There are many different styles, techniques, and approaches in the $1 billion personal coaching industry.
It makes sense that there is such a wide variety of methods out there that have been working for people because there is a wide variety of people that have hired coaches for different reasons.
However, at the root of it all the most basic reason that someone hires a coach is to improve some area of their life.
Whether it be improvement in business life, home life, or relationship/love life, the aim of a coach is to use the style of coaching that best helps their client achieve desired goals.
For example, someone might hire a business coach who uses a solution-focused approach per the iNLP Center. The coach will work with the client to get a clear vision on their desired outcome, assist them in setting clear goals, and focus on the solutions that will lead them in the right direction.
Another example would be a traditional athletic coach who uses an autocratic style approach. This method is more authoritative, where the coach tells the client what to do with little to no input from the client. The aim for the client is to learn a specific technique unbeknownst to them that will help them achieve their goals.
What is Holistic Coaching?
Holistic coaching is an entirely different approach compared to solution-focused or autocratic approaches, in that it focuses on more of the larger picture in the client’s life, hitting on all areas of self-improvement, rather than one.
Coaches that adopt this style of coaching believe that addressing one issue in their client’s life, all other issues surrounding it are also affected. This is because holistic coaches believe that “everything rests in a web of interconnectedness”. Every action that we make and every decision that we have ever made have an effect on some other area of our lives.
Many holistic coaches also view the mind, body, and spirit as one. If you want to work on healing one, you must also work on the other two.
This style of coaching can be used to benefit work life and home life, and does not focus on one specific desired outcome. There can be one main issue that a client may want to address, but the coach will not focus solely on it, and will instead ensure that the issue is addressed by also working on any other issues in their life that can also be affecting it or connected to it in some way.
This is to create lasting results, so that the client feels a sense of balance and security that they did not have before.
If someone wants to focus on maintaining a healthy mindset, the coach might look into their physical health. If someone wants to change their physical health, the holistic coach may look into their clients stress levels or mental health.
There are many different techniques that holistic coaches can use to help clients make transformations on all levels. Coaches may use spiritual meditation techniques, self empowerment, or mindfulness/relaxation exercises to achieve healing from the inside out.
The goal is to create a sense of fulfillment and well-being in people’s lives with this style of coaching, and there are many different kinds of people who can benefit from it.
Whether it be people who have struggled through divorce, loss of job, health issues, or other emotional traumas, holistic coaching can help facilitate healing on all levels. It will require a level of personal strength and commitment, because healing is not always easy or pretty, and it definitely does not happen overnight.
One must be able to handle facing harsh truths in order to make the changes necessary to better their overall well-being. However, it is necessary in order to grow and change your life. Sometimes you are the one hurting you or holding you back, and taking responsibility for that is something that a holistic coach can help you to do.
Holistic coaches provide the support and encouragement needed by their clients for real change to take place. They will ask the right questions to find where the root of each issue lies, and then help guide them towards resolutions.