What Is Relationship Coaching?
Relationships can be messy, especially in a pandemic. A relationship coach can provide a space that is safe, non-judgmental, open, and respectful. Guiding a conversation, a neutral third party can provide clarity in an otherwise murky situation. If you're struggling in your relationship, you're not alone! A coach can help.
Relationships are difficult, especially if there has been betrayal in any form. Relationships can be defined as casually dating, going steady, engaged or married and are inclusive of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality and more.
Relationships carry a lot of weight for people. They can be very emotionally exhausting, overwhelming, and all-consuming. It is important for the coach to provide a space that is safe, non-judgmental, open, and respectful. It is also important that the couple can clearly and efficiently express themselves with the help of the coach.
In working with couples, I help guide the conversation using four steps designed to provide clarity. The steps are:
Fact
Thoughts
Feelings
Future
Being clear on what is a fact, thought, feeling, or goal for the future can help the conversation be more productive. It is important to clarify emotions from facts — often people can get confused by this or be too focused on emotions and how they feel. Facts are experiences that both people can agree on and they are usually neutral. When a person is asked what they think happened in a particular situation, that is “thought,” not “fact.” This is more subjective and based on the individual’s perception of a situation, which affects that person’s feelings. How did the person feel about the interaction or experience? Feelings are also very subjective. Lastly is a request for how the person would like to see things handled in the future. We typically tackle this last, once we have worked through the feelings.
Looking to become a Relationship Coach? Check out his article from our friends at Coach Foundation.