Welcome to Coaching: Orientation for a Safe & Empowering Process
What Coaching Is — and What It Isn’t
Coaching is a present- and future-focused process that supports you in taking action toward your goals, understanding yourself more deeply, and creating the relationships and life you truly want.
It’s a space where we:
• Practice awareness and personal responsibility
• Work relationally in the here and now
• Identify what gets in the way of your goals
• Grow your capacity for change and leadership
What coaching is not:
• Coaching is not a replacement for therapy.
• It is not a space for processing trauma or unpacking childhood wounds.
• While emotional insight is welcome, coaching stays in the realm of what’s present and possible now.
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When Trauma Arises in Coaching
Many of us carry unprocessed trauma — and it often shows up when we begin making meaningful changes in our lives.
You might experience:
• Emotional overwhelm
• Panic or collapse
• “Flooding” — the need to share everything at once
• A sense that you’re outside of your window of tolerance
In these moments, we will never shame or shut you down.
Instead, we acknowledge what’s happening with compassion and clarity.
What You Might Hear From Me
“It makes so much sense that this is coming up — and that it wants to be seen here. It tells me something in you feels safe enough to bring it forward.
And, I also want to be really clear: this space isn’t meant for trauma processing. That’s work we’ll want to get you the right support for — with the right person, in the right space, at the right time.
In here, we’re going to focus on what’s happening now, and how to help you feel supported and resourced in this moment.”
This is called acknowledgement and containment — we affirm the validity of what’s surfacing and place compassionate boundaries around it, so it doesn’t spill out into the wrong container.
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Why Containment and Resourcing Matter
Trauma is not about the event.
It’s about how your nervous system responded — especially if you didn’t get to complete your natural response (like fighting back, running, or reaching for help).
That unfinished cycle can leave your body stuck in a state of fear, collapse, or high alert.
Coaching is not the space to complete that trauma cycle — but it is the space to learn how to resource yourself, so you can come back into the window of tolerance where growth, learning, and connection are possible.
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How We Handle Trauma When It Shows Up
1. Acknowledge with compassion.
“This is valid. And I want to make sure it gets the care it truly deserves.”
2. Pause and contain.
We help you visualize placing the memory or emotion in a safe “container” — a journal, a box, or even imagining your therapy room.
3. Refer, if needed.
We’ll work together to get you connected with the right trauma specialist.
4. Resource.
We return to the here and now and reconnect with what feels grounded, safe, and strong in your body.
5. Regulate and refocus.
Once resourced, we return to your coaching goals — from a place of inner coherence and nervous system stability.
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Resourcing in Coaching: Why It’s Foundational
To learn, grow, and create change, you need access to your whole brain:
• Your survival brain needs to feel safe
• Your emotional brain needs to feel connected
• Your thinking brain needs to feel curious, calm, and creative
That’s what we aim for in coaching: a state of regulation and relational safety.
When you are regulated:
• You can reflect, respond, and make new choices
• You can listen, speak, and relate clearly
• You can set and move toward meaningful goals
That’s the sweet spot of coaching.
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Final Words: Empowerment Through Choice
One of trauma’s deepest wounds is the loss of choice — the feeling of being stuck, overpowered, or unable to say no.
In coaching, we are always practicing choice:
• The choice to pause
• The choice to name what you’re feeling
• The choice to contain what isn’t ready
• The choice to pursue support
• The choice to reclaim your future
If something feels too intense, you’re always welcome to say:
“I’d like to pause.”
“Can we come back to this another time?”
“I think I need more support with this outside of our work.”
You are not alone, and you are not broken.
You’re learning how to move from survival to choice — and we are here to support that every step of the way.