Coaching is the generic name used to describe many different forms of self-exploration undertaken with a guide or "coach."

It is called coaching to differentiate it from therapy (which comes in many forms) and psychoanalysis.

Therapeutic writing is one form of coaching. It is especially effective for individuals who are aware that they are not using their full potential, or who are faced with transitions in their lives. Transitions may include: changing career, divorce, re-entering the work force, coping with 'empty nest' situations, and mid-life goal adjustments. A growing feeling of discontent, which comes to so many of us, can be the first realization that we are capable of being more than we have so far managed. This may feel like a point of discomfort but it is also a point of growth. Therapeutic writing works because it allows the individual to slow down the ceaseless flow of words that come from outside ourselves. It gives a chance to listen to one's own voice, and to choose what is true for each of us.

I work with my writing clients once each week, usually, although other arrangements are possible. Each meeting is one-on-one and lasts one and a quarter hours. I do not coach by email, nor by phone, although our work can be supplemented in this way. I will often ask a client to write things down, or do writing exercises in the session. Sometimes I will also assign 'homework'.

Writing allows those who are fluent in speech to slow down, and listen to the owrds they use to describe their lives. For those who are less outgoing, writing allows the private space and time necessary to formulate ideas. In each situation it allows us to 'capture the moment' which might otherwise be lost.

Read my philosophy of coaching, or get your questions answered in the Q&A.

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