{"id":8151,"date":"2014-07-17T15:12:43","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T15:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.relationshipcoachinginstitute.com\/?p=8151"},"modified":"2014-07-17T15:12:43","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T15:12:43","slug":"therapist-coach-book-excerpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vhhtesting.com\/xyypro3\/therapist-coach-book-excerpt\/","title":{"rendered":"From Therapist to Coach book excerpt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FromIntroduction to\u00a0From Therapist to Coach: How to Leverage Your Clinical Expertise to Build a Thriving Coaching Practice:<\/em><\/p>\n

In the title of this book, the words \u201ctherapist\u201d and \u201ccoach\u201d are so close together \u2013 separated only by the harmless little word \u201cto\u201d \u2013 that it\u2019s easy to think that the journey from therapist to coach is easy and automatic.\u00a0 Well, it is and it isn\u2019t.<\/div>\n
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Yes, the transition from therapist to coach\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>refreshingly\u00a0<\/em>easy when you break it all down into practical steps; but it\u2019s hardly automatic. In fact, I\u2019d say for most therapists, including the one holding this book, the idea of adding coaching to your world likely causes feelings of confusion, scepticism, doubt and fear.<\/div>\n
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What\u2019s going on? It\u2019s like this: coaching just isn\u2019t what most of us had on the career radar screen when we were traveling the long and winding road to licensure. While I assume you\u2019re at least\u00a0partially<\/em>\u00a0open to the idea of coaching since you\u2019re reading this book, I won\u2019t assume that we\u2019re out of those sceptical woods just yet. In other words: while the idea of coaching sparks your curiosity, it may still linger as something inappropriate at worst, impractical at best, and incomprehensible at all times. That\u2019s the bad news.<\/div>\n
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But the\u00a0good\u00a0<\/em>news is these feelings are natural and common, because I\u2019ve felt them too. Time for a story.<\/p>\n

There Was this Men\u2019s Group\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Early on a cold Saturday morning in 1996, I was standing in a large circle of men for the monthly gathering of our men\u2019s organization. At one point a youngish man in his 20s (I\u2019m of a vintage where I can get away with such terms), and known to me as a health supplement salesman \u2014 stepped out and proclaimed something that was so absurd and unexpected that I\u2019m positive I\u2019m going to remember exactly how it sounded for a full year after I die. Here\u2019s what this consequence of good ol\u2019 American Dreamism had to say: \u201cI\u2019m training to become a Life Coach, and I\u2019m looking for a few volunteer practice clients!\u201d<\/p>\n

Until that moment, while I had read and heard the term \u201cjaw dropping\u201d more times than I could remember, I had not personally experienced it. (Yes, for the curious playing along at home, your jaw really does\u00a0<\/em>drop!) And then other body parts got into the action, including my brain, which went into overdrive. Here\u2019s the family-friendly version of my inner dialogue: \u201cLife Coach, what\u2019s that? How can this guy help\u00a0anyone<\/em>\u00a0with their life if he can\u2019t figure it out for himself? Wait a minute \u2014 he\u2019s going to charge people money to help them with their life? But that\u2019s what\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0do and I have a degree and a license! Has this guy been sampling one too many health supplements or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite the bells going off inside me \u2013 I half expected someone to come over and slap me on the head like an alarm clock \u2013 I must admit that I was intrigued. Well, okay \u2013 intrigued is probably a bit too glorious of a word, and makes me sound more open minded than I was. Let\u2019s say I was compelled to see this train wreck close up.<\/p>\n

So I wandered over to the health supplement salesman\/Life Coach, and asked him what this whole thing was all about. His answer was to try a session with him and find out. I agreed.<\/p>\n

The following week, we met on the telephone (the telephone of all things! Does this train wreck have an\u00a0end<\/em>?), and he asked me some open-ended questions about what I wanted for my life. He paused long enough after each response to make me think that he had a list of questions in front of him, and was awkwardly searching for the next question to ask. It was like helping one of my kids with their homework by practicing a school assignment with them \u2013 except my kids weren\u2019t studying to be Life Coaches. Heck, I almost wished he\u2019d just try to sell me some health supplements. (Almost<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Still, with tolerance that I didn\u2019t know I had, I went along with it and talked about my desire to help people have successful marriages and families, my burnout working with dysfunctional couples and feeling stuck with my current practice, and my frustrations, hopes, and dreams for my practice. And as I spoke, something\u2026weird<\/em>\u00a0was happening.<\/p>\n

By the end of our unskilled and awkward first meeting, I went from feeling burned out and stuck with my practice, to excited, empowered and re-energized. As a therapist I was obliged to categorize this as that thing that we crave; that seminal event that makes everything else possible, and all the hard work worth it: a breakthrough. No wait. That\u2019s not fair. It wasn\u2019t just a breakthrough. It was A BREAKTHROUGH!!!<\/p>\n

That was the moment. That was the hand-off. I was\u00a0sold<\/em>\u00a0on coaching. If a young, unskilled, brand new coach-trainee could help me (of all people) achieve a breakthrough, think of the possibilities! And imagine my amazement that a brand new helping profession was emerging right under my nose, and I didn\u2019t know anything about it until that fateful Saturday morning with my men\u2019s group. Fate sold health supplements in its spare time. Who knew?<\/p>\n

I immediately signed up to be trained as a coach, and quickly saw the potential for applying this powerful helping methodology to relationships. My professional career changed forever \u2013 and for the better.<\/p>\n

Is This Book for You?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay. You might be thinking: \u201chey, real feel-good story David, but how is your book going to help me? You aren\u2019t going to try and sell me some health supplements, are you? Because\u2026there\u2019s someone at the door\u2026I have to take my kid to a thing\u2026I\u2019ll get back to you next week\u2026\u201d Don\u2019t worry. There are no health supplements to buy (honest), and there\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>a reason you should read this book. Scratch that: there\u2019s a reason you MUST read this book. It\u2019s this:<\/p>\n

A long time ago (possibly in a galaxy far, far away or on a dark and stormy night), you decided to become a therapist. At least that\u2019s how it looked to others. But for you, truly, it was a powerful calling in which you didn\u2019t have much choice. I still remember my mother saying \u201cA therapist? You\u2019ll never make a living!\u201d<\/p>\n

The point is, you decided to dedicate your life to helping people overcome major life problems, achieve important goals, reach their optimal potential and get to the next level in their lives. So yes, for convenience \u2014 and because all this doesn\u2019t fit on a business card \u2014 you call yourself a therapist. But we both know that the truth is deeper. We know that you wanted to facilitate meaningful, lasting growth and change, and make a significant difference in the world. You wanted to help.<\/p>\n

Now here you are, years later, and guess what? You still want to help!<\/em>\u00a0And even if you\u2019re approaching burnout, your original idealistic flame still burns deep within your serving spirit; you wouldn\u2019t be reading a book like this if there wasn\u2019t something inside you urging you forward. True, perhaps you can\u2019t see that flame as clearly as you once did, but surely if you pay close attention, you can still feel its heat and hear its message. Despite your dissatisfaction with how things are, it\u2019s telling you:<\/p>\n