FAQs

What is Coaching?

Put simply, coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the 'here and now' rather than on the distant past or future. Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.

A life coach is a type of wellness professional who helps people make progress in their lives in order to attain greater fulfillment. Coaches can help you clarify your goals, identify the obstacles holding you back, and then come up with strategies for overcoming each obstacle, ultimately equipping you with tools you can use again and again in your life to ride the waves of life with greater ease and compassion.

As your coach, I empower you and challenge you to go deeper, to go further, to find silence, success, and fulfillment. Think of me as your trusted guide, who holds space for you to express yourself fully without judgement; holding your agenda and always putting you at choice as to where you want to go next. I am a supporter, a cheerleader, a sounding board, someone who holds you accountable and will challenge you when I sense you are allowing your old patterns to hold you back from moving forward.

Coaching is a partnership between you and me, utilizing a thought-provoking and creative process to inspire and motivate you to maximize your personal and professional potential.

What is the difference between coaching and therapy?

Great question! A therapist helps people who are not emotionally or mentally functioning, they tend to focus on healing past wounds and help clients function once more. Whereas a Coach helps people who are functioning, but maybe experiencing challenges help them move forward with intentionality and self compassion.

As an ICF accredited coach, I adhere to their strict standards and ethical guidelines, which requires me to refer my client to a therapist or other professional if that is deemed to be a better fit.

When to see a therapist

• You experience mental health symptoms that cause distress in your life (i.e., anxiety, depression, trauma, disordered eating).

• You want to heal from past hurts or trauma.

• You need support navigating emotions.

• You struggle with interpersonal relationships and want to learn strategies to feel less impacted by others.

• You are experiencing relationship issues and could benefit from couples counseling.

When to see a life coach

• You want to get ‘unstuck’ and set goals you will actually achieve.

• You want to accelerate to the next step in your career .

• You feel like your life is on autopilot, and want to challenge yourself or break out of your comfort zone.

• You want to stop unhelpful habits and replace them with healthy alternatives.

• You know that your inner critic keeps you from living your best life and you want to learn how to quiet that voice.

• You desire a life with purpose and meaning but do not know where to start.

• You feel confused about the next chapter in your life (i.e. struggling with career decisions, major life choices) and would like guidance on what would best serve you.

• You know that you have a lot to feel grateful for but something is missing and you need that extra inspiration to piece your puzzle together.

• You want to un-tap your inner motivation for a major goal, such as running a marathon

• You want to hold yourself more accountable, whether in your personal or professional life

What is a certified or accredited coach?

The Coaching industry is not yet regulated, which means anyone can call themselves a coach.

That said, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the leading global organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of trained coaching professionals.

To become certified by the ICF, you must attend an accredited program, which includes a required number of hours in a classroom setting, of hands-on-training and practice actually coaching.  You can learn more herehttps://coachfederation.org/.

I wrote a blog that discusses the difference between coaching and other professions, as well as providing tips on what to look for in a coach here.

Are you certified?

Yes, I received over 320 training hours from Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), which is accredited under the ICF. I have also accumulated over 500 coaching hours, and hold four coaching certifications.

Associate Certified Coach (PCC) ~ certificate administered by the ICF

Certified Professional Coach (CPC) ~ certificate administered by iPEC

Energy Leadership Index - Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) ~ certificate administered by iPEC

Core Dynamics Leadership Specialist (CTDS) ~ certificate administered by iPEC

What kind of advice do you give?

I actually don’t give advice!  As a coach, my role is to hold space for you, ask the right questions, and challenge you to look at things from a different perspective. The combination of these three things, is what I like to call coaching magic, which, when combined with the added accountability of partnering with a certified coach, helps you move toward your goals and reach your full potential.  While I will always keep your broader goals in mind, and help you align to those goals if you feel lost, you will ultimately dictate the direction and agenda of each session.

What services do you offer?

I offer private and group coaching. Additionally, I partner with organizations to lead thought-provoking workshops. Please visit my about coaching page to learn more.

My signature success formula can be applied to:

Confidence Coaching

Mindset Coaching

Productivity Coaching

Life Coaching

Career Transition Coaching

Leadership Development Coaching

Success Coaching

What does a session with you look like?

Sessions are typically one hour and can take many forms.  I love starting off by celebrating whatever milestones you have hit since the last session, address anything that has come up between sessions, and then ask you what you would like to accomplish in the current session.  From there, we dive into coaching magic, before wrapping up with a discussion around new insights you gained and a plan of how you will incorporate what you learned moving forward.

Also, all sessions are held via zoom video, and I encourage you to show up in a way that is authentic and comfortable for you! It’s crucial that you feel able to be open and honest about how you’re feeling, whether that’s demotivated and low or excitable and high, or anything in between! This is your space and your time!

What assessments do you offer?

I offer two assessments, both created by Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). You can learn more about both here.

The Energy Leadership Index (ELI) ™ is a top rated personal growth assessment by Forbes ™. It helps level your perception, and with that information, allows us to discuss in great detail how you show up in your optimal state, how you show up when stressed, what some of your greatest strengths are, and what may be holding you back in reaching your potential! 

Note: I truly believe that this assessment is absolutely invaluable to your coaching journey and will allow you to achieve results and breakthroughs much faster than if you don’t take the assessment. This is why I require all clients to take the assessment prior to entering a long-term engagement with me.

The SCOPE Assessment is a task specific assessment that helps you understand your potential for success as it relates to a specific performance. It provides three key ingredients to help you create your personal success formula.

Performance Factor: On a scale of 1-7, with 1 being not successful and 7 being masterful, how likely will you be to achieve your results.

Energy Influencers: There are six areas of our lives that directly influence our energy: Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Social, Environmental.

Strategies to increase performance: The app will automatically provide two suggestions to help you increase your performance potential.

Why should I trust you?

I am a compassionate, caring and empathetic person who truly wants what is best for my clients. As a certified coach I will always put you and your agenda first. I believe that the coaching/client relationship should be a safe space, and I enter each session with openness and curiosity, leaving all judgment at the door. I truly believe and honor that every client is exactly where they need to be on their journey, there are no such things as mistakes, and that each and every opportunity gives us the choice to decide who we want to become. I also believe that everyone I meet is both my teacher and my student, so my curiosity and non-judgment allows me to learn from you as well!

Also, please note, as a certified coach, I am ethically responsible to hold your agenda and keep all conversations strictly confidential, with the following three exceptions:

• If I have reason to believe that you will hurt yourself or others, I am required to report this to the authorities.

• Coaching scenarios may be shared with other coaches for training purposes, but your name and contact information will not be provided. Name and details will also be changed to protect your privacy in these cases.

• Basic contact information (name, email address and number of hours coached) is shared with the ICF for credential requirements. Details of conversations are never shared with the ICF. Clients can also opt-out of having me share this information.

How do I know coaching works?

Coaching is a process.  A lot happens and can be uncovered during a session, however, the magic often happens between sessions. It’s all about showing up, doing the work, and acknowledging why you may be afraid of doing the work.  

What guarantees do I have that it will work for me?

There are no guarantees. Coaching only works if you do.  If you show up, are accountable, and are willing to stretch outside of your comfort zone, though, magic can happen.

How do I know we will work well together?

I offer a 40 minute discovery session. You can book yours here.  During this call, you can feel free to ask me any questions about my approach and about how coaching will help you.  We will also get to know each other. Coaching is not just a financial investment, but a personal and emotional one, so I want to ensure that my potential clients feel incredibly comfortable with me before we proceed with a package.  

What’s the difference between you and others ?

There are different types of coaches for different goals.  Each coach comes with a different depth of knowledge. I am truly passionate about helping people tap into their inner power. My expertise and training is in Mindset and Energy Leadership Coaching, with a specialty in transition which means that I can partner with my clients to look deep within, challenge previous assumptions, break down energy blocks, and help them become fearless in their everyday life.

Through my own personal experience, and in partnering with my clients, I have learned that many people feel out of alignment with their core values and have lost their purpose in life. They are living by rules that have been effectively been defined by their life’s circumstances, and how they’ve been told to “play the game.” 

My approach to coaching encourages my clients to challenge their beliefs and perceived rules, and give them the opportunity to make their own rules, in full alignment with what they truly care about. When people live from an intentional and aligned place, they have more energy, more motivation and more grounded confidence to go after

Once I made the decision to throw my own rules out the window, align to my core values, and create a rule book and life that was of my own choosing, I never looked back. Additionally, by releasing energy that was no longer serving me and aligning my life to my core values, I became a person, employee, friend, sister and daughter.

After going through my personal transition, I decided to become a full time coach because I realized that my true calling was helping women reclaim their happiness by rediscovering and re-prioritizing their core values, and by empowering them to write their own rule books.

Since college, I’ve had a quote in my email signature that reads: “I want to inspire people. I want someone to look at me and say "because of you, I didn't give up.”

I want to work with you! What are my next steps?

Choose your own adventure!

Schedule a free discovery session here. We’ll talk about your goals and discuss if coaching is a fit.

Drop me a note on my contact page, or email me at christina@authenticactioncoaching.com.