Coaching

As we advance into an increasingly competitive society, holistic well-being takes on new challenges.

Wellbeing is defined as “feeling good, functioning well, and doing good for others.” As people, we desire positive wellbeing, and oftentimes, we desire a lot more out of life. More than simply existing or living, we want to flourish, which is characterised as feeling satisfaction with life, and having the ability to live life to its fullest.

At Incontact Counselling, we support your psychological wellbeing from a myriad of dynamic approaches. Our counselling services help facilitate coping with the weight of living. To take that a step further, we introduce our coaching services to springboard you into flourishing in many different areas of life.

What is Coaching?

The objective of coaching is to help one achieve their goals. The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.” In sum, coaching is a series of conversations that can help you bridge the gap between where you are currently to where you want to go.

There is potential in everyone. Skills such as imagination, productivity and leadership may exist within an individual, even if they are not yet aware of its full extent. Perhaps you feel creative “stuckness”. Perhaps you want to fix your sleep patterns. Perhaps there is a mental block in the way of navigating certain areas of work and life, or there are goals you can’t quite grasp yet. Coaching is the stepping stool that unravels into the ladder that can help you reach and surpass those goals by tapping into those inner resources to optimise your own skills. The right coach can help you improve the quality of your life by supporting and enhancing skills you already possess.

Coaching blends concepts from a range of disciplines such as business, psychology, philosophy, sports and spirituality to create or work towards an ideal life. From personal to professional concerns, from minor to life-changing decisions, different types of coaching are available to clients facing a range of challenges. Coaches form a non-judgemental, objective working relationship with their clients and hold them accountable in their successes. They provide a sounding board for new ideas while collaborating with clients on values-based goals to create a plan of achievement.

What are the types of Coaching at Incontact?

Health Coaching : Sometimes you might need a lifestyle change to overcome your “stuckness”, or you might be living with a chronic medical condition. Health coaches often help with weight loss, sleep, stress and chronic condition management, improving diet and exercise, and adjusting to a life-altering health event, like a heart attack. Health coaching can also be a preventative approach, to avoid exacerbating or minimising likelihood of chronic health issues by managing your lifestyle. Coaches can help you track tell tale signs before we experience a health or mental health issue or worsening of a health issue. It complements your mental health journey by facilitating the behavioural changes needed in our lifestyle.

Executive Coaching : Executive Coaching is oriented around careers, and focuses on improving leadership and management performance to succeed in business. Coaches support their clients in developing their self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and capacity to influence others. You could also be experiencing changes within your career. Executive coaches can guide you through the process of transition management.

How is coaching different from counselling?

Counselling focuses on healing emotional trauma, mental illnesses, stress management and coping skills. It has the capacity to work with past patterns and create links to our current issues.

Coaching, on the other hand, focuses on the present. It helps identify goals, leverage personal strengths to take action. While both offer non-judgemental and objective spaces for personal problems, they emphasise different techniques and focal points.

While following behavioural theory, the process of coaching cannot supplant therapeutic interventions when it comes to mental health difficulties. Ethically, coaches cannot try to treat psychopathology or psychological injury. Coaching works with people who are ready to receive guidance toward a specific goal, using collaborative solutions. In sum, coaching assumes that clients are in a good place mentally and emotionally, and are open to receiving guidance on how to foster changes that would point them towards growing toward their goals.

Advantages of coaching

The ICF Global Coaching Client Study (2016) demonstrated the benefits of coaching across a range of skills. 80% of clients reported improved self-confidence; ≥70% reported improved relationships, communication skills and work performance; and over half reported improved work/life balance, business management, time management and team effectiveness.

Certain specialisations of coaching can be an advantageous supplement to therapy in certain cases.

Coaching is beneficial for understanding negative patterns in your life that may impede your success. Partnering with a coach to work on certain challenges may be advantageous as they can offer a fresh perspective and help you recognise your own strengths, which can be leveraged to achieve your goals.

• Self-efficacy
• Planning skills
• Work-life balance
• Perceived quality of interpersonal interactions
• Long-held fears
• Creativity
• Financial planning and security
• Communication skills
• Satisfaction at work
• Relationships with others
• Multiple biomarker risk factors (i.e., blood pressure, cholesterol, weight management, cardiorespiratory fitness, etc.) in diverse populations.
• Levels of physical activity
• Healthy eating

At the end of the day, the coach is here to help you hold yourself accountable to your goals so that you may walk away from the experience able to stand independently.