A holistic life coach helps clients achieve their personal goals while overcoming a variety of obstacles. Research into the client's life is typically required to help the coach establish an understanding of that person's motivations and fears. The coach can then create a personalized training program that challenges the client to move past their own fears and negative thinking. This program is then administered through a series of in-office and out of office visits between the coach and client. The end goal of any series of coaching sessions is to help one individual become the best person they can be.
The methods a holistic life coach uses typically address the body, the mind, and the spirit of the client. The term "holistic" is often used as a reference to this type of whole body approach. Unlike psychiatrists, life coaches are unable to prescribe medication, and encourage a drug free approach to making life changes.
The holistic life coach may use both traditional and non-traditional methods to address a client's mental, spiritual, and physical life. A typical coaching session occurs with the client in person in an office setting or over the telephone. The session generally lasts between 60 and 90 minutes, and may consist of a question and answer framework in which the coach encourages the client to talk about her life goals and the obstacles that prevent her from obtaining them. Subsequent sessions tend to feature instruction from the coach in which the client is given clear guidelines and homework that will help her achieve her goals. A pattern is developed in which goals are increased incrementally until the final session, which may occur between six and 18 months following the initial meeting.
This position may be hired by one individual or by a group. The amount of sessions required to accomplish the individual's or the group's needs may be determined by pricing and the type of goals being addressed. Some coaches may prefer to charge on a session by session basis, similar to a counselor or psychiatrist, and may visit regularly with a client until a particular goal or problem is overcome. Groups, like corporations, can hire coaches for a weekend or week-long seminar that targets a group of employees, or can use a coach for one on one help with a particular position, such as the CEO of the company.
Once the holistic life coach has been hired, he often begins by researching his client. This can include direct conversations with the client, as well as interviews with individuals heavily involved in that person's life. The information gathered will help the life coach form an understanding of why his client does what he does, and what the client's base motivations are for decision making. Once the life coach understands the client, he can use mental and physical tools designed to target that specific person's lifestyle and way of thinking to motivate the individual to make the changes and improvements the coach was hired to oversee.
Some coaching sessions may occur outside of the office. Locations may be chosen that encourage the client to improve her level of physical activity, or conquer a particular fear that is preventing her from reaching her goals. Out of office visits may also be used to inspire the client visually and emotionally to move on to the next level of accomplishment in her effort to become the best person possible. For example, a client who struggles with personal image issues and weight loss may spend a day with a life coach hiking to a waterfall. The activity is beneficial to her health, helps her accomplish her weight management goals, and takes her to an inspiring location that fosters a sense of peace and well-being.
The holistic life coach may specialize in one area of expertise that focuses on a particular client group. Special areas of focus can include executives and corporate business people, spiritual life help, guidance away from addictions and destructive behavior, and fitness coaching. Life coaches that are trained in a specialty generally do not cross coach into any other unique areas.
