptive, actionable manner.
There are pros and cons to each approach. However, combining the “pros” of each can offer a more flexible and tailored approach to meet the diverse needs of clients. This combined approach is often referred to as integrative life coaching.
GandTCoaching embraces the integrative approach by combining non-directive techniques with the following directive features:
Knowledge-Based Coaching – Clients are presented with many evidence-based, life-improvement concepts, distilled from the wisdom of acclaimed authors, philosophers, and psychologists.
Structure and Organization – These life-improvement concepts are presented as a structured, integrated framework of personal growth strategies, leading to an improved sense of self, well-being, and wherewithal. Critically important to this integrated framework is organization.
GandTCoaching can impart that organization and provide a structured path toward continuous life improvement.
The Importance of Structure and Organization
Think for a moment that going forward in your life is like starting a new business. Let's say you are starting to do auto repairs in your home garage.
Do you think you would feel good about your new business, attract new and repeat customers, and be successful overall if your garage was in a state of disarray?
Probably not. Transitioning from disarray to showplace is not that difficult if someone supplies the infrastructure (i.e., cabinets, shelving, hanging hooks, etc.)
Now let's think in terms of mental organization instead of workshop organization.
Scattered thoughts and feelings bump into each other, waste energy, and make you feel bad.
Below, on the right, you see an organized mind. It is a foretelling of what can be. It is an infrastructure plan for your future life.
This plan will enhance your efficiency, boost your sense of well-being, and lead to better personal relationships.
The GandTCoaching Continuous Growth and Transformation approach to life coaching, then, is not just a matter of setting goals, asking questions, and reflecting.
It is all of those plus learning many easy-to-understand personal growth strategies in a structured, organized manner. At the center of this approach is the Continuous Growth and Transformation Model.
The Continuous Growth and Transformation Model’s multimedia coaching pages integrate more than 30 personal growth concepts, showing clients how individual strategies connect, supporting their overall development.
Said another way, by using the Continuous Growth and Transformation Model, clients co-participate with their coach to weave a supportive framework of understanding, hope, and confidence.
This framework helps clients to relax defensive thought patterns, gain new perspectives, heal from adverse experiences, and create a clear understanding of their purpose in the world.
Organization: Past, Present, and Future
One way of envisioning the Continuous Growth and Transformation approach is from a chronological perspective: the past, the present, and the future.
The Past
Our past experiences can help us to become effective human beings. Ideally, we go forward with happy memories, accomplishments, confidence, optimism, and wisdom.
We remain in touch with our authentic selves and see the value of having compassion for ourselves and others as well as having an outward-facing purpose.
Unfortunately, those ideals are often not met. All human beings encounter various degrees of adverse experiences, including family conflict, abuse, and neglect.
Those experiences can lead to distressing emotions such as pain, anger, shame, and pessimism. In response, our minds develop defensive and inflexible thought patterns, much like the toughness of a physical scar.
As the number and intensity of adverse experiences mount, internal conflicts between mental factions intensify, diminishing our connections with our authentic selves and with others.
This disconnectedness is at the heart of our anxiety, depression, many physical illnesses, and undesirable behaviors including a variety of addictions.
The Continuous Growth and Transformation approach addresses these issues by helping clients develop harmonious relationships between the various parts of their personalities that have assumed exaggerated roles in their response to adverse experiences.
The goal is to promote self-forgiveness and relax rigid, pessimistic thought patterns, thereby allowing a deeper connection with our true selves and the discovery of new optimistic perspectives.
The Present
The present is largely about developing curiosity, coping skills, mindfulness, and retrieving a clear sense of self.
By exploring the Growth and Transformation Model, clients learn evidence-based concepts relating to brain chemistry, continuous growth, positive psychology practices, neurodiversity, and an assortment of helpful strategies.
When presented in a caring and compassionate way, this knowledge can lead to increased authenticity, self-leadership, clarity, calmness, and a sense of control during challenging situations.
The Future
In the "Creating Your Philosophy" section of the Continuous Growth and Transformation Model, clients learn that having a clear sense of values, meaning, and purpose can have a significant impact on our longevity and overall health.
In the “Adopting Your (Positive) Way of Being” section, clients learn the health and longevity benefits of having or developing an optimistic view of the future.
Having a positive outlook and a clear sense of purpose are fundamental when setting both short-term and long-term goals. In the pursuit of our ideal lives, it's essential to acknowledge and balance "process goals" alongside "outcome goals".
Process goals encompass the steps necessary to achieve results, while outcome goals represent the specific results we aim to attain.
With regard to process goals, the "Continuous Growth" segment of the Continuous Growth and Transformation Model, shows clients how fostering an ongoing curiosity and commitment to personal development leads to life becoming progressively more interesting and engaging as we age.
This counters the misconception that aging inevitably entails a disconnection from the wonders of life.
The overarching point is that crafting a strategic path to our dreams is just as crucial as our dreams themselves.
Reaching our full potential involves mastering the journey, not just focusing on the final destination. In essence, joy and confidence can arise not only from accomplishments, but from the awareness that we are navigating life and its challenges in a well-considered, evidence-based, organized, and sophisticated manner.
Knowledge-Based Coaching
According to the authors of The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching (2011), Leni Wildflower, Ph.D., PCC, and Diane Brennan, MBA, MCC,
“Knowledge-based coaching is an approach that involves adapting theories, knowledge, and traditions from a whole range of disciplines and applying them to the coaching engagement, as and when appropriate.”
As mentioned above, life coaches are taught to ask questions, reflect, and help their clients identify and attain goals. Knowledge-based life coaching goes a step beyond traditional life coaching by presenting knowledge from a number of evidence-based disciplines.
The Continuous Growth and Transformation Model’s evidence-based knowledge draws from many disciplines including Andrew Huberman’s teachings on neuroscience, Barbara Oakley’s ideas on learning and social behavior, Kristin Neff’s studies on self-compassion,
Gabor Maté’s compassionate inquiry, Martin Seligman’s positive psychology, Richard Schwartz’s internal family systems, and Bruce Ecker and Laura Hulley’s coherence therapy, and many more.
With regard to the inclusion of psychology disciplines, one may question, “Doesn’t this cross the line from life coaching into psychotherapy?” Again, from the authors of The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching:
“The relationship between coaching and psychology is dynamic.
We continue to draw on research from psychology, neuroscience, and other related fields; such knowledge is not the exclusive territory of the specialist, any more than mathematical knowledge is to be used only by mathematicians …
And we recognize that while our work with clients is pragmatic and forward-looking, we should not be frightened of the kinds or personal issues that have traditionally been considered the domain of psychologists.”
More specific examples of how new knowledge can help include:
- Relieving ourselves from remorse and regret by learning forgiveness exercises.
- Unburdening ourselves from the rigid, defensive thought patterns we all carry from childhood developmental issues using concepts from Internal Family Systems. This does not mean that coaches need to pry into past experiences.
Instead, they explain the healing processes so clients can pursue “unburdening” on their own.
- Understanding basic neuroscience concepts such as how to optimize our “happy” neurotransmitters including dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins.
- Learning proven positive psychology concepts such as a strengths intervention or a gratitude practice.
- Creating a life philosophy by understanding how our values, sense of meaning, and most importantly, a feeling of purpose can significantly support both health and longevity.
The evidence-based knowledge presented using the Continuous Growth and Transformation Model represents the distilled wisdom of acclaimed authors, psychologists, and philosophers spanning decades.
It provides insights that may not be readily apparent within a limited timeframe. While we all possess innate creativity, resourcefulness, and wholeness, it's important to remain open-minded, recognizing that there is always more to learn from others.
The Growth and Transformation approach to life coaching aims to help clients integrate these insights, enhancing their journeys of self-discovery.
The Importance of Attitude and “Aha!” Moments
A curious and optimistic mindset is crucial for the coaching process to be fully effective, and for clients to be able to realize their best lives. This area is extremely important and deserves a short discussion.
According to a study by McKenna and Davis, 2009, successful outcomes in therapeutic relationships result from:
- 30% Client-Coach Relationship: To establish the relationship I present myself in an honest, non-judgmental, and caring way. I discuss my struggles and accomplishments
to inspire my clients to strive toward transformation.
- 40% Client Factors: I encourage my clients to think for themselves by reflecting and asking questions that will lead toward self-discovery and growth.
- 15% Theory and Technique: I have worked hard to understand human existence and how to find one’s best possible path. I have spent many decades learning from experts,
some of whom are considered to be the best in the country. Making a lifetime’s knowledge accessible to others in a short, no-nonsense way gives me great joy.
- 15% Placebo Effect: This one is easy for me. You may see improvement just by showing up, regardless of what I do or what you bring to the session!
Assuming the client is responsible for at least half of number one, and all of number two, then the success of the coaching process is greatly affected by the attitude of the client.
What can be done to optimize a client’s attitude in order to enhance the coaching relationship, and the client’s life in general?
Let’s begin with hope. When clients believe a program will be effective, their hopes rise accordingly. That’s why the Continuous Growth and Transformation Model is evidence-based.
That is, it’s based on “the practical application of the findings of the best available current research.” For the program to be fully believable, it is not enough for clients to learn what to do.
They also require and deserve explanations as to why, and how it will help. Believability underpins hope, and hope will underpin a positive attitude.
To sustain a feeling of hope, clients need to see results in their own sense of well-being. Although it is knowledge-based, the Continuous Growth and Transformation approach is not just about imparting information.
New knowledge is only the starting point. Significant and lasting changes are more likely to occur when new, positive perspectives are deeply felt.
How? The Continuous Growth and Transformation approach encourages epiphanies or “Aha!” moments through repetition, logic, interconnections of ideas, and the demonstration, by example, of a curious, optimistic mindset.
Every client is different and it is up to the coach to determine which approaches create resonant, new perspectives. These new perspectives are, ultimately, what will lead to the client’s growth and transformation.
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