I love that I’ve designed my career to do all of the things that add up to what I see as my overall mission: creative service. I work for an amazing psychotherapy practice, I coach people across the country from my home office and I can write blog posts for my website at 11:23 p.m. while listening to The Commodores on Spotify and sort-of watching (muted) House Hunters International on TV.
What I’ve created is no accident — I sometimes self-deprecate and think I just bumbled into all of this, but I didn’t. I made this. It helps people. And it’s awesome. I chose an outstanding post-graduate program in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Louisville that encouraged me, challenged me, supported me and prepared me very well for what I do in Dr. Stewart’s office.
I was also very discerning when it came to choosing a coaching program. Life coaching isn’t regulated in terms of state or national licensure like my therapy work. The pros and cons of that could be another entire blog post, but I want my clients to know that when I sought out my training in this area, I chose among the very best.
There are lots of coach training programs to pick from, but I knew working with Brooke Castillo (The Life Coach School) was exactly where I needed to land. The framework she developed as her coaching model changed my life when I worked with one of her coaches last year. In my mind, there was no way I couldn’t be one of Brooke’s students and eventually one of her coaches. I already had one certification I earned in 2009, but studying with Brooke was like life coach graduate school for me.
I received her confirmation today that I completed the final certification requirements. I worked my ass off to finish this and it’s so worth it. For me. For my clients. One criterion for certification was creating a video that shows who I am, what I believe in, and how I work as a coach. I’ve videotaped sessions with clients for clinical supervision in the past when I earned my therapy licensure, but that’s nothing at all like this. There was a message to deliver here. Concisely. Creatively.
Instead of writing anything else about it, I think I am going to take my best friend’s advice: be proud of what it says and shows for the people who can benefit from working with me. Offer it up. Keep going.
Here’s the link:
