A study conducted by Psychotherapy Networker found that 10,000 life coaches specializing in a variety of disciplines are active in the United States, spurring the growth of an industry that is capturing the attention and interest of trend watchers.
What is a Life Coach?
In recent years, a new profession that distinguishes itself from counseling, therapy, mentoring and consulting came to the forefront. The novel practice, dubbed a human improvement process, strives to bring out the best in clients. Personal coaching or life coaching aims to assist individuals in setting and realizing goals in the family, spiritual, personal, and professional areas of life. A life coach also helps clients achieve personal growth and make decisions that enhance their lives.
Benefits of Life Coaching
Clients can expect to reap significant benefits from life coaching. Studies have consistently showed a return on investment greater than 500% and trainee satisfaction rates that exceed 98%. In general, the value of the achievements accomplished through life coaching is five times greater than the amount paid for the service. The client fixes the coaching objectives and the life coach becomes the vehicle through which those goals become a reality.
Common Life Coach Services Include:
- Enable clients to achieve their goals
- Helping clients to develop new skills
- Assisting trainees in setting goals
- Helping clients surmount fears and obstacles
- Identifying trainees’ self-imposed impediments and assisting them to achieve their goals
- Equipping clients with the skills needed to effectuate change in an area of their life
- Teaching trainees how to handle personal challenges and life transitions
- Assisting clients in making choices that lead to a fulfilling and balanced life
- Helping trainees find solutions
- Teaching clients ways to balance family, work, and personal aspects of their lives
- Suggesting potential career paths that correspond to trainees’ talents
- Motivating clients to exceed their expectations
- Serving as a launching pad for new ideas
- Guiding trainees towards self-improvement and discovery of what truly motivates them
- Helping clients discover truths about themselves and find their purpose in life
Common Types of Life Coaches
The field of life coaching is constantly expanding. New areas that life coaches specialize in are increasing but some of the most common areas people seek life coaching are listed below.
Services Provided Include:
- Showing clients how to establish priorities
- Improving trainees’ time-management skills
- Helping clients to fund the growth of their enterprise
- Providing trainees the tools for experiencing a greater sense of fulfillment in their jobs
- Teaching clients to delegate and supervise in a more efficacious manner
- Assisting trainees in climbing the corporate ladder faster
- Sharpening their communication skills
- Helping clients create a successful online marketing campaign
Services Provided Include:
- Teaching clients parenting skills
- Enhancing trainees’ communication skills
- Showing clients how to achieve more balance and harmony in their lives
- Helping trainees overcome obstacles and meet challenges
- Motivating clients to achieve their dream(s)
- Guiding clients towards their core values
- Assisting trainees with goal-setting
- Providing them the tools to improve their personal and business relationships
- Helping clients find the relationship they are searching for
Services Provided Include:
- Learn new challenge-coping methods
- Make sound and balanced decisions
- Regain their strength and sense of contentment
- Find their life purpose and discover their gifts
- Achieve their dreams
- Practice meditation
- Make life transitions
- Achieve a sense of physical and emotional well-being, happines, and inner peace
- Obtain greater satisfaction in their current job
- Liberate themselves from a past relationship or a toxic relationship
- Resolve a difficult relationship or situation in the workplace
- Tackle issues or problems in their personal lives
- Adopt a healthy and balanced lifestyle
- Manage stress
- Find a balance between personal relationships and work
Services Provided Include:
- Balance their personal and professional lives
- Forge more meaningful relationships
- Improve self-confidence and self-esteem
- Make meaningful changes
- Enhance communication
- Work through life or career transitions
- Minimize stress and reduce anxiety
Services Provided Include:
- Couples coaching
- Group coaching
- Intimacy and relationships coaching
- Spiritual coaching
- Parenting and family coaching
- Personal development coaching
- Corporate coaching
- Transition coaching
- Health, lifestyle and wellness coaching
- Leadership development coaching
- Executive coaching
- Stress management coaching
- Aging coaching
- Management coaching
- Self-actualization and self-discovery coaching
- Business and sales success coaching
- Budgeting and finance coaching
- Artistic creativity coaching
- Time management coaching
- Motivational coaching
- Career planning and advancement coaching
- Small business and entrepreneurial coaching
Finding A Life Coach
To find life coach services, prospective trainees may consult a web-based coaching directory. By entering their city, state, and country and choosing a coaching category visitors have access to an online life coach.
Future clients can also find a life coach who offers free sample sessions, which would enable the former to ensure that the two are a good fit and that there is personal chemistry between them. Certified life coaches receive advanced training and consent to abide by an ethical code and high conduct standards set by the International Coach Federation (ICF), which accredits coach-training schools.