Finding the practitioner – coach, therapist, mentor or whatever – who’s a good fit for you will make all the difference! The ‘right’ one will support you to get effective and lasting results and also help you in developing the tools you need for the future.
But there are so many out there! How do you find the one who will help you to achieve these things? To help with this I’ve put together a checklist of helpful tips:
- First and foremost, find someone you trust and with whom you feel safe.
Without this it can be very difficult to look at those deep issues that can be keeping us stuck, be they pain, trauma or shame. - Feel free to do some research – check out websites / social media / reviews, ask for recommendations and speak or even meet with potential people before you commit to working with them. This will give you a sense of what’s available and hopefully also a feel for what each practitioner is like and how they work. (You might also like to take a look at this book – Connected: The 12 Ways of Wellbeing for a Holistically Healthy Life – which shares interviews with over 40 practitioners using a variety of modalities.)
- Look for someone who shares your core values. This is important in both being able to work well together and in effecting change that will work for you, long-term.
- Check to see if the person seems to be authentic, ie do they walk their talk.
- While you want someone with whom you feel safe (see point 1 above) it’s also important to find a practitioner who will gently but firmly challenge you and keep you accountable.
- Ask if they will support you in developing your own set of skills and ‘tools’ with which to navigate any future challenges.
- Lastly, remember that if, for any reason, you’re not happy with how things are going with your practitioner, you can ask to review things and, if you’re still not satisfied, you can choose to leave and find someone else. Bear in mind though that any discomfort might be due to the issues, rather than the practitioner – which is why it’s important to discuss this with them before deciding what to do.