Up and Running

At last, the website is up and running. It certainly has been a lesson to me in patience and I given me time to reflect on my values and how to deal when they are in conflict. To me being on time and meeting my targets is important - I hate letting people down. It is also important to me that things I create are of a certain standard and works well. I dealt with my initial dissapointment of the site being delayed by realising that if I went live when things were not working as well as I hoped, I would be letting people down. So I tinkered, and waited and now feel happy that the site is live.
What's it all for? I have benefitted greatly from a deeper understanding of coaching, and from working with my own coach. I believe OTs have much in common and want to open up a forum to discuss the similarities and differences.
So, Is OT life coaching? Well, my interest in coaching was sparked by my belief, and that of my husband (also and OT) , that they were the same thing. That this was something I did in my job and could do outside of my life in the NHS. On further investigation I realised that a quality life coaching course offered me the opportunity to develop new skills. I started my training and then the thinking really started. Much of the underlying philosophy is the same - looking at the here and now, setting personalised SMART goals and focussing on values and beliefs. However the non-directive approach to coaching demands a different stance of the coach to working as a coach. First and foremost coaching is not therapy or counselling and is only undertaken with healthy individuals. As a coach I have had to learn to stand back, never to offer advice or direct. I have recognised that my client-centred practice was not as empowering as I thought. In coaching the coachee is totally in control in setting and directing goals, the coach is non-judgemental resulting in people in achieving amazing goals. As an OT I work within an humasistic framework, however I recognise that my training has provided me with knowledge - medical and psychological, that can encourage me to make a "prognosis" about the goals a client can acheive. I have seen my role as an OT to be to "enable" a client to set achievable and realistic goals and grading activities. As a coach I have now questioned whether, at times, this has actually resulted in me hindering their progress and not truly maximising their potential.
There have been specific skills in questioning techniques that really developed the way I work. I have found coaching models for structuring sessions great within my OT work to keep me on track and have outcomes for the session.
I believe that coaching and OT sit very well together. Because of their training OTs can make great life coaches. However, whilst I continue to work both as an OT and coach, I have to keep in check that I keep my boundaries very clear.
Until next time
Catherine