Life Coaching
It's been a quiet week on infactah from the regulars but here is an interesting article provided by 'guest' contributor Micheal O'Dea.
Having recently met some self-proclaimed life coaches I was immediately intrigued and extremely suspicious of this new phenomenon. What about this new fan dangled profession of theirs and sweeping declarations that they could really help me? Lucky I met them I suppose because I hadn’t known that I “really” needed help. I probably still wouldn’t know but for our fortuitous meeting. Not necessarily suspicious by any pre-conceived notion of what life coaching entailed more so an innate scepticism that is a defining characteristic of yours truly. As they say in East Limerick – ‘it was far from life coaching you was reared!’ But in the spirit of the New Year which was fast approaching at the time, greater tolerance and understanding of humankind ,openness to new ideas…..blah de blah de blah, I heard them out. And on further investigation of the subject matter it would appear that life coaching is indeed a very big business.
So what’s it all about? A life coach works with a client over a number of meetings, usually in weekly sessions, to help them identify what they want, finding their innermost values and goals, encouraging them to take action, and helping them achieve success. The main goal of life coaching is self-actualisation - a point at which the client not only truly knows themselves but within this knowledge possess a feeling of comfort with and understanding of the person they can realistically aspire to be. The life coach will help the client identify a particular aspect of their life they are not happy with, ranging from personal issues such as romance/physical well being to more generic issues like choice of career/financial difficulties etc.
Sounds like a winning formula, right? However life coaching is not without its critics. There is some controversy surrounding life coaching, primarily because of its current unregulated, unstandardized nature. Virtually anyone can declare themselves a life coach as there is no industry standard recognized qualification. Critics assert that the practice of life coaching amounts to little more than a method of practicing psychotherapy without any restrictions, oversight, or regulation. This lack of regulation is a prime target of criticism by the mental health community. "Without licensing or certification, there's no recourse to the consumer if the service doesn't meet their needs," according to Baltimore psychologist Dr. Alice Dvoskin. "There is the potential for people to be harmed by life coaching, and there is nothing to protect the consumer." Despite this criticism, many life coaches and their clients simply don't view certification as important or necessary.
While I can definitely see the potential benefit of someone visiting a life coach if they are stuck in a proverbial rut, I agree with the concerns expressed by its critics of the possible danger of an unqualified practitioner engaging someone who has deeper psychological problems. At what point do they have the proper training and expertise to identify if a persons behavioural issues are beyond their scope. Also, I cannot quite see the justification in attending four 1 hour sessions at 85 euros a pop (yes…that’s 340 euro for the whole makeover) to have my life's direction re-asserted. Perhaps it’s just the cynic in me but is this just an industry of uncertified sweet talkers who are fleecing vulnerable clients who have more money than sense? Meanwhile I’m more inclined to head down the local and spend my hard earned wages with my friends whether they be honest or not.
Written by DAE
Published by Colm.
Having recently met some self-proclaimed life coaches I was immediately intrigued and extremely suspicious of this new phenomenon. What about this new fan dangled profession of theirs and sweeping declarations that they could really help me? Lucky I met them I suppose because I hadn’t known that I “really” needed help. I probably still wouldn’t know but for our fortuitous meeting. Not necessarily suspicious by any pre-conceived notion of what life coaching entailed more so an innate scepticism that is a defining characteristic of yours truly. As they say in East Limerick – ‘it was far from life coaching you was reared!’ But in the spirit of the New Year which was fast approaching at the time, greater tolerance and understanding of humankind ,openness to new ideas…..blah de blah de blah, I heard them out. And on further investigation of the subject matter it would appear that life coaching is indeed a very big business.
So what’s it all about? A life coach works with a client over a number of meetings, usually in weekly sessions, to help them identify what they want, finding their innermost values and goals, encouraging them to take action, and helping them achieve success. The main goal of life coaching is self-actualisation - a point at which the client not only truly knows themselves but within this knowledge possess a feeling of comfort with and understanding of the person they can realistically aspire to be. The life coach will help the client identify a particular aspect of their life they are not happy with, ranging from personal issues such as romance/physical well being to more generic issues like choice of career/financial difficulties etc.
Sounds like a winning formula, right? However life coaching is not without its critics. There is some controversy surrounding life coaching, primarily because of its current unregulated, unstandardized nature. Virtually anyone can declare themselves a life coach as there is no industry standard recognized qualification. Critics assert that the practice of life coaching amounts to little more than a method of practicing psychotherapy without any restrictions, oversight, or regulation. This lack of regulation is a prime target of criticism by the mental health community. "Without licensing or certification, there's no recourse to the consumer if the service doesn't meet their needs," according to Baltimore psychologist Dr. Alice Dvoskin. "There is the potential for people to be harmed by life coaching, and there is nothing to protect the consumer." Despite this criticism, many life coaches and their clients simply don't view certification as important or necessary.
While I can definitely see the potential benefit of someone visiting a life coach if they are stuck in a proverbial rut, I agree with the concerns expressed by its critics of the possible danger of an unqualified practitioner engaging someone who has deeper psychological problems. At what point do they have the proper training and expertise to identify if a persons behavioural issues are beyond their scope. Also, I cannot quite see the justification in attending four 1 hour sessions at 85 euros a pop (yes…that’s 340 euro for the whole makeover) to have my life's direction re-asserted. Perhaps it’s just the cynic in me but is this just an industry of uncertified sweet talkers who are fleecing vulnerable clients who have more money than sense? Meanwhile I’m more inclined to head down the local and spend my hard earned wages with my friends whether they be honest or not.
Written by DAE
Published by Colm.
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