Coaching Services
Interested in coaching?
If so, you should know what you might get out of it, and also how our coaching is a little bit different than the norm.
What will I get out of it?
Generally speaking, our work focuses on life changes that allow you to create the life you desire. We do this in a variety of arenas - since business and life areas tend to intertwine, to be interdependent, we find that in healing and improving one area of our lives, we move others forward.
You're likely to benefit from work with us if you sincerely desire to make changes, and are willing to be honest, vulnerable, and fairly focused in that quest - even when you don't know exactly where you want to go. It's helpful if you are generally willing to explore new ideas or directions (even ones that seem a little odd at first look), and follow up on suggestions and exercises between our coaching sessions.
We, in turn, provide a clear reflection of where you shine and where you can improve, where you are moving forward and where you may be mired down, where you are really touching truth in yourself and where you are fooling yourself. We ask you to consider your life from new vantage points, providing questions, lenses, and other tools for seeing your choices, patterns, and desires in new ways. We provide a mirror of where you are, and strong support for where you desire to go.
You say your coaching is different from the norm? How?
First of all, we meet with each of our clients as a coaching team - that's right, the two of us together - a strategy that brings a variety of benefits…
- At the obvious level, our combined skills, perspectives and experiences bring more resources to bear, making us more adaptable, intelligent, and inspired.
- As a team we're also better at staying on track. We intend for our coaching to help you make core level changes in how you see yourself and the actions you take in your world - and all of us, when up against core level change, tend toward subterfuge and distraction. We find that as a team we're more robust, less likely to get caught up in such things.
- And then there's something about the way a team holds things more lightly - we find it keeps the energy moving, the laughter flowing, and the process from getting bogged down.
Second, our fundamental intent for this work comes down to the simple process of healing - the day-to-day kind of healing that produces real change. We're not really interested in just getting you to try harder or work smarter. We're even a little hesitant about the whole "actualize your dreams" frame on things. (We do hope our work makes this more possible - but not by us being cheerleaders.) Our work focuses on identifying gaps in awareness and attention, disconnects between your true priorities and your actual choices, that create distance between where you are now and where you intend to be. We work with you to bridge these gaps and knit together a stronger, truer reality, much like our bodies heal a gash or a broken bone.
Third, within our coaching we explicitly focus on the balance between our lives as individuals and our relationships with others. Sometimes this is our direct focus - especially when we work with couples, groups, or communities on creating a shared endeavor through our individuality and diversity. But we've found it to be just as important in our work with individuals, no matter the specific focus of the work. Living a Raging Magma Life is all about putting our best intentions to the reality test of walking them in our lives - and relationships are a very reliable mirror of just how well we are pulling this off.
Fourth, we're pretty partial to the power of writing and we weave it into the coaching process whenever it is useful. This starts with a questionnaire at the beginning of the coaching process - asking you to give us some background on who you are and what you're seeking. But not all the questions are standard - we use writing prompts and exercises to help you (and us) discover threads of truth that may not have been obvious if we had only taken the direct approach.
Finally, if the above resonates with you, any topic you want to bring to the table is fair game. Are you starting a business? Ready to write that novel you've always dreamed of? Going through menopause and feeling like something is different - and looking for a space to figure out just what that something might be? Are you learning how to more honestly be yourself in your intimate relationships? Wondering how to market yourself more effectively? Not sure how you'll ever get that dissertation done? Between the two of us we bring experience in each of these arenas and more. Read our bios to get a fuller picture of the possibilities, or give us a call to talk through what you're looking for.
So, that's all very nice - but, really, what does it cost?
We've got to start with the indirect answer here - it depends. Each coaching contract is tailored to the specific needs and aspirations of the client, and there are typically many ways to accomplish any given goal - depending on your time, energy, motivation, etc. After we learn a bit about what you're looking for, we'll give you several options for how we might work with you. It's also always the case that the beginning part of coaching is a lot more time intensive - so if you're looking for something short-term, then things are a bit more expensive in terms of per hour rates.
That said, there are some general reference points that are helpful to know:
- Our coaching contracts for individuals generally vary from $300/month to $1000/month, depending on the length of the contract and the amount of activity we're packing into those thirty days. In terms of total cost for a completed contract, the range is pretty wide: generally $700 - $5000.
- In general, a series of $300 months might each include one in-depth coaching session (in person or by phone), a shorter verbal check-in (by phone), and e-mail support as needed. A $1000 month might be something like weekly in-depth coaching, document analysis, and e-mail support.
- We recommend coaching contracts of at least three months - and for some quests, up to a year can be quite helpful. In limited circumstances we consider 4-6 week contracts (typically oriented toward accomplishing a well-defined and time limited goal).
- We enjoy working with couples/partners/friends who seek to share the costs while being a support to each other. Our rates for two people tend to be 150% of our individual rates (so, for example, a $300/month contract for one person would be $450/month for two).
- To reduce costs even more, we invite you to organize a coaching group with 4 to 6 friends (either those who can meet face-to-face in one place, or a collection of individuals we could pull together through technology). Group work is structured a little differently, so talk to us directly if you'd like to learn more about this possibility.
Sound interesting?
We hope so! We find coaching to be one of the most interesting, fun, and rewarding things we do and we're eager to dive in with those who are looking for this kind of support. We consider our first conversation to be a much needed chance for all of us to test the waters before committing to anything - so feel free to give us a call and chat to find out if working with us fits your needs.