Press Release

Navigating The World
Life coaches find niche in helping others find theirs

by Amy Mertz News paper article from The Capital Times, Savvy Lifestyle section, Thursday September 13, 2001.

This article was written about coaching, what it is and the different types of coaches in town. Specific sections of the article follows.

A coach …”is a mentor, a guide a motivator for those who need help in setting and realizing their goals. A coach is really somebody who provides the encouragement to get you where you want to go – to be a sounding board, to offer ideas and to really make you accountable,…Life Coaching has quickly become trendy at a time when polls reflect that Americans want to be …fulfilled, respected and happy …Coaching is not counseling (which) focuses on looking back, coaching looks forward.

“The client is coactive, resourceful and whole,” says Shirley Pilster …”With counseling you’re working with people who usually are coming with some psychological or emotional deficits.” …Further she says that coaching clients come because they are …needing something more… a desire to be better.”

“…Most life coaches begin their work with a short consultation for each client. That’s when the coach assesses the client’s situation and decides whether he or she can be helpful.”

Sometimes the client may actually need a therapist or an expert – for example, a financial planner for money woes – to help with some area of his or her life, Pilster says. In these cases, the coach refers the client to the appropriate source.

If the coach can handle the client’s request, a plan is developed and future appointments – which are done by phone or in person – are scheduled.

A life coach maintains support to the client between meetings too, …(as well as) assigning writing exercises or activities.

So if life coaches simply provide support and encouragement, why can’t friends or couples just support each other? you might ask.

One factor is time, or the lack thereof.

Also it is sometimes easier to talk to a person who does not have an emotional investment in your life. I can say things to people that their spouse can’t say to them and they can take it or leave it.

Bruce Alexander, Westfield, has been working with Pilster over the phone weekly since June. At age 53, he wants his life to have “real focus.”

“Even though I have a lot of part-time jobs, I still really wasn’t being focused in my total life on how I should be, ” he says.

Pilster set up a values system for Alexander, in which he chose five important values out of about 75.

“The results have been fantastic,” he says. “You cannot change the past; you can only change the future …I realize that I can only change the way my life is going to proceed. I can’t give her enough credit because of the fact that she points you in a direction and kind of feeds you a little bit, and you have to run with it.”