Frequently Asked Questions*

*The following are a baseline for expectations. This is not an exhaustive list, as these are complex and personal questions

How do I know I’m ready for counseling or coaching?

You show up to sessions consistently, on time, and ready to engage your process.
You are prepared to develop trust, to be vulnerable, and to discuss aspects of your experience that may be deeply personal.
You take ownership of your process and outcomes, engaging with what is discussed in sessions on your own time.
You follow through with agreed upon steps to be taken with some level of consistency.
You are emotionally and physically stable enough to meaningfully benefit from challenging conversation.
You have a minimum degree of support or relationship outside of your counselor or coach.

They are competent in terms of emotionally resonating and connecting with you.
They inspire an intuitive sense of trust and comfort relatively quickly.
They indicate their sincere interest in you and the person you are becoming.
They display an appropriate degree of humility and self awareness.
They help you to unpack and understand previously unknown aspects of self and the world.
They are bright, thoughtful, and wise.
They are able to remain consistent in their presentation and objective in their evaluations.

Expect a respectful and non-judgemental atmosphere.
There is no failure in the process - it is all information to take into account moving forward.
Expect to be held accountable for your movement towards or away from the person you aim to be.
Expect to be challenged to look internally at difficult thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Expect to, at times, feel worse a long the way to feeling better overall.
Expect to maintain your power as the client to decline to engage any aspect of counseling that you feel you are not ready for.
Expect to receive not only strategies or tactics for change, but most importantly the overarching philosophy necessary for change to persist.
Expect to be engaged around how you think, how you physically care for yourself, and how you spiritually care for yourself.
Expect more to come to the surface to be worked on in addition to the initial concerns you came in for.
Expect that your counseling or coaching process will not be perfect and will not be your saving grace.