Coaching

Coaching

Coaching Session Basics

You are New to Coaching and UNDECIDED.  What’s the Process?

  1. Call or e-mail me to schedule a free consultation session and ask your questions.
  2. The consultation includes a sample coaching session on the topic of your choice.
  3. This first conversation is your opportunity to get your questions answered and see if we may be a good fit. You are under no obligation to make a decision at that time.
  4. At the end of the consultation, I will provide you with an overview of my coaching prices and packages so if you decide to hire me, you will be familiar with your options.
  5. Contact me to follow-up on your coaching homework.
  6. Take your time in making a decision. I am in no rush to sign you on, & will never pressure you to come to a decision.

You have DECIDED that you want to work with me. What’s the process?

  1. I will send you a coaching survey and contract to get you started. Fill out the survey in your own time. We will be discussing the results of your survey  in the “discovery session”. Review the contract and if you have questions or concerns, contact me for clarification.
  2. Decide on the package and payment plan of your choice and send me the completed survey, signed contract and complete your payment (or first installment) to me snail mail.
  3. Once you decide on a package and your payment is complete, we will schedule a 1.5 hour discovery session. In the discovery session, we review your completed coaching survey, discuss your coaching goals and begin to design how we want to work together. There is no fee for this call. From there, we pick a day and time for the calls (preferably an ongoing date and time – e.g. every second Tues at 2 pm – and off we go!)
  4. I coach on skype and on the telephone. If you live in Courtenay or in the Comox Valley, you are welcome to have in-person coaching.

How to Prepare for a Coaching call

  1. Review your progress and homework from the previous week and be prepared to report back on it (if you have not already done so via e-mail)
  2. Choose a topic for the session that you want to make some progress on. If you have been coached before, you may have a sense of how you’d like to approach the topic but it’s not necessary to know that.
  3. Think or feel your way into a sense of what results you’d like by the end of the call. Examples could include
    • Seek clarity on how you make decisions (you are considering moving to NYC) and discover a process that feels right for you
    • Explore options for boosting  your leadership role at work
    • Brainstorm a resolution or strategy to manage some conflict at work or within
    • Explore what it means to invite “trust” into a relationship
    • Un-do a pattern that you recognize is limiting your progress, and build new helpful habits/perspectives
    • Figure out why you are procrastinating or avoiding a commitment you made to yourself
      • Experiment with some new possibilities and gather information
    • Find an approach to your craft that feels authentic and effective

What to expect in a coaching call

You can expect the coach to:

    • Be curious. very, very curious
    • Offer active, compassionate listening
    • Observe and reflect on the meaning-making you seek, choose, or want to shift
    • Ask powerful questions
    • Experiment and play with different approaches to see what works for you
    • Incorporate metaphor and a playful approach to exploring your agenda
    • Be curious about how body, posture and breath reflect what’s going on for you
    • Be open to emotional exploration in the now
      • Trust in your resourcefulness and creativity and “knowing”
    • Be looking for ways to help you access your inner wisdom- even when you seem or are convinced that you are most “stuck”

Coaching Session Specifics

    • A typical month of coaching includes 2 hours of coaching per month.
    • Coaching takes place by skype or phone per month. From time to time, Sue also offers in-person coaching in her healing space in the Comox Valley area, Vancouver Island, Canada. She does not do out-calls.
    • The frequency and length of the coaching sessions will be decided upon by coach and client. You can request two 60 minute sessions, three 40 minute sessions or four 30 minute sessions per month. The shorter the call, the more preparation is required from the coachee: short calls are most effective when you have a defined topic and desired outcome for the call. Laser coaching calls are all 1 hr each.
    • I recommend longer sessions to begin with if you are new to coaching so we can establish a working relationship with a gentler flow, but it’s really up to you.
  • My experience to date suggests that the more defined and clear your topic, the shorter the session can be. If your topic is related to the bigger goal underway, and is transcendent* in nature, having more time to explore can be helpful.

Payment Options

Payment can be done by paypal, e-mail transfer or cheque (payment needs to be received before coaching can commence).

Laser coaching calls (Blaster Pack and Laser Coaching One-offs)

      • These calls require payment before scheduling
    • Laser coaching packages have an expiry date on them (be sure to check the details)

3 and 6 mth packages

    • Packages can be paid for as a month to month arrangement, in installments, or all at once up front. When you pay sooner rather than later, the cost is reduced. For details see packages and payment plans
      • include unlimited e-mail support between calls
    • End with a 30 minute call focused on closure (what worked, celebrate successes, identify areas of service improvement)

Ethical guidelines

Sue is a member of the International Coach Federation and is a certified Professional Certified Coach (PCC)  Coach. A Professional Certified Coach- has a minimum of  500 hours  of coach experience.  As a ICF member, Sue agrees to provide coach services according to the ICF ethical guidelines, which can be found here: https://www.coachfederation.org/about/ethics.aspx?ItemNumber=854

Laser Coaching Options

1. The Quick Fix* or Redirect (1 hr laser coaching call for $300)

Do you feel like you have run into a wall on something? Need a different perspective on something that you know you’ve thought about again and again but only ever see one or two options (and in your heart of hearts you know that there’s a creative answer you just can’t see from where you stand) A quick fix or redirect session might help you get to the next step of your change-making. A laser session can help you redirect your energy, viewpoint or habit so that more possibilities become available to you.

A laser  coaching session that focuses on a very particular issue, problem or block can help you widen your view, shine a light on options you couldn’t see before, uncover a different perspective or turn a question upside down so it shapes up in a new way. I  liken it to breaking up a logjam so you can free or redirect the flow of creative ideas which could open up new ways of how you are seeing,  ”being” or responding in the situation. It could be enough of a “fix” to get you moving

A one hour laser coaching session can help you:

    • free up some energy around an issue that feels stuck and rigid
    • discover how your mood or perspective may be limiting what you see
    • gain some insight on the nature of the problem that is vexing you
    • explore options or possibilities that may be available to you and try them on for “size or fit”
    • widen your view or look at something from a totally different angle or viewpoint
    • explore the impact of assessments- your or others’
  • use metaphor to creatively get a handle on a situation, emotional tone or conflict

* You know that in reality there is no “quick fix”, right? *wink*  

2. The Logjam Blaster Pack  ($800 for three 1 hr laser coaching calls)

Blaster Packs are good for coachees who have a busy life and can’t commit to a month to month agreement but know they need support and guidance from time to time.

Laser coaching means the topic is narrowly defined and very well defined so we can blast through within one hour to un-dam any blocks or obstacles. Life coaching happens from two to four times per month, based on the needs of the client.

*Blaster Packs must be paid in full before scheduling a call and they expire 3 months after the first scheduled call.

Coaching Starter Package

Coaching traction increases with time and relationship building. It takes time to build trust, and figure out how to work most effectively with one another. Over time we are able to

    • draw on more life experience as we approach other issues, obstacles, moods etc
    • remember, revisit or re-weave material from previous calls into the current experience for comparison or contrast
    • continue with the use of  familiar or favored metaphor, as well as pattern and theme identification
    • gently challenge where appropriate in a way that best suits you and feels empowering
      • provoke, enquire, support or just listen in ways that will be most beneficial to what you individually need
    • discover processes and approaches that resonate with you and can offer shortcuts to places that seem intractable

How Do we Begin?

  1. If you are considering working with me call to schedule a free consultation. You can get coached on  topic of your choice to see if we feel like a good “fit”  and have a conversation about the packages and next steps.
  2. Once you  decide to work with me, I send you a coaching survey to fill out. This will form the basis of our discovery session, the first (and free) session one payment has been arranged.
  3. You sign a contract of agreement (which clarifies our roles and responsibilities in the coaching relationship and outlines my policies on cancellations and payment) and return it to me with your first payment for service.
  4. We schedule a 1.5 hr discovery session ( no charge to you for this) and decide if we are working by phone or skype. The discovery session is  where we will review the coaching survey and explore how we might best work with one another. The survey forms the basis of our agreement and will be a point of review as we approach our closing session.
  5. When you feel you are complete with the coaching, we use the last session of the month to review our work together. This is where we can review how far you’ve come,  and celebrate your personal strengths and successes. I will also request some feedback on ways to improve my services, packages or coaching that you may have to share (I also welcome feedback on my service at any time). If you are extending the coaching by  purchasing another package, we can conduct a shorter review and save the closing session for a later date. If you prefer to move to a month to month relationship, that’s okay too. You have several options available to you as you move forward.

The Sprint (3 mth package and payment options)

Includes unlimited e-mail exchange between calls and 2 hrs of calls per month (30 min once a week, 60 min every 2 wks, or 40 min 3 times a month). Also includes access to workbook materials.

  1. Pay the full amount in advance and save $252 (Pay $1,398 instead of $1.650, i.e. $466 per mth)
  2. Pay  two installments of $750 each and pay a monthly fee of only $500 per month (1st payment due in advance, 2nd payment due before the first call of the second month)
  3. Pay one month at a time in advance of the coaching calls for that month ($550 each month payable before the first coaching call of the month)

The Stretch (6 mth package and payment options)

Includes unlimited e-mail exchange between calls and 2 hrs of calls per month (30 min once a week, 60 min every 2 wks, or 40 min 3 times a month). Also includes access to workbook materials and extended calls, when needed.

  1. Pay the full amount in advance and pay a monthly fee of only $400 per month (Pay $2400, and receive an overall savings of $900)
  2. Pay in two installments of $1400,  which is equivalent to a monthly fee of $466.67  (first payment due in advance, second payment due at the start of the third month and receive an overall  savings of $500)
  3. Pay one month at a time, in advance of the coaching calls for that month and pay $550 per month

Sliding Scale Fees  

Out of the desire to make coaching available to as many people as possible, I offer a limited number of sliding scale spots. From time to time these spots open up and are available for the asking, so enquire if you feel this is your only payment option. However, be prepared to stretch beyond what you think you can afford. This stretch serves  as a first step in courage and commitment  to  your own personal growth and expansion. More, more, more…. that’s what the universe wants for you.  Step up, and the way will be shown.

What folks say about Sue’s coaching services

“Being coached by Sue is like being on a Spiritual journey! She helps me to get in contact with my body wisdom and trust my inner knowing and voice. In our sessions I get to practice to be mindful and listen for what my body and heart know, that my head doesnt know yet. There is no subject too big or delicate for bringing it to Sue! She is very non judgemental and is open to guide me in whatever I bring to the coaching table. It feels very “safe” with Sue and she knows intuitively where to go or ask next to reveal the truth of the situation. I appreciate her authenticity, directness and generosity with sharing her knowledge in various areas.”

~ Nina Mioen, Life Coach, Woodlands, Texas

“Sue’s compassion, love, humour and groundedness helped me to confront personal issues in new ways. I can’t speak highly enough of her natural talent and incisive observations after careful listening. At all times, Sue was respectful, professional and yet fun, approachable and worthy of full trust. Sue was particularly good at seeing connections across time and gentle putting forward of ideas to me that actually shifted my (often negative and habitual) patterns of self-regard. Sue helped me to integrate this perception shift into my daily practice. Thank you so much, Sue.”

~ M.C., English literature professor, Montreal, Quebec

“I worked with Sue for 3 mths. When we first started, I wasn’t sure where the hell I wanted to get to, but I knew I wanted to get away from where I was.  I felt that much of life was happening to me, and that I needed to figure it all out – fast! –  and yet I had no idea of how to do it. The coaching helped me get in the driver’s seat of my life. I learned I don’t have to know the answers to everything, and that sometimes allowing yourself to “not know” is where peace can be found. Sue taught me that my perspective is only one of many – from which I can choose – , and in this I have come to see more possibilities and potential – for me and everyone.”

~ Angela Cook, Victoria, B.C.

“When I started my coaching with Sue I wanted to explore my hesitancy to express myself through writing.  Without realizing it I was trying to find a voice that honoured my personal self within the context of writing for my private practice.  I had identified that I was holding a fear of judgement.

For me it was Sue’s ability to bring my awareness to the ways in which I held  my body when I went into that fearful place and then to offer me space to explore different postures and witness how they shifted my experience.   I love somatic exploration and Sue was able to build our relationship around this and let our work together come from there.   

In one session, I identified that when writing I sometimes become overwhelmed and that my mind becomes scattered, causing my emotional state to lean towards anxious.  Sue had me stand up and go into a pose that would be the opposite of scattered and overwhelmed.  I find myself using this specific pose whenever I become aware that I am going into overwhelm.

Sue helped me deepen my connection to my authentic voice, my wise woman as I call her, through her support and encouragement. I am really excited to continue exploring my wise woman.  Thank you Sue.”

Yvette Lalonde, RPC

Body-centred Counsellor/Yoga Teacher

www.innerflowcounselling.com

“Sue Pearson, life coach, helped me overcome my fear of writing, fear of failure and self-doubt.   When I started my writing project, I was stymied, stuck.  My lack of confidence glued my creativity shut.   Sue coached me for over a year, twice a month.  Sue allowed me to express my intentions, desires and recognize the Big “A” agenda for my project.  She was an objective mirror of my feelings, desires and talents.  Sue guided me to celebrate each small step and action on my creative writing journey which grew exponentially.  Thanks to Soma Yada coaching, I write a blog of flash fiction and am writing a larger novel.”

~ Isabella Dumont, writer,  facilitator & lawyer in transition

www.isabellashortstories.wordpress.com  

“Sue is an intuitive coach who seems to have the ability to say the right thing at the right time so that I feel really and truly heard. With her ability to incorporate body-based coaching as well, I find that she is able to not only understand more of what I am trying to get across, but help me to understand it in myself. Her supportive and kind nature enables me to feels supported – but don’t let that fool you, she is able to get to the core of the matter with real results! I highly recommend Sue Pearson.”

~ A.M, Seattle, Washington

~~

Coaching with Sue was a life-changing experience. She worked with me to find tools I can use to progress through professional and personal challenges. I now recognize myself as a leader, which empowers me to do my best work in my job and with my colleagues. Sue also helped me achieve something I once thought impossible: to confront my persistent and pervasive anxiety. I feel lighter and happier on a daily basis now. And best of all, I’m practicing building self-confidence that for me means I can actually enjoy taking on obstacles and am more productive in any pursuit.

~ Ashley Bodiguel, Information Systems Administrator, Pembina Institute

~

~

‘It was an extremely valuable experience to be coached by Sue.  Believing in me, she held a supportive space for my self-reflection and frequent ‘aha’ moments.  I appreciated her reflecting and acknowledgement and was pleased to experience personal growth in each of our sessions.  It’s hard to believe that we accomplished as much as we did during our time working together.’

~ Beth Woolaver

~

~

“Sue is a fabulous life coach and I hold her in the highest esteem. She is very open-minded and non-judgemental. I never felt stupid for anything I said or shared with Sue. Sue is a compassionate and understanding person and our sessions were always enlightening.

For example, I once thought I needed to change as a person in order to succeed. I felt that I was over-emotional, not logical or determined and that I needed to change in order to “become” this new person. By asking the right questions Sue enabled me to rethink what I meant by my so-called flaws and what I developed was a better understanding of my strengths. Instead of striving for traits that I saw in others by focusing on my own skills and abilities I realised that I too had those qualities and I was able to counsel myself in some of my worries regarding work, myself, and life in general.

Sue never told me what to do but asked interesting, penetrating (and sometimes difficult) questions. Sue really listens and this is key! I had always thought of myself as a positive person and yet Sue’s questions made me realise how I was so negative about myself. I am finding that every day I can put this change of perspective into practice and it has made a difference.

Sue also made sure we took the time to celebrate my successes along the way. I now even find myself being my own cheerleader – especially important when I’m working out and I can appreciate what my body is doing (it’s like giving myself a high-five from time-to-time!)

Sue’s life-coaching has made a massive positive difference in my life.

I am actually living out the vision I created about how I want to live my life. I am more focused on listening to myself and acting on it.  I feel proud of myself for being able to utilise what I learned from Sue and it impacts my life in small and big ways – but in each way it makes life that bit easier and manageable and I feel good about creating the life that I want to be living.”

~ Rachel Lo, 37, health sector professional, recently moved to Canada from the UK