 The new status symbol:
“Who’s your life coach?”
(Page 2 of 2) However, some coaches don’t believe the profession should be regulated. “I didn’t feel like I need certification,” says Broughton, a veteran coach with 18 years in the business. “I had the business background. I had the life experiences. I have never been part of coaching organizations or taken coaching training because I believe the right people will come into our lives—we’re attracting them.” Many coaches feel that, even though they’ve only been in the business of life coaching for so many years, that they have actually been coaching all their lives. “I had a passion for helping women—my passion was coaching, not selling the product,” says Janet Majoulet Foust, owner of Wealth Harvest coaching. “I was a mediocre sales person—getting people clear on their decisions was the goal for me.” Spaxman doubts, however, that life coaching certification will ever be required. “In some states there has been some pressure to require coaches to be certified. There is a grey area between when coaching is appropriate and when psychological therapy or counseling is appropriate, and confusion about this interface can cause misunderstandings and competition between the fields.” The difference between clients, she notes, is that coaching clients are healthy and perfectly able to make their own choices about how to support their own development. And unlike the more vulnerable clients of therapists and counselors, they do not need government protection. Lending a helping hand Marlene Fern Caldes, founder of the InnerVoice Network in Mill Valley, is not a typical life coach. As a life strategist and clairvoyant, she works within the esoteric and existential worlds to “bring the most authentic and effective life enhancement to the table.” She is a regular guest on 98.1 KISS radio where listeners call in questions on the “Renel in the Morning” show. A common issue women clients bring to Caldes is being overly accommodating to others. “They are, by nature, givers,” she says. “One of the biggest problems is the belief system in which they carry themselves. It’s this little voice in the inner-sanctum of their being that says ‘If you do what’s expected of you, you will be loved.’” As a result, women do everything they can to avoid conflict and cover every base according to Caldes. “These are phenomenal talents women have—they have this sixth sense of being able to anticipate the needs of others. However, problems emerge when they do this robotically and unconsciously.” Speran has experienced similar issues. “One of the biggest issues I see with women is that they tend to lose themselves while caring for others. They tend to put themselves last,” she says. “One of the things I work on with women in particular is realizing that you have to replenish the well—you have to take care of yourself first in order to be your best self.” To simplify the life coach’s motto, Broughton tells a joke that many therapists don’t find funny: “If you’re stuck in the mud, do you know what the difference is between a therapist and a coach? The therapist will stoop down beside you and ask ‘How do you feel about this?’ Whereas the coach will come along and hand you a shovel.” Some days you need a really big shovel. | ||
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