As health care professionals, you are trained in the medical model, and your reflex is that “psychological issues” are referred to talking therapies.
I know that most health care providers are unaware of what coaching is, therefore, through no fault of their own, they do not recommend coaching to their patients and are sometimes slow to open up to being coached themselves. That’s why you’re here, asking questions…
Most coaches tell you that the best way to explain coaching to someone is to coach them. In my experience, I simply ask two questions for their first taste in coaching, try it now with me:
“How satisfied are you with your life right now on a scale of 1-10?” Got your number? Great, now consider: “How satisfied do you want to be?” The majority of clients look at me like I’m utterly insane and unanimously answer, “I’m miserable,” or “I’m not satisfied at all,” or “I cannot wait to retire!” And when they answer how satisfied they wish to be, they say, “Way more satisfied than I am now!” or “Anything would be better.”
Coaching bridges that gap between where you are now and where you want to be (even if you don’t know what that looks like yet!), my job is to be the catalyst for positive change and to keep you on the right track, help create balance in your life or achieve something you never thought possible.
Now imagine you could do that for your patients?