Career Development and Wellness

Contributing Author: Mary E. Vandenack, Vandenack Weaver LLC, 17007 Marcy Street, #3, Omaha, NE 68118.

When to Use Coaching, When to Use a Psychologist— Some Tips on Finding the Right Fit

The McLean Institute of Coaching, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, indicates that 70 percent of those people who seek out and obtain coaching benefit in various ways such as improved performance and better communication. A variety of evidence-based research can be found at the Institute’s website: https:// www.instituteofcoaching.org. Coaching can help clarify goals, identify obstacles to achieving goals, improve self awareness, and develop strategies to work more productively.

It is important to know when you might want to seek out a coach rather than a psychological professional. Some coaches have psychological credentials as well as coaching credentials, and personally I gravitate towards such coaches, but it is important to be clear about what you are seeking from a professional and find the right profession and the right fit.

In general, coaching focuses on setting goals and developing and implementing strategies to achieve them. Therapy focuses on mental health and emotional healing. Therapy focuses on cognitions, but coaching focuses on behaviors.

Providing therapy requires a license, and therapists are subject to ethical rules and guidelines established by a licensing board. Coaches may hold certifications in particular areas of coaching, but currently licensing is not required at the federal or state level.

Seeking a Coach

If your primary goals include finding direction and clarity, identifying specific goals, and developing strategies to achieve them, coaching is a possible path. Coaching can be provided one-on-one or in group settings. Many coaches have business experience or at least a good understanding of business. At one point, I rejected a coach who became a coach because she hated practicing law. My theory was “How can she coach me to do what she hated doing?” Although I generally prefer working with someone who liked what she did before coaching, I worked with this particular coach at one juncture and found that her hatred for what I did actually could be used to identify the pain points of the profession. Coaches have varying specialties such as leadership coaching, positive psychology, health coaching, business coaching, spiritual coaching, or life coaching. The first step is to decide which type of coach you need. You can then identify coaches with credentials that match your purposes in seeking one. Rather than searching the internet for coaches, consider reaching out to your network for a referral. Ask for referrals from your business network or groups you participate in on LinkedIn.

Know what you are willing to pay. Coaching can get very expensive. Before hiring a coach, discuss the amount of sessions to achieve your initial objectives and know what that will cost.

Interview your prospective coach. The coach should be a great listener. Ask about her experience. Ask for examples of her successes with other clients. Inquire about the style the coach uses as well as the tools. Ask for references.

Consider a coach from another locale. In my “small” big town, almost everyone knows a lawyer or has a sibling or child who is a lawyer. Coaching is confidential, but I just don’t want to have those conversations with someone who might know someone else that I have worked with or am discussing. I want to be able to be open.

Be Clear about Boundaries

The best coaches (and therapists) know the boundaries of their abilities. It is important to discuss and make your boundaries clear early on. If your boundaries are disregarded or minimized in any way ever, there is one word: RUN. A free peer coaching service might seem tempting, but if the coach you choose through that service has no real coaching experience and tries to impose mental health diagnoses on you or, worse yet, starts reaching out to people you know with comments about you, again, RUN.

When Your Coach Should Refer You to a Therapist

There is a significant inter-relationship between cognition and behavior. Psychotherapy is outside the scope of coaching work. Most coaching certification organizations provide a list of signs and symptoms that indicate when a referral should be made to therapy.

Selecting a Therapist

If you choose to seek a therapist, check state certifications and educational credentials. Seek referrals. Interview the therapists about their style, and ask them how they can help you.

Therapeutic Coaches

There are some professionals who blend coaching and therapeutic approaches. Typically, this is a coach who has a mental health counseling background but uses a coaching approach. The same principles apply to selection of a therapeutic coach. What are your goals? How can the coaches help you achieve them? What is their method? Establish boundaries, a plan, and understand costs.

Keep Your Business Goals in Mind

If a primary goal in seeking coaching is to help you with practice issues, keep in mind that the background of the person with respect to business matters. If you are entrepreneurial, seek someone who understands that. If you are interested in leadership, seek an effective leadership coach. If your goal is to achieve a better work/life balance, there are coaches who have backgrounds specific to that.

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION

(PS Form 3526, July 2014) (Act of August 12, 1970: Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code) 1. Title of publication: Probate & Property (ISSN: 0164-0372). 2. P.N. 010-781. 3. Date of filing: 10-01-22. 4. Issue Frequency: Bi-Monthly. 5. No. of issues published annually: Six. 6. Annual subscription price: $20. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-7598. 8. Complete mailing address of the headquarters or general business offices of the publisher: American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-7598. 9. Full names and complete mailing address of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Publisher: American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-7598; Editor: Edward T. Brading, Attorney at Law, 208 Sunset Drive, Suite 409, Johnson City, TN 37604; Managing Editor: Erin Remotigue, American Bar Association; 321 N. Clark Street; Chicago, IL 60654-7598. 10. Owner (if owned by a corporation, its name and address must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, its name and address must be stated): American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-7598. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of the total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities (if there are none, so state): None. 12. Tax Status: Has not changed in preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Probate & Property. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: July 1, 2022 (36:4). 15. Extent and nature of circulation. a. Total no. copies printed (net press run). Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 16,609. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 17,111. b. Paid and/or requested circulation: (1) Paid requested outsidecounty mail subscriptions. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 10,794. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 10,787. (2) Paid in-county subscriptions. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales. Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS. Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. c. Total paid circulation. Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 10,794. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 10,787. d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (by mail and outside the mail): (1) Free or nominal rate outside-county copies. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 4,499. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 4,845. (2) Free or nominal in-county copies. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. (3) Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. (4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. e. Total free distribution (sum of 15d(1), (2), (3), (4)). Average no. copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 4,499. Actual no. of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 4,845. f. Total distribution (sum of 15c and 15e). Average no. of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 15,293. Actual no. of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 15,632. g. Copies not distributed. Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 1,316. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 1,479. h. Total (sum of 15f and g). Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 16,609. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 17,111. i. Percent paid. Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 70.6%. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 69.0%. 16. There are no electronic copies of this publication. I certify that 50% of all distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above a nominal price.

I certify that the statement made by me above is correct and complete. (signed) Bryan Kay, Director, ABA Editorial and Licensing