Changing with the Times

Linda Dickens felt lost and directionless as she anticipated her last child leaving for college. After an intense legal career, she stayed at home with her children for 16 years. Linda toyed with the idea of donating legal services once her nest became empty but hadn’t gotten much further. Then she took a four-hour workshop with life coach Marilyn O’Hearne, MSW, which included individual pre- and post-coaching sessions.

“I feel like I have direction, vision, excitement and energy,” Linda says of the result. “I have three essential parts of myself I need to include — artistic expression, interaction with people and providing legal services to the right [nonprofit] organization. Marilyn knew how to lead me from thoughts to a practical, written plan and gave me the confidence to do it. For each idea I wanted to develop, she asked, ‘What’s the first step for you and when are you going to do that?’ then she’d point out roadblocks and inconsistencies in what I was saying.”

Marilyn was a psychotherapist and served as an adjunct college professor before she learned about the life coaching profession in 1998. It still excites her a decade later. “This, to me, is the most effective and exciting way to work with people,” she says. “The excitement is working with people who are pretty healthy but maybe have lost their vision — what you want to be doing in the world — and want to make a big change. Your vision is where the excitement and energy is [in your life].”

Life coaching is designed to help people maximize their personal and professional potential and develop their unique gifts and abilities. Marilyn encourages and supports her clients but also challenges them to change. “I listen and feed back to the client,” she says. “Coaching is partnering in a way that is creative and inspiring. You can’t start with no energy and make any progress.”

Amanda Nogle of Future Focus Life Coaching has offered life coaching services (in addition to working as a speech pathologist) for three years. She helps clients figure out what they really want and how to get there in all areas of life, from changes in marital status to dealing with an empty nest or elderly parents, business start-up and growth, or progression within an existing career. “A coach is not the expert about your life,” Amanda says. “We help you develop your own plan.”

How it Works
Both Amanda and Marilyn say their clients are most often middle-aged and facing a major life transition. Marilyn typically sees clients for about six months, although some leave after a month and some stay for 18 months. She most often starts with a three-month contract, but clients might leave sooner if they believe they’ve reached their goals. A monthly fee provides a client with two to four face-to-face meetings of half an hour to an hour, with phone and e-mail contact between sessions. “I keep my client in mind all the time,” says Marilyn, who e-mails helpful materials to a client as she runs across them.

Amanda most often works with clients for approximately three months and conducts most sessions by phone. “A lot of coaches coach over the phone because we can focus better on what you’re saying without distractions,” she explains. After her initial meeting with a client, Amanda sends out an extensive welcome packet with paperwork to complete before the first regular session.

A professional life coach should be ethical and provide a place of safety, where clients feel their confidentiality is secure and can freely express themselves. Coaches should be skilled listeners who offer direct feedback, ask powerful questions and assist clients in creative brainstorming. Certification is a plus. Marilyn is a Master Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, and Amanda is certified through the Institute for Life Coach Training, an organization for people who have previously worked in another helping profession.

The Cost of Professional Support
The cost for life coaching varies, depending on the scope of each individual agreement. In most cases, a client pays at the beginning of a month for the entire month at rates of $330-$350 and up. Amanda charges $120 for a 50-minute session and requests pre-payment for each month.

“I work with clients three times per month with one week off so they don’t become totally dependent,” she says. “I ask clients to stay with me for at least three months because that’s when we begin to see changes. I charge in half-hour or hour increments, and I try to work with people on price and keep a couple of slots for pro bono.” Some coaches offer a free initial consultation, as both Marilyn and Amanda do, while others charge a separate assessment fee. “I offer complimentary telephone coaching consults to see if we would be a good coach-client match, and for the potential client to experience coaching,” Marilyn says.

Finding a Life Coach
Linda is a church acquaintance of Marilyn’s, but there are other ways to find a life coach. The International Coach Federation website, www.coachfederation.org, offers a coach locator with information about each coach’s experience, background, age and fees. The Institute for Life Coach Training, www.lifecoachtraining.com is another source.

“Whatever [people] want in life, they can find a [life coach] to help them get clear and achieve that,” Marilyn says.