Frequently Asked Questions

What is coaching?

According to Indeed.com, a life coach is a results-oriented mentor who helps clients develop important skills, set goals, and change their lives. A coach can help to uncover a person's potential or aspirations, and provide skills to help them on their way. The profession of life coaching has its roots in the self-help trend that began in the 1970s, which then grew into the coaching field to meet a real need in society. At first, it started with specific niches such as financial and career coaching, but later broadened to include other areas such as general life coaching, wellness coaching, health coaching, relationship coaching, and many other areas. There are many coaching certification programs available today, offered both privately and through universities. My speciality is working with people on ordinary life goals and obstacles, through a holistic mind/body/spirit lens.

What do life coaches do?

A large part of working with a coach will be to develop a new set of skills and habits that can help you to grow and develop your potential as a human being. As a professional life coach, not only have I trained formally in coaching, psychology, and meditation, but I have made personal development the center of my life. I don't just coach people for a certain number of hours a week. I am steeped in the literature, techniques, and practices that I apply to myself daily, as well as working with a mentor of my own to continue the infinite process of unfolding growth.

Some skills that I can teach you are: how to reframe negative self talk, how to develop daily habits that lead to personal growth, how to creatively engage obstacles, how to change the story you tell yourself, the correct way to work with affirmations, how to start a mindful exercise program, how to set goals, how to listen to your body about food and eating, how to practice self-observation (mindfulness), how to set boundaries to preserve your peace of mind and maximize your joy, how to transform lifestyle habits ...and much more.

Why seek the assistance of a coach?

If you are seeking the assistance of a life coach, you are probably doing so because something in your life isn't quite the way you want it to be, and you need some help in getting unstuck. That assistance may take the shape of a single brief session where I help you gain clarity, a fresh perspective, and some tools to set you on your way. Or it may take the shape of a longer relationship where multiple goals are worked on over time, and the emphasis is on broader personal development.

How is coaching different from therapy?

Psychotherapists treat mental illness. Coaches help people with life goals and personal development. Coaches tend to focus on solutions and are present/future oriented, rather than looking into the past to find the root of problems. Coach and psychotherapist John Kim explains: "Therapy takes you from suffering to baseline. Life coaching takes you from baseline to flourishing." People who are suffering from a mental health condition should see a psychotherapist rather than a coach.

What is a typical coaching session like?

Coaching is available through telephone or Zoom. I work in 30 minute sessions at $75 per session. The conversational session will include strategies to help re-frame disempowering narratives, targeted questions to help you gain clarity and a fresh perspective, and methods that help elicit innovative solutions. There may also be homework assignments.

Kindness and warmth will undergird all the work we do. My work is intuitive and no two sessions are alike. Within the week I follow up with a written summary that may include further video or book recommendations to help you along your path. The summaries are important parts of my style because I will model for you how to use language to tell your story and frame your issues in ways that are empowering and amenable to solutions. Every problem contains within it the seed to a solution.

For local clients, I offer sessions at my studio at 398 Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale, NY (Still Mind Martial Arts and Yoga).

How many sessions do I need?

This is up to you. One session may be all you need to get a new perspective and a toolkit to help you along your way. You might like more. Some people like to work with a coach on a weekly basis, and others prefer their sessions spaced out over time. Sessions are limited to 30 minutes.

Isn't life coaching an expensive luxury item that costs thousands of dollars?

My mission it is to make coaching mainstream, practical, and affordable. Coaching can be integrated into one's wellness routine like a gym membership or yoga classes. My dream is for the coaching profession to fit seamlessly into an average person's toolkit for personal growth, and to not be priced out of anyone's reach. This is reflected by my affordable prices of $75/30 minutes and need-based sliding scale.