What is coaching?

Coaching offers a structured space for you to explore your thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, feelings, and emotions around the topic of your choice. 

I offer personalized 6-month programs for clients.

In the first few sessions, we will dive deep into your strengths and personality structure through a few short assessments.  Understanding yourself and how you think, feel, and act right now is the first step in being able to make different choices.

We also flesh out long-term goals for our time together, and look at your "why".  Why are you doing any of this?  What is important to you about your current goals? What do you fear?

I will send you a 6-page PDF document to help you figure out your "why" to help you explore this.

Then, we work through your long-term goals, breaking them down into manageable steps.  I will always ask you two questions to make sure that you always leave with something from each session:

What would you like to talk about today?

and

What would you like at the end of the session that you don't have now?

And then, we have a conversation.  I hold the structure, and you do the thinking and processing.

It's really that simple!

WHAT I EXPECT FROM ALL OF MY CLIENTS:

I ask that you come to your sessions prepared and ready to work.

Which means bringing a topic to be coached on and having the time and space to think, feel, and process what comes up in our sessions.

You may not always know what you want at the end of the session (clients rarely do), but, this is where coaching comes in.  We will explore to see what is holding you back.

For example, if you want to make healthier choices in your life, I will coach you on what is holding you back from doing that on your own.  What requires the help of a coach? There may be an underlying belief, unhelpful thought pattern, or emotion hiding underneath that you were not aware of.

Coaching is a self-directed process, so in your sessions, I will invite you to be curious and ready to think, feel, and do the hard work.

I've found that those clients who are honest and have a willingness to be vulnerable get the most out of coaching.  The more open you are, the better.

Being coached can be tiring, as you will be invited to think about things in new ways.  I always remember this when coaching: while my sessions are 45 minutes long, I find that the "sweet spot" is 35-40 minutes for most clients before that "stick a fork in me I'm done" feeling arises.

HOW IS A COACH DIFFERENT FROM A DOCTOR OR A NUTRITIONIST?

The biggest difference is that we don’t give advice.

We don’t tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat. We also do not suggest what labs or tests you should get or interpret those labs.

If you come to a session wanting specific information or advice, I will invite you to call your doctor or nutritionist (or check out Google). 

HOW IS A COACH DIFFERENT FROM A LICENSED THERAPIST OR COUNSELOR?

In coaching we may look at past grief and trauma, but: it will always be in relation to your life now, and how you want to be moving forward. We also don’t address clinical concerns (e.g. depression, emotional trauma, PTSD, etc).   These serious conditions are best left to licensed therapists.

If you come to a session and I sense that there may be a need to work deeper into past trauma, I will invite you to seek the help of a licensed therapist.

HOW IS A COACH DIFFERENT FROM A GOOD FRIEND?

You don’t need someone to tell you what to do and how to reach your goals.  That’s what friends and family are for! lol

I say that laughingly, but tell me:  How many times have you confided in a friend, only to have them start throwing advice at you or start talking about *their* own issues and problems? When friends do this it can result in you feeling unheard and perhaps cause you to shut down.

As your coach, I am not your friend. Coaches tell it as they see it while also holding a safe, non-judgmental space for you to explore what’s going on. Coaches will ask deep questions to make you think.  These questions may make you uncomfortable, but usually, this is where change occurs.

THIS IS WHAT I WILL DO AS YOUR COACH: 

As your coach, I am here to listen to you and support you.

I will challenge you and help you understand what motivates you.

I will help you untangle the web of confusion, frustration, and overwhelm if that is what you are experiencing.

I will help you learn skills to use in any part of your life, be it your health, career, or personal relationships.

I will help create awareness and clarity which gives you that space to move forward – or not.  Sometimes staying put is what we need, and that’s ok too.

I will help find ways for you to hold yourself accountable for your actions and the goals you set for yourself.

I will help you uncover answers and find the best path that works for you.

In short, I will help you get out of your head and see beliefs, emotions, and thought patterns more clearly, which will help you understand who you are, where you are, what you desire, and how to figure out how to get to that desired state of being.

This type of transformational coaching helps you not just in one part of your life; all parts of your life will be improved as a result of our work together.

If you are ready to get to work, you can start the process here.

Sandy's Training and Certifications 

• International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
• National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC)
• Genco Method Neurolinguistic Programming and Polyvagal Theory Applications to Coaching - Level 1
• Holistic Coach Training Insitute Level 2 Advanced PCC (Professional Certified Coach) Training
• Narrative Enneagram - Instincts and Subtypes Training
• Enneagram in Business - Coaching with the Enneagram 1.0
• Deep Coaching Institute - Object Relations and the Enneagram Part One
• Kresser Institute ADAPT Functional Medicine Health Coach (A-CFHC)

To read more about Sandy, please visit this page.

“Sandy brings a higher level of compassion and empathy to her services because she's suffered through the low points of poor health. She understands the emotional and mental toll that autoimmune disease can take on a person.” - Tamra Westberry, Co-Founder Hashimoto’s 411

“Sandy has an amazing gift as a listener, healer, and coach. She provided me with tools and techniques that allowed me to get to the heart of what I truly needed to thrive. Working with her opened up a new and empowering avenue to how I viewed and approached my life and health.”   - Luanne Sawatzky, homeschooling mom

“Sandy is not only a brilliant, compassionate, deeply engaging, and skilled coach, but her knowledge and expertise of Hashimoto’s is also vastly comprehensive. She understands the mental, emotional, and lifestyle side of Hashimoto’s and how it can affect women’s overall health, wellness, and quality of life.”  - Kelli Saginak, EdD, A-CFHC, NBC-HWC

“Sandy is not only insightful, thoughtful, and supportive but she also has a wonderful sense of humor.  I would absolutely recommend Sandy to anyone who is struggling with Hashimoto's and looking for a way forward where you feel heard and cared for.” - Will Welch, Board-Certified Health and Leadership Coach

“Coaching isn’t about finding someone who will tell you what to do. However, if you are looking for a compassionate, clear-headed, inspirational partner in your journey of self-discovery, whose talent lies in helping reflect your best self back to you as you find your path to freedom and self-acceptance, then you are absolutely in the right place!”  – Kristina M., professional musician, Luxembourg

“As a highly sensitive being, Sandy brings compassion, love, and gentleness to her coaching sessions along with the strength to stand by the client. Sandy will listen to you with a depth of a musician and the heart of a lover. If you are looking to be understood, cared for, and transformed, Sandy is your coach.” - Tijen Genco, MCC, NBC-HWC

Read more of what others are saying about Sandy!