Eating Disorders Coaching

Description

Christopher J. Coulson, MAHPP Eating Disorders Coach It is appropriate for you to have many questions about me and the way I work. Ultimately, there's no substitute for talking together, but in the meantime I've tried to cover many of your questions here. - Can I call you between sessions? - What can I expect to happen during sessions? - How long do you think treatment will take? - How much experience have you had coaching people with disordered eating behaviors? - What are your thoughts about using medications in the treatment of EDs? - Do you take insurance? - What can I do if I don't think I'm improving fast enough? -What can I expect to achieve working with you? - How do we take advantage of what I already do well? -Would anyone be working with me besides you? -What will I get from you? -Why are you in this business? -Why should I elect to work with you? -When would we be able to start? -Do you have a track record of helping individuals reaching their goals? How will we work together? Once you have decided to take me on as your coach we will establish three things: Can I call you between sessions? Yes. I take 'phone calls and emails between sessions. I don't put a limit on them. Sometimes you may find you're wanting to make a lot of contacts between sessions. If this happens we may discuss whether you could make use of additional sessions for a short period. TOP What can I expect to happen during sessions? We talk together, exploring and uncovering your true self. Sometimes it will seem very deep, at other times it will seem more superficial; sometimes we will be very practical, at other times our dialogue will be more abstract. Whatever the content or intensity of a particular session, the process always arises from and emphasizes your strengths. TOP How long do you think treatment will take? I don't think of our work together as treatment, but as a developmental activity. Treatment is when you immobilize a broken leg; development is when you start to exercise it again. Unless you want just one or two sessions on a consultation basis, it is helpful and puts you in charge to think of coaching as something you will do for as long as it's useful to you. Some of my clients work with me for a relatively short time, perhaps while going through a transition. Others have worked with me for years, going from project to project, strength to strength. The likely duration of our work is something we can discuss at our exploratory meeting and can revisit at any time thereafter. TOP How much experience have you had coaching people with disordered eating behaviors? I've been working with clients with eating-related behaviors for around twenty years. As a group, they constitute about a third of my practice. I'm not in favor of greater specialization than this because it can lead to a focus on the behaviors rather than on you the person. TOP What are your thoughts about using medications in the treatment of EDs? Generally, I believe we should all avoid medication as much as possible. However, there are certainly times when it makes good practical sense and we shouldn't let our idealism stand in the way of our greater health. TOP Do you take insurance? No. Insurance companies, reasonably enough, require that client and coach work in a way that they prescribe. I prefer to be able to adapt my approach to the needs of the client. TOP What can I do if I don't think I'm improving fast enough? Say so. We would need to determine whether we are missing something in our work or whether you are simply and temporarily stuck. It is important not to drop out just because of a discouraging period. As one writer puts it: "Overcoming 'stuckness' in treatment [not my word!] is a major victory.'" TOP What can I expect to achieve working with you? The answer to this question is dependent on your own goals and ambition and by our joint ability to form a strong partnership. If you approach our collaboration with motivation and the widest sphere of reference, the results experienced by my other clients show that over time you can expect a transformation in your life. TOP How do we take advantage of what I already do well? We use it in many ways. To start with, one thing you do well is the kind of research that has led you to this point. We use your motivation to change and improve as a primary driver. Other abilities are used as examples of your true competence and as guides when you step off into trying new behaviors. TOP Would anyone be working with me besides you? Absolutely not. The most effective coaching relationships have deep connections and understandings that are unique between the coach and client. They are true partnerships, unlike, say, training relationships where all that is sought is a mechanical exchange of information. TOP What will I get from you? All the information, insight and wisdom I have to offer, delivered with as much skill as I possess. This will quite often mean your hearing things you had not expected, and being challenged to look at things from a new and perhaps discomforting angle. Hopefully I am skillful enough to do this with you without driving you away. TOP Why are you in this business? Because it unites three passions with a - for me - ideal lifestyle. The passions are: Why should I elect to work with you? There's one main reason I can think of. It's because you've done an evaluation of a number of coaches and other professionals and you've decided that I am the one who can go with you further and more comprehensively than the rest. Otherwise you'd be wasting your time and money and probably be building up to an angry departure. I am not a coach-for-everyperson. My clients, just like other coaches', have recognizable characteristics in common. TOP When would we be able to start? That depends on coordinating my schedule and yours so we would need to discuss it over the 'phone. I like to get started immediately, however. TOP Do you have a track record of helping individuals reaching their goals? Very much so, otherwise I would do something else for a living. My clients' triumphs are very much part of what makes my working life enjoyable.

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