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Area residents turning to
life coaches for life changes
by Leah Carlson Jan. 8, 2003
Nickels left behind a career as C-SPAN's resident scholar on Congress and instead freelanced seminars for local think tanks like the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University's Government Affairs Institute, both in Washington, D.C. Her new career allowed her to work primarily from home and have a shorter workday, but lacked the security and steady income she was used to. Nickels said she feared that uncertainty and loss of income. So, Nickels called life coach Barbara Epstein of North Bethesda, who helped her chose a different career path, deal with fear of failure and adjust to a new job and lifestyle. She has been working with Epstein since May 2001. "In this area there's so much stress, and there's so much emphasis on salary equaling success," she said. "It was a very scary transition, and Barbara helped me get through that." Nickels said she had previously tried traditional psychotherapy, but the process took years. In comparison, life coaching took months to address her career transition because it is more direct and action-oriented, she said. Nickels is not the only local resident turning to life coaches, who work to help clients identify what they want in life, set realistic goals and develop a plan to achieve those goals. Coaching can deal with all aspects of life, including career, family, education, weight loss and exercise. "It's about learning about yourself, realizing that choices you make on a daily basis determine your future and realizing that you have choices," Epstein said. "I like to think of it as redesigning your life." A number of organizations and centers offer training and certification for would-be life coaches, who come from a variety of career backgrounds, including psychology, social work, business, and education. Epstein worked as a school psychologist for about 25 years and became a life coach in 1997, after training through the Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, Calif. Coaches do not make decisions for clients, but provide feedback and help clients evaluate options and track progress. "We choreograph together, but you have the last word," Epstein said. Clients may find a coach through Web sites, coaching organizations and referrals from other clients. They schedule phone sessions with a coach to discuss certain issues. The phone sessions usually last 30-60 minutes once a week. It can continue for a few months or even years. Rates vary, depending on the coach and frequency of calls. Phone calls can be more convenient and less time-consuming than office visits, which usually would require driving. Marie Copolla, 34, a scientific researcher in Chicago, had difficulty writing her dissertation when she was in graduate school. She procrastinated for years and felt very frustrated, so she called life coach Barbara Feuer of Bethesda, whose company, Catalyst Group, offers life coaching and consulting services. After working with Feuer for about one year, Copolla recently finished her dissertation and received a doctorate degree in brain and cognitive sciences from the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. "It works tremendously well . . . Really, my life has changed a lot since I started working with Barbara," Copolla said. "She helps you break it down in to manageable pieces. I had been trying to do so much for so long. I really was paralyzed." Coaching is designed to help clients eliminate problematic habits, like procrastination. "Life coaching is very action oriented, so I get people who say, 'I don't want to talk about it anymore. I want to do something about it,'" Feuer said. "We're reinforcing what has worked and what they've done successfully, so the anxiety is lessened . . . They find their own North Star, in a way."
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Home § Life
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