FAQs Archive - Ursula O'Mahoney

Q: This sounds positive but are there any downsides?

There are very few down sides to coaching. We’re not doing therapy, so the focus is not on what’s wrong. The focus is instead on what’s right, and how you can keep that in your life and make it better. There is always risk in everything, though. One risk is that you might feel awkward or uncomfortable as we begin to work on where you want to improve. However, it’s hard to move forward if you don’t know where your starting point is Coaching may bring up some things that you might want to avoid, or things that might be better served by therapy. Avoidance is one thing that comes up a lot in coaching; it’s easy to want to avoid change. That is something we can work on in the process of analysing blocks and obstacles. Severe emotional distress, relationship problems, possible mental illness are things that need to be explored with a therapist. If these issues come up in coaching, I will advise and guide you on seeking this support.

Q: Can coaching create dependency?

No. As a coaching psychologist, I want you to be autonomous and achieve what you want. I will make it clear from the start that you are responsible for and own the results of the coaching process. Coaching works to make the client more self-reliant, personal strength aware and improve self-efficacy.

Q: How will I know if coaching is working for me?

At the end of a coaching session, I will encourage you to ask yourself if you have learned something new about yourself and gained clarity on your situation. While I would never claim that coaching can lead to immediate epiphanies, I do believe you should feel like you’re gaining a bit more clarity on your situation with an initial or each progressive session. You should feel like you’re gaining a new awareness about yourself, to enable new actions and new results in your life.

Q: Is there a way I can get some information before I commit to coaching?

Of course. In any kind of helping profession, you should be able to ask questions, get information, or get a feel for what the work is like. I offer a free 20-minute phone conversation, so I can answer questions, give you a small sample of what coaching might look like and look at how we can work together. I also offer a discounted, 1-time only session on identifying goals, so you can get a small taste of how this works. If coaching is something you want to do, and are interested in exploring, I want to make it as easy and worthwhile for you to explore.