Coaches and therapists will also both likely have suggestions for behavioral/thinking changes that will help them feel better. And both coaches and therapists will support clients as they learn to make new decisions moving forward.  ​Therapists take on a medical model approach to care, and coaches demonstrate a support model.

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Coaches are a great part of a client's mental health team. Like personal trainers, they encourage a client to set and achieve personal goals that related to recovering from trauma and life setbacks. 

 

In transformative coaching, clients have often experienced a lifetime of normalizing disconnection from both self and others.  Many clients are isolated from family and support people and therefore continue to live in a state of disconnection.  Coaches provide a healthy relationship space for clients and an opportunity, over time, for clients to reconnect with others, and ultimately, themselves.  ​

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In a general sense:​

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• Coaching is a collaboratively-based approach where the coach and the  client work together as a team.  

• Coaches do not operate from a traditional medical model.  We do not treat or diagnose mental health illnesses. ​ We do not see their clients as broken or in need of fixing. We approach our clients as individuals having a normal reaction to an abnormal experience.

• Coaches work with clients as equals. We function as guides, mentors and teachers, not superiors.

• Coaches provide education about trauma to help clients understand and normalize their experiences.

• Coaches recognize that interpersonal trauma causes individuals to disconnect from themselves, the world and other human beings. We help clients find safe ways to reconnect.

• Coaches may assign homework or have contact outside of the scheduled appointment

• Coaches operate from a strength-based mode. We believe that our clients have the capacity to direct their own healing when provided with the necessary support and encouragement.

• Coaches focus on helping a client build their strengths, healthy beliefs, and positive coping strategies rather than extinguishing “negative” behaviors and beliefs.

• Coaches model healthy behaviors and beliefs with their clients.  We also model healthy relationship skills to help clients learn how to relate to others and to themselves.

• Coaches help clients set their recovery goals and they set a path to reaching those goals together.