The field of self transformation has taken a great leap forward with the introduction of the new technologies of video and teleconferencing. All of a sudden it is possible to meet with people around the world as if they are in the same room. We can sit and discuss emotional issues, demonstrate and implement techniques and get a real intuitive feel of how our clients are receiving and processing the information discussed. Sadly, the rules and ethics of traditional psychotherapy and supervision have not caught up to this potential so it is not possible to offer psychotherapy remotely.
However, it is possible to offer Personal Coaching and Training in a remote venue. Coaching is different from psychotherapy because it does not attempt to diagnose or treat a medical condition. Instead, it works by helping the client find resources to overcome challenges of his or her own choosing. Because it does not diagnose or treat a medical condition, it is not open to insurance reimbursement and should not be used instead of qualified medical care. Also, if a person is actively suicidal, psychotic, rageful or in need of hospitalization, they are not appropriate for a coaching relationship. On the other hand, for most people, the coaching relationship is exactly what they need and want as they work to create more abundance, joy, freedom and connection in their lives.
Think about what it is that you want more of in your life. That is what coaching can help you get. When we ask most people what they want, their first response is something like “I want less stress”. They want their children to be less demanding, their husband to be less angry, their jobs to be less stressful and themselves to be less sad. These people are starting with what they don’t want. Most of us are much better at knowing what we don’t want, and while this is an ok place to start, it really doesn’t give us what we do want.
Several years ago I was working with a woman who said she wanted to stop feeling angry all the time, so we used some techniques and released her anger. The next week she came back and said she hadn’t improved at all. When I asked about her anger, she said that actually she hadn’t been angry but she was sad and that the sadness was worse than the anger. So we worked on the sadness. The next week she said she wasn’t sad any more but that she was feeling vaguely anxious and sort of “blah”. At this point she was more able to consider what she really wanted which was to feel connected and happy with her husband. After we worked on that, the next week she was content, having finally achieved what she really wanted all along.
Now when we begin working with someone we focus on discovering what the person really wants to expand in their life and then we work to help them achieve that. Of course, this is what many coaches do, but we are often able to take people much further because we have a host of powerful change techniques (collectively called Power Therapies) which can radically shift trauma, judgment, limiting beliefs and negative feelings.
It is these techniques that allow us to assist people to really transform themselves as they find and release issues from their past that continue to haunt their present.
If you are interested in exploring whether this approach could work for you, sign up for a free Discovery Session with Pam and learn more!