This is a feeling everyone wants to experience — whether in our home life, the community we live in or work life, we all want to feel some level of acceptance.
However, this is not the case for Heather, a 64-year-old African American female. Feeling rejected and disenfranchised in both her home and work communities, Heather reached out, curious about my coaching and consulting services.
This led to an hour conversation to answer her multi-layered questions about coaching and how it might help her cope with the stressors in her life.
Given Heather’s uncertainties regarding psychotherapy and coaching — if either would be beneficial — our conversation started with diving into the things most important to her and what she hoped to get out of working with a coach.
Now let’s take a deep dive into what I learned…
Heather
Heather is a black female chaplain, in a male-dominated organization, experiencing pressures within her work environment. Another distressing aspect of her life was the 55-and-over community where she lives. As one of the only women of color in her community, she expressed not feeling a sense of connectedness.
Oftentimes other residents “mistake” her for a member of the housekeeping staff, or someone providing a service to the residence; an all too familiar occurrence for many people of color.
Listening intently to understand and gain insight into Heather’s specific needs, as well as determine how to best help her, I reiterated that my coaching services are not considered behavioral health coaching, although valued to understand the individual’s emotional and mental well-being. I also shared with her my coaching approach:
I seek to understand what is most important to the individual by guiding sessions to unpack the root cause(s) of their challenge. I also help the individual address the discrepancy between what they envision for themselves and the impact of their actions, and how to make the connection between these new behaviors and practices as it relates to how they aspire to be their best self.
After careful consideration, Heather opted into coaching; she also decided to work with a therapist, as well.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Heather’s story, where we delve further into the pathways to help her cope with the stressors in her life.
At BETA Coaching & Consulting, we partner with clients to co–create ecosystems of well–being that help the individual’s and the organization’s purposes be in harmony with one another. We believe that well–being is not achieved alone; it is an interconnected societal web where we strive to thrive.
Ready to begin your well-being journey?
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise indicated, all the names in writing above are fictitious to protect the individuals’ privacy. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
