The Therapeutic Coaching Process

So I’ve opened up four spaces this summer for therapeutic coaching with me, and I wanted to take you through the actual process of therapeutic coaching and how it actually works and how it unfolds, and what you need to know if this is something that you’re interested in.

So, I wanted to do a voice note to go through this quickly, um, and explain to you the whole process, pretty much.

I think the first thing to note is that I open up these therapeutic coaching spaces four times a year. So you’ve got spring, summer, autumn, and winter terms. So rather than you being able to join me any time of the year, unfortunately I tend to do them in, in blocks, um, and that just works better with my life. And obviously, you know, it’s, um, that balance and that work/life balance, and figuring out what works for you as a person is something obviously I promote massively, and push massively for everybody. And obviously that’s—I’m trying to do that for myself too.

So hence the reason I open up therapeutic coaching four times a year. So you’ve got spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And we’re now on the spring—nope—we’re now on the summer term.

So this is—if therapeutic coaching is something that you think you might like in future, if it’s not something that you’re interested in right now—then I highly recommend getting on my, uh, newsletter list, if you’re not there already, um, because that’s where I share the updates before they go anywhere else. So I will let you know when the next intake is, and when spaces become available.

So the next thing I need you to know is that I do therapeutic coaching in nine-week blocks.

Originally this was actually six weeks, and each week we’d meet the same day, same time, and you know, over six weeks. And that would be great in theory, um, but life isn’t that tidy. It isn’t that, um—basically sickness happens, you know, shit comes up, energy dips, um, just things happen which means that, you know, you cancel, I cancel, we have to reschedule. There’s just—life just gets in the way of coaching, and that is what it is. It’s absolutely fine. It’s not a problem, but I needed to take that into account when I was working with, obviously, my clients.

So what I wanted to do is—I wanted to give my clients, so give you and me both—a little bit of breathing room over our time together. Um, you know, I wanted to give us more space, more flexibility. And basically it’s just a way to honour all the shit that life throws at us and still continue our work together.

So now I’ve made it into a nine-week block, a nine-week container. So we still meet face-to-face six times over Zoom, um, but it’s spread over the nine weeks. So it’s basically whatever works for you and what works for me—you know, we’ve got the time then to do this together.

On the weeks that we don’t meet, this is where you will have maybe some, um, reflections to do. You know, it’s your—it’s basically a time for you to sort of deepen the work that we’ve already done. So you can, again, do some journaling reflections maybe that I’ve sent you, or you can message me on Voxer.

So if you think like—like a WhatsApp but with text messaging and voice notes. So we can basically still work together even in the gaps. You know, you’re still held. I’m still there to support you, and we’re still working together even in the spaces where we’re not face-to-face.

So again, this is why it’s now become a nine-week block as opposed to a six-week block.

So when spots do open, and when I let you know—when I email and say, “Hey, it is now summer term, autumn term, and I’ve got four spaces, five spaces,” whatever it is—I will give you specific days and times that I am available, that I can do.

So rather than you trying to find out what appointments I’ve got, I’m giving you, um, dedicated blocks already spaced out for you.

So what happens is—when you, uh, when you get a notification to say, you know, “There’s spaces available,” you can check out, um, you know, you can check out on my website, find out what days and times are available, what blocks are available, and you pick a time and a day that works for you.

And this will be your dedicated space each week for that full nine-week container. So that is your spot. That is yours—your appointment, your, um, your time, your space.

So this is where it becomes really important to, um, you know, for you to mark that in your diary and your calendar—that this is the time that you get to work on you. So whether it’s face-to-face with me or whether it’s on your own in one of our, um, free, um, freer weeks, then that’s your time to work on you and continue to do this work.

So you’ve chosen your weekly time slot, and then what you need to do is you need to complete an application form.

So you need to fill in this, this short form—and it is short, it’s not a huge long one—um, but it means that I can get a feel for where you’re at and what’s going on with you and your life and actually whether therapeutic coaching is the right fit for what you actually need.

Because I love therapeutic coaching. There is so much power in it. But it is not for everyone—and especially at certain points in your life as well.

I think, um, it has to be—it has to fit for you, for whatever you’ve got going on. So obviously if you’ve got a lot of shit going on and you’re not going to be able to spend, you know, put your, um, mind to it, and you’re not going to be able to focus too much and things like that, it might not be the right time—and that’s absolutely fine.

So, we need to get an idea of whether therapeutic coaching is right for you at that moment in time.

So that’s why you complete your application form.

Then, if we haven’t worked together before and I’ve gone through your application form and it feels—I think that we feel aligned, that it feels a good fit—then we can get together for a, um, a—you know, and I call them an alignment call.

So this is where we can get together face-to-face and just meet each other and just have a chat. And there’s no pressure. There’s no, um, there’s no hard sell or anything. This is you just getting to see if I fit you as well—that’s exactly what it needs to be.

So it is a very gentle, no-pressure—it’s just a chat—to say hi, to explore, you know, your hopes and your questions and again, whether this actually feels like the next right step for you.

Because again, some of you are gonna come away from that call and go “Actually this isn’t for me,” and I need you to know that that’s okay—to say, “Yes, I’d love a call, I’d love a chat, I’d love to see if it’s right,” and actually it’s not. It’s not right right now. And that’s absolutely fine.

There is no pressure whatsoever.

So if you do feel it is right for you, if we’re both a hell yes and we want to do this together, we want to work together, then I will sell you—send you—I will send you a payment link. And once you, um, send the payment through, once all that bit’s sorted, then your time slot is locked in—and then basically our work begins together.

Okay, so the next thing you need to know is what’s actually included in this therapeutic coaching package… program… I’m not too sure (laughs) what or where—I haven’t decided on a word to call it at the moment. It’s just therapeutic coaching. That’s it.

So the key thing for this is—it’s not a cookie-cutter coaching package. It is not at all. Everybody is different, so each of my clients are different, and everything—what they need—is different. And that’s absolutely fine. That’s how I work and that’s how I love to work.

You know, it’s giving you the space and the support to, um, basically meet you where you are.

That said, you will get—obviously it’s over a nine-week period—you will get six one-to-one therapeutic coaching sessions with me. So we’ll meet on Zoom and we meet for around about 50 minutes each time. And again, the sessions are totally tailored to you and what’s coming up, what you need, what you’re ready to explore—and whatever comes up during that session.

The other thing you will get is a personal portal. So this is where you’ll have your own private space to revisit session notes. So I tend to make notes, or I might drop reflections or any resources that we use along the way. So this is like a quiet digital corner just for you. It is just your portal.

The other thing you’ll get obviously is Voxer coaching support. So between sessions you can then reach out to me via the Voxer app—so this is with—you can do voice notes or you can do text messages or you can just send me a, I don’t know, squiggly picture (laughs) or whatever.

It’s there so that when you’re feeling stuck, when you need a nudge, when you just want to share a breakthrough—it’s there so that we get to connect with each other. You know, I can gently guide you. I can hold space for you, and it’s just there as an extra support.

And then obviously again the main thing is that it is over nine weeks. So again, although we’ll meet for six weeks, our work together does span nine weeks—so this gives us the space for reflection, for flexibility, and again, moments to pause if life gets full.

And that’s basically how it works.

Right, so this voice note is way too long already. It was supposed to be a short one. Whatever.

So the next bit is—if you are ready, if you feel, if you’re feeling even a little—like a tiny pull or a flicker of curiosity—then trust it, you know. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to be certain that this is what you want. You just need to be open to exploring what’s possible.

So reach out to me. Fill in the application form. Have a chat. It doesn’t need to be a definite yes. It might be that we just get together on an alignment call and we have a chat and we get to know each other and you go “Actually, do you know what? This isn’t quite right at this moment in time.” That’s absolutely fine.

Maybe next intake. Or next year. Or whenever it is.

But you can come to the call with curiosity and to see if you feel that it’s a right fit.

The biggest thing I’m learning to do right now is that gut feeling—and to sit with something that feels like a pull to me. So rather than—I’m trying to be pulled by love as opposed to pushed by fear. So please don’t think—or please don’t do this out of fear because it’s, you know, “There’s only four spaces” or whatever it is.

I want you to—if you’re feeling excitement, if you’re feeling curious, if you’re wondering if this could help, if you’re just feeling like that pull—then reach out. Complete the application form. And let’s have a chat.

But again, if you are not quite ready, you—please know that that is absolutely fine. So take your time. Maybe sit with the idea. Ask any questions if you need to.

Maybe trust that “not now” doesn’t mean “never.”

So if you want to come back to this in future, I will still be here as well.

So that’s a quick voice note about the process. I’m looking to do a few more of these to let you know a little bit more about therapeutic coaching—but that’s it for now.

Speak to you soon. Bye-bye.

💌 Learn more about Therapeutic Coaching → https://www.sarahkeatesandrews.com/therapeuticcoaching