Life Management Consulting

Life Coach? No. Life Management.

Sometimes we need help managing certain areas of our lives. Let me own that. I know that sometimes there are areas of my life where I could use a little help from a trusted person who’s not pushing his/her agenda on me, who isn’t trying to fix me, but there to help me with this one area, maybe just LISTENING to me is what I need! And sometimes I could use this help without going into all the shadows and history of my life, without digging up old skeletons. Maybe I could use someone just to give me some honest, good ole “good job” when I need it, and some caring feedback when I’m off course or have room for improvement.

My psychotherapy practice…

is psychodynamic and person centered. What that means is that in my Psychotherapy practice my clients and I look for fundamental and foundational change in their lives. I will help by exploring anything and everything that can lead to healing of the issue(s) that bring them into psychotherapy. (I define “Healing” as “No disturbance in my peace of mind“). Many times I look into the past for what’s back there, what I’ve thought was gone and done with, but, in reality, it’s affecting how I’m thinking, believing and acting today.

My Life Management Consulting Practice…

is solution focused and centers around the idea that people can use a little help with managing certain areas or aspects of their lives without going into their childhood history, or psychotherapy. As your consultant I help you look for, and find, solutions to problems that you may not have seen before, without looking back into your history. In full disclosure,  I think psychotherapy rocks. I LOVE it, and I think that a lot of people who aren’t in therapy could really benefit from it, even Life Coaching clients. And. There are plenty of people who could use a little mentoring, and yes, some “coaching” and consulting with someone who has no vested interest in the desired outcome, and doesn’t need to explore their life from the beginning.

Some Differences…

If I’ve had a lot of short term relationships where there were/are conflicts throughout, that’s more along the lines of psychotherapy.

If I’m looking for different techniques in how to make love to my partner, no past problems with it, just want to spice it up or change it up a bit, that’s along the lines of life management consulting, and, what I’ll call sex coaching. Now if I’ve experienced traumatic sexual experiences in my past that stop me from having good sex with my current partner, then that’s along the lines of psychotherapy, as these conversations will look back towards healing of past traumas (Again, I define “Healing,” as “No disturbance in my Peace,” or “No disturbance in my peace of mind”).

Basically, anything that will probably necessitate that I look back into my history, to my childhood, past relationships, past/current long standing patterns of thinking, believing, acting, that aren’t serving me, that aren’t useful to me anymore, that’s probably more along the lines of psychotherapy. Anything that is along the lines of “How am I going to do that?” “How do I get from here to there?” are along the lines of having a coach or consultant.

To Coach or Consult…

When Life Coaching first came out, I thought Life Coaches were skirting the training that it takes to be a psychotherapist, or psychologist. What I’ve found over the years is that really ethical Coaches that I’ve known referred some of their coaching clients to me to help their clients with fundamental changes that were the things that were really stopping their clients. I have Life Coaches (Ministers, Executives, Housewives, etc) that come in and see me, and who refer clients of theirs to me to work out deeper issues.

I genuinely believe many Life Coaches can/do help people. I also genuinely believe that many Life Coaches don’t have the training, education, experience or “consciousness” to help clients that may require the training, education, experience or consciousness that is required to help. My Life Management Consulting, acknowledges that I’ve had the training, education and experience and more importantly, the consciousness. For me, it’s all about consciousness.

While I don’t call myself a Life Coach, I have three areas that I do “Life Management Coaching.” That is, I provide accepting and motivational techniques to help achieve specific goals.

Here are the three areas that I do call myself a “Life Management Coach.”

  1. Communication Coaching: In these sessions I assess you and your partner’s communication style and techniques. Then, I coach you through understanding your partner’s style of communicating, and coach you through changing your communication style so that both partners can understand the other’s point of view, and so each of you can “use the same language” in your communicating with each other.
    1. These sessions are for couples, intimate or friendly, who wish to improve how they communicate with each other.
  2. Sex Coaching: In these sessions it’s about how I sexually communicate with my partner. How I tell them (or don’t tell them) what I want. We’ll talk openly and honestly about wants/desires, and techniques to have a more satisfying sexual experience.
    1. These sessions are for individuals, partnerships, groups who want to genuinely improve their sex lives.
    2. As your Sex Coach, I will not have sex with you. I don’t have sex with clients in any way, shape, form. Nor is having sex a part of the Coaching session.
  3. Mobile Coaching.  In these sessions, “mobile,” means that we will have our consultations while in motion. Specifically, we’ll meet at Cold Water Canyon or Runyon Canyon, and take a walk. We’ll be “mobile.” These sessions are consultation sessions towards goals/aspirations or just “figuring things out.”  I’ll jot down some notes while we’re mobile, put them in as a part of an action plan, and email these to you for you to take your next action steps.
    1. These sessions are 30-45 minutes in  length, at a mutually agreed place, date and time.
    2. This is designed based on my Personal Training clients that I had some time ago. I had training clients that, as a part of their exercise program, we would be walking/running along the Santa Monica Boardwalk, and ideas and answers naturally came up for them about things they were thinking about.
    3. While I don’t currently do Personal Training today, I find that getting out of one’s own space for a time can be a natural “reset” button that can promote creativity and fresh ideas.
    4. For my mobile coaching clients, you must sign a release of confidentiality and indemnity agreement allowing us to be seen in public together. What we talk about is still confidential. This additional agreement, you’re agreeing that it’s ok for me to be seen with you in public.

Methods and Means…

  • In my life management consulting, my sessions are by phone, or Skype, or if local, we can set up what I call Mobile Coaching Sessions.
  • Sessions are 30-45 minutes in length.
  • IF in my Consulting practice with you I believe that you’d benefit more from psychotherapy than consulting, I will refer you to another psychotherapist or psychologist. I won’t just switch over to psychotherapy mode, as that completely blurs the lines between the fields of consulting and psychotherapy, and I’m big on healthy boundaries.