Behind the Boom in Life Coaching
You’ve probably never heard his name, but you’ve no doubt heard of the industry he created. Thomas Leonard was a financial planner in the 1980’s and observed that his clients came to him for more than investment advice. They’d ask how they could improve their lives, how to set and achieve their goals, and eventually he created what he called the life-planning technique. He outlined this program into a groundbreaking book, The Portable Coach, and an industry that’s been steadily growing with no sign of stopping, was born. According to a 2020 Global Coaching Study Final Report, “the number of professional coaches worldwide increased by 33 percent globally and 33 percent in North America.”
Maybe you’ve been considering working with a life coach, or even becoming one. WAT spoke to two life coaches, one fresh out of life coaching school, and another with twenty years of experience as a therapist under her belt before adding certified life coach to her resume. We asked about what drew them to the industry, how they obtained the credentials to practice, and why it’s become so mainstream. We also include what to look for when choosing a life coach, and questions to ask that you may not have considered.
Christine Hanley (Photo Credit: Shira Zimmerman)
Christina Hanley was on the fast track after graduating with a business degree in fashion and began working at a top designer’s Manhattan headquarters. “I loved everything it had to offer, the city life, and the benefits of being in an exciting fashion industry,” she says. After a few years, the glitz and glamour faded, and anxiety surfaced to become a regular part of her day. She cites difficulties in concentrating at her desk and doubting her career choice. And, while browsing in a bookstore – something she did every day on lunch break — she picked up Gabrielle Bernstein’s Add More ING To Your Life. “I loved the cover,” she says, “and something kicked in.” She began journaling, meditating and was starting to feel like herself again, but one chapter in particular spoke to her, the one where the author described life coaching. “I began working with one,” Christina explains, “I saw how much I was helped and thought maybe something good could come out of this experience…that I could help someone…and so I began looking into what it took to become one.”
Leaving the corporate world, Christina went on to obtain credentials from not one, but two training programs, Beautiful You Life Coaching Academy (BYCA) and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (INN). “I chose the BYCA because it’s accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), highly regarded as the industry standard for training.” The program offered mandatory live supervised calls which took her out of her comfort zone, but something she now praises. “I felt the BYCA created a safe space for me to practice coaching and build the crucial skillsets necessary.” The INN program covers twelve* areas of life that have the most influence on a person’s wellbeing, and that health is more than just what’s on the dinner plate. And she’s not done yet, Christina is pursuing the Certified Life Coach credentials through the ICF, something she should have in place by end of the year.
Kate Evans (Photo Credit: Laura Swan Sieckman)
The road Kate Evans took was much different. With her master’s degree in professional counseling, she’s been running her own practice in the Chicago suburbs since 2004. Over time, a pattern began to emerge. Once her clients made progress and the need for intensive therapy ended, they now looked to her for ways to move forward: should they leave their job, their spouse, go back to school? While Kate had a thriving counseling practice with one kind of therapy, she realized that by gaining new tools, she could continue working with her clients with their new challenges, and not refer them to other counselors.
“There is a big distinction between traditional therapy and life coaching,” Kate shares, and explains that “traditional therapy is process-oriented, looking to the therapist to lead the client to healing, and coaching is solution-focused and strengths-focused, and the coach is there to help her discover them.” Life coaching covers many more components of life, such as relationships, co-workers, family members, goals, beliefs, which are all important in moving forward and making the changes one must make to get the fulfillment they deserve.” Kate knew that she needed to acquire this additional training to continue working with her existing clients, and to also offer these services to new ones.
While searching for certified life coaching schools, she was troubled by the number of websites offering certifications from watching five hours of videos, or after seven or 30 days. She realized that there is no governing body regulating the life coaching industry. “Anyone can get credentials,” she says. After researching the industry, reaching out to colleagues, and making inquiries into a few organizations, she chose the certification program at the Integrative Wellness Academy (IWA). “I already had the psychological background, so didn’t need a real in-depth program…. the school I choose provided exactly the tools I was looking for, I gained new and invaluable insight.”
WAT posed this last question to both Christina and Kate: why has life coaching become so popular? What’s changed in our society?
Says Christina, “My belief is that it has to do with public figures like Tony Robbins and Gabby Bernstein. They speak up on social media, write books, and host online and in person events. They are introducing the world to a new way of living. I think they’ve had, and still have, a significant influence.”
As for Kate, “As therapy and counseling have become destigmatized — not totally there but working on it — there is a greater acceptance of the idea of working on oneself. Something has caused people to become frustrated with consumerism and to want something that feels more wholesome. Enter Whole Foods, for example. Things like yoga have become mainstream. More and more self-help books have been written in the last twenty-plus years, and meditation is not only for gurus on mountaintops.”
What to look for besides certifications from accredited schools from our two coaches:
- Look for coaches that offer a no obligation call or online chat. This is an excellent way for the coach and client to see if they’d be a good fit.
- Word of mouth is another excellent way. A referral or even hearing about a positive experience from a friend, co-worker, or family member.
- Trust your intuition.
- Following a potential coach on social media is a great way to get to know them, their style, see what they offer, and what others say about them. I have found coaches on membership boards, Facebook groups, and Instagram.
Among some of the questions to consider when choosing a coach, according to the ICF:
- Are there areas that the coach specializes in?
- Does the coach have credentials from an accredited training program?
- What is their philosophy about coaching?
- How are coaching sessions conducted?
- Always have an introductory consultation and interview a few coaches.
- Ask about coaching success stories.
- Discuss an exit strategy when starting with a coach should the sessions not go as the client would like.
Life coaches charge rates similar to other helping professionals. Most life coaches charge somewhere between $75 and $200 per hour. However, you can find coaches who fall outside of that range.
Kate Evans’ website: soulfulspacecoaching.com.
Christina Hanley’s website, bewellwithchristina.com, will be up in March 2022. She can be reached at bewellwithc@gmail.com.
- Twelve areas of life: Love relationships, friendships, adventures, environment, health and fitness, intellectual life, skills, spiritual life, career, creative life, family life and community life.
(Editor’s note: Christina Hanley is the niece of author, MJ Hanley-Goff)
