Who To Work With
Finding the right coach, counsellor, therapist, psychoanalyst, psychologist, retreat facilitator, or anyone that you trust enough to reveal your most authentic self and that which you would hesitate to share elsewhere, should be something that you do not take lightly. Empirical evidence strongly supports the crucial role of the relationship in both psychotherapy and coaching, demonstrating that the alliance significantly contributes to better outcomes, often outweighing the impact of specific techniques. Further this, unless the person you choose to work with has a holistic understanding of how the human mind works, their well intentioned processes can result in undesirable, unsustained outcomes.
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How best do we then best enter such a relationship?
The questions which follow, could assist in your decision making.
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Are they a member of a credible association?
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Do they have a non-disclosure, informed consent and terms of working agreement?
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Do they maintain a log book of the hours they have worked? Is this available? Although qualifications are important, as with anything in life, they are a ticket to the game and can never replace practical experience.
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Are they insured?
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Are they, or have they spent time in supervision?
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Are they, or have they spent time working with a therapist or coach in the context of themselves?
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What philosophies or schools of thinking is their work oriented by? Even if they work eclectically, they will have a preference, and they should be able to answer this question with granularity.
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Do they have a preferred approach?
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Without their breaking confidentiality, what does their typical client profile look like?
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What do they typically work with? What do they not work with?
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What can you expect from them through your process with them?
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What is expected from you?
Two important points that are worth keeping in mind when entering a relationship a coaching relationship:
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When it comes to deep behavioral change, depth work, trauma, and so forth, there is simply not a quick fix. If you are been offered a quick fix it is worth being being wary.
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The coaching, and the retreat business, is currently not widely regulated. Although there are many excellent qualifications, and superb membership associations, these are not a requirement to offer these services. What this means is that anyone who decides they believe they can run a retreat or can coach, can. ​Caveat Emptor