FAQs about personal coaching:
How is personal coaching different from psychotherapy?
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How is personal coaching different from psychotherapy?
While coaching and psychotherapy share certain elements—including self-reflection, increased awareness, and personal growth—they differ in their purpose, scope, and approach.
Psychotherapy is a healthcare service that may involve the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions. Personal coaching, by contrast, is a collaborative, forward-looking process focused on clarifying values, exploring possibilities, navigating life transitions, and making intentional choices.
My coaching approach draws on principles of mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and values-based living. Together, we'll explore what matters most to you, identify patterns or habits that may be limiting your choices, and consider how to move toward a life that feels more meaningful and fulfilling.
Our work may include values clarification exercises, reflective prompts, exploration of personal strengths and challenges, and practical strategies for translating insight into action.
What can I expect from the coaching process?
Our work begins with a conversation about where you are in your life, what brings you to coaching, and what you hope to gain from our time together.
From there, we'll develop a shared understanding of your goals and explore the beliefs, habits, priorities, and circumstances that may be influencing your choices.
Depending on your needs, sessions may include guided reflection, mindfulness practices, values exploration, and exercises to help you experiment with new ways of approaching challenges.
My role isn't to tell you how to live your life or prescribe a particular path. Rather, it's to offer thoughtful questions, perspective, and structure as you discover what feels most authentic and meaningful to you.
What falls outside the scope of coaching?
Personal coaching is not psychotherapy and is not a substitute for mental health treatment.
I do not provide psychological diagnosis, clinical assessment, or treatment for mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or other psychiatric conditions.
Coaching may involve discussing difficult emotions, relationship challenges, or stressful life circumstances, but our focus remains on personal development, values, and intentional action rather than the treatment of psychological symptoms.
If your needs would be better addressed through psychotherapy or another healthcare service, I will encourage you to seek support from an appropriately licensed professional. Coaching may also complement ongoing therapy when the goals and boundaries of each service are clearly distinguished.
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What will we work on?
How active is your approach?
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Insight Meets Action
Understanding ourselves is an important part of personal growth, but insight alone doesn't always lead to change.
My coaching approach combines thoughtful self-exploration with practical experimentation. Together, we'll clarify what matters most to you, explore patterns that may be limiting your choices, and identify opportunities to try something different.
Between sessions, you may be invited to engage in small, intentional experiments—practicing a new boundary, approaching a familiar situation differently, making space for something meaningful, or taking a step toward a long-held aspiration. In this spirit, you will be encouraged to expand your sense of willingness towards uncertainty and some amount of discomfort.
These aren't assignments to complete perfectly. They're opportunities to observe, learn, and discover what's possible.
Our work is collaborative and tailored to your needs, with an emphasis on translating self-awareness into meaningful, values-aligned action.
Why a five session package?
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What are your credentials?
Though session structure is not rigid, the five session package is meant to provide enough time to:
1) Explore - Where am I?
2) Clarify - What matters most?
3) Experiment - What happens if?
For example, a person accustomed to people pleasing may experiment with declining a request without offering an elaborate justification.
4) Reflect & Refine - What am I learning?
5) Integrate - Where do I go from here?
Reflect on insights, changes, and emerging possibilities. Develop a plan for continuing values-based action independently.
Will there be activities or exercises between sessions?
Often, yes! While our conversations provide opportunities for reflection and insight, meaningful change frequently happens in the space between sessions.
Depending on your goals, we may collaboratively develop small, intentional experiments to help you practice new behaviors, explore different perspectives, or take steps toward what matters most to you.
These aren't tests or assignments to get right. They're opportunities to learn through experience. We'll use what you discover to inform our work together, adjusting as we go.
Participation is always collaborative, and we'll move at a pace that feels appropriate for you.
How much does it cost?
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How are sessions conducted?
$1,500 for five one-hour sessions tailored to your needs.
One or two add-on sessions may be offered for $250 per session for follow-up maintenance.
I earned my PhD in Clinical Psychology and spent a decade working as a licensed psychologist before intentionally shifting my focus toward coaching and contemplative practices. Today, I draw on that foundation to help people cultivate self-awareness, clarify their values, and make meaningful changes in their lives.
I no longer practice as a licensed psychologist, and my coaching services are distinct from psychotherapy. My current work focuses on personal growth and development rather than psychological assessment, diagnosis, or treatment.
Virtually via HIPAA-secure video conferencing technology.