frequently asked questions and answers
When does the program start?
The Welcome Week starts Sunday, September 24th, 2023.
Registration will open September 12th and close September 21st.
How is this self-paced if the program lasts 8-weeks?
Great question. The program is designed with a definite arc of learning and discovery in mind. Moving through that arc as it was designed is important to deliver on the promise of creating freedom, relief and results. That’s why it’s offered as a cohort experience, so that you are able to experience the wisdom of the community, learning from your people and them from you. Each week, you have the opportunity to self-pace your engagement with the material as the demands on your life allow. If 5:30am is your favorite time to watch videos, great! If you have 20 minutes before someone wakes up from a nap and needs your attention, cool. You get to make it work for YOU.
What if I can't keep pace with the program?
If you find that keeping pace with the program is consistently difficult, no worries! You will have lifetime access to the course content which means as the course evolves and is updated to reflect ongoing research and practices, you’ll reap the benefits. It is **highly recommended** that you attend the group coaching call every week, even if you’re not able to complete all the lessons before then. Stress & Overwhelm are a lonely business, and the sooner we realize we’re not alone, the more empowered we feel to do something - anything - along the way.
How do I contact you?
I am available daily throughout the program in our private Facebook group, as well as via email. Additionally, each week you will be able to submit questions for our weekly Community Q&As. Generally, it’s my intention to be as available to you as possible.
Is my participation in this program confidential?
Yes and No.
At the beginning of the program you will be asked to commit to and honor the program agreements, which include confidentiality.
The content will be shared among a cohort of individuals who will be able to see your name and any information you share in the weekly Q&A Community Coaching Calls or the Integration Week Community Practices. At the beginning of each live online call, participants will be asked again to commit to confidentiality and also consent to being recorded.
Your reflections and anything shared in our 1:1 Workshop Coaching sessions will remain completely confidential. I will share a coaching agreement in the Welcome Week that clearly states my ethical commitments to you (including confidentiality), and what each of us agrees to in working with and each other.
How does the VIP package work? How do I schedule my 1:1 Coaching sessions?
Once you sign up for the VIP package, you’ll be directed to a dashboard of information for reviewing the coaching commitment and agreements and for scheduling your weekly sessions. We’ve found that students have the most success with a consistent weekly time to meet, so that’s our preference. But if your life doesn’t allow for that, we will work together to get it set each week.
Do I have to fill out and share the Reflection Questions each week?
Yes. (But also, No.)
There are no penalties or bad grades for not “turning something in”.
If you are an adult human that has decided to take this program, you get to decide what works for you.
But keep in mind that the Reflections are designed to do a few different things to support your learning and mindset shifts:
The questions provide opportunity for a guided in-depth coaching process despite community Q&A/coaching contact time each week.
Writing your answers helps integrate your learning as you go. Stress promotes cycles and thought loops. Writing helps break that up.
Your answers will help me see into your process, struggles, and progress so that I can offer targeted support and we can make the most of our time together.
Ultimately, you get to decide what works best for you and the state of your Stress and Power for that week. You will have the option to share your reflections privately via Google Form or in a Facebook group thread with the Reflections questions each week.
What is 1:1 Coaching offering about? Why would I consider the coaching on top of the course?
The 1:1 Coaching offering is for anyone who wants a focused strategic, workshop-style problem-solving process around shifting patterns of stress and overwhelm. The coaching has been most effective for folks who are either in acute stress and overwhelm and need S.O.S support RIGHT NOW, or for folks who need/want a more customized process.
How is coaching different from therapy, teaching, and consulting?
This is such a great question. Even if you think you know the answer, take a gander and refresh your thinking.
The focus of therapy is usually to work through past experiences to help with something in the present. It may or may not include experiences of trauma.
The focus of consulting is to be the "expert in the room", providing expertise, experience, advice, and strategies. Consultants often provide solutions to problems for people and companies, analyzing something that's not working and providing answers for a way to proceed.
The focus of teaching is to impart given knowledge or skills so that clients can apply knowledge and skills in service of whatever is at hand.
The focus of Coaching is to start in the present with a view to a future you want to create.
Coaching starts with the belief that you as the client are a whole person, capable at every moment to be and do whatever is desired. The focus of coaching is to ask questions, reflect, and provide observations around the topic that you bring to the coaching conversation. I will never prescribe, diagnose, or suggest your path forward. Everything in a coaching session comes from you so that the learning and process of transformation is yours alone.
You bring the goal, the topic, your life experience, and perspectives.
I bring the curiosity, questions, observations and plenty of space for exploration.
What kinds of things will we be doing in a Coaching session?
Everything we do in a coaching session is about cultivating deeper awareness of how you're observing and therefore taking action around a particular challenge. The foundations of our coaching conversation are grounded in:
asking great questions
holding a mirror to your thoughts, words, and actions
inviting and reflecting discovery
There's no formula for how a coaching conversation unfolds, because there's no formula to address your unique challenges. But there are a few modalities that I draw from to do this work:
Ontological Coaching is focused on understanding who you are being as a unique Observer of the world. The lens through which you see the world, make decisions, assess, and move to action (for example) is unlike any other person on the planet in existence at this moment. Given that reality, a great deal of our work will seek to better understand the observer you are to get at the heart of what you're working toward.
Embodiment Coaching is focused on the Body as a generative tool for understanding and shifting states of being and patterns of behavior. Through postures, breath, centering, movement, familiarity and contrast in the body, we can explore new ways to change our minds.
Creativity in Coaching is focused on expression that allows and invites absurdity, playfulness, silliness, awkwardness, discomfort, practice, and acting out anything and everything that needs expression.
How do I know I can trust you in a 1:1 coaching session?
As a Newfield Certified Coach and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation (the accrediting body for professional coaches), I have engaged the deep work of BEING coached before becoming a coach, and I’m committed to uphold very clear Ethical Standards. These are the highest standards of confidentiality, care, and commitment to you. Trust is something we co-create together in conversation over the course of the program. In every session, you are always in charge. So if something isn’t working for you, I trust that you will let me know so that we can move in a direction that does.
What if we get into the 1:1 coaching, and we don't work well together?
1:1 Coaching is included as part of the VIP package as an opportunity to learn new tools, accelerate integration and customize what you're learning from the course into your everyday life. If you feel you are not gaining value from it, let's have a conversation about what's not working for you to see if we can shift something. If despite our efforts, we can't find our way in the work together, then I will refer you to coaching colleagues who have a different approach and perspective that might work better for you.
