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I find the bike analogy an easy way to describe what coaching is to youth:
How to ride a bike analogy : if you approached a therapist, consultant, and coach and asked each one “How do I learn to ride a bike, the therapist would have you approach the bike and ask how that feels, what prior associations do you have with bikes, etc., the consultant would ride the bike, write instructions for the ‘how to’ and hand those to you, a coach would say,
Teens have a lot of stressors, plus a bunch of adults telling them what they should be doing. Very few have what research says they need: an adult who can help them figure out what they most want, then create and execute a strategy to reach those goals. As a co-active e coach for teens that’s what I do, while helping kids conquer stress and build self confidence, self reliance and awareness of their own strengths and values.
A brilliant teen summed up the difference: counseling is about the past; coaching is about the future. Therapy is the right fit for addressing trauma and diagnosable mental health concerns; teen coaching works for taking action to improve an okay-but-not-ideal life.
Another teen compared therapy and coaching like this: “My counselors gave me the same suggestions, but they never told me how. In coaching I figure out my own solutions, based on my actual life.”
Co-active coaching guides young people to be more empowered in their own lives by giving them the tools to navigate life’s challenges. It is an approach that supports a young person’s capacity to set positive goals and deal with difficult issues, by enabling them to be part of their own self-development process.
Through taking them through the steps of the coaching process, I am the ally for young people to develop the skills, confidence, resilience and ability to thrive.
