What is healing coaching? How to know if you should work with a coach
Are you currently stuck or frozen in trauma and spending all of your time and energy trying to heal?
Are you trying to heal on your own, in your own time and space?
Is your trauma healing process interfering with your life and causing you to feel disconnected from yourself and others?
Is this causing you to feel frustrated, angry or confused?
Are you convinced that no one will understand your problems and challenges as you navigate your healing process? Are you still searching for someone who can, someone will who truly listen to you and hear you out?
Working with a healing coach
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above questions, working with a healing coach may well prove to be the healing solution you’re looking for as you navigate your own personal journey of trauma healing. Right now, you probably have many more questions about the healing process and what you can expect from working with a healing coach, so let’s dive in.
What is healing coaching?
Healing coaching is a specialized style of coaching in which the coach opens and holds the space for the client to heal from their unique problems, pains and challenges. Healing coaches generally work with a variety of mixed-modality tools to facilitate the client’s healing process, and are focused on empowering the client with the tools to be able to effectively heal themselves. Healing coaches are often focused on helping their clients to achieve specific outcomes in their healing process, such as improved relationships or financial wellbeing, or even simply a more positive and uplifted outlook on their own life.
Healing coaching is known to be an effective method for trauma healing and is often used in conjunction with traditional methods of trauma healing as a complementary approach. Healing coaches are generally not medical or psychological professionals, although some certainly may be. This style of coaching is often found after the client has explored other avenues of healing that have perhaps not worked for them or stuck with them.
What does a healing coach do?
“Healing coaches are masters at holding space. They understand that sacred space is not only important, but essential for the client’s healing process.”
Healing coaches are masters at holding space. They understand that sacred space is not only important, but essential for the client’s healing process. They know how to open, create and hold a gracious healing space in which the client, with their unique nervous system, feels safe to heal. They truly understand the importance of the client feeling safe to be vulnerable as they explore their wounded parts and bring them up for healing.
Healing often happens simply by the client feeling seen and heard, perhaps for what they feel to be the very first time. An atmosphere of total non-judgement is held by the healing coach as they walk along the healing path with their client. Healing also happens when the coach introduces and works with healing tools and modalities, such as compassion-based tools that help clients to be more kind and loving to themselves and all of their wounded parts.
Healing coaches may work with similar methods of trauma healing as medical or psychological professionals, although they should generally not be construed or mistaken for either, unless they are qualified as such.
A healing coach will have their own unique approach and method of helping you to heal. It’s important to trust your discernment and gut-feeling as you explore your vulnerable healing process with a trusted coach or partner.
Are healing coaches spiritual? Do I have to be spiritual to heal?
Spirituality, or being spiritually minded and orientated is not a pre-requisite for you in your healing process, nor is it an expectation of your coach to identify as such. The only requirement for healing is that you are a living, breathing human being with a body, mind, heart and soul who wants to heal themselves.
Healing coaches are often soul, or spirit, oriented - and they often refer to working with various channels of what they call ‘universal healing energy’, or spirit, to facilitate the healing process for their clients.
But these are not expectations, obligations or pre-requisites.
The only true expectation of a healing coach should be that they hold space for you to show up vulnerably and be seen and heard as you are with no judgement. If you are looking for specific desires or outcomes from your healing process, your healing coach should work with you to help you to achieve them.
I know I would like to heal but I’m not sure I can trust anyone to help me with that
Mutual trust is a big and important factor to establish before working with a healing coach to help you to heal from trauma. Trusting anyone to witness your vulnerability can be a major decision, especially if you’ve experienced any kind of trauma that has caused you to be distrusting of people. Your coach should be sensitive to this and allow you to take all the time you need.
Spend time getting to know your coach, asking as many questions as you need or feel comfortable with before you start working with them on your healing process. It’s your process and your coach should help you to establish the level of trust you need before you commit to fully opening up to them.
How will I know if I’ve healed?
It’s important to keep in mind that healing is a process and a journey. While it certainly may be possible to experience major healing shifts and miracles in the space of one session, it generally takes time, especially if you consider that you may be coming in to the healing process after a lifetime’s worth of trauma. My definition of healing is that you’re no longer experiencing the problem or challenge that you described in your life. Total healing and transformation is what I offer my clients.
That said, it’s important to remember that you can be healing and experiencing improvements in your life at the same time. For example, you may witness improvement in your relationship with yourself and others while still feeling there may be some work and healing to do in that area.
If we’re going with the dictionary definition of healing, it’s generally something like ‘to make sound or healthy again.’
You can become a healthier, happier you by healing yourself. What a blessing.
I’m ready to dive into my healing process. What now?
Book a free discovery consultation call with me and let’s get to know each other a bit more. I’d love to hear about your unique challenges and pain points as you navigate the process of trauma healing and to learn how I may be able to support you in your healing process.
I know from personal experience that you can fully recover and heal your life after going through any kind of trauma or crisis. Your nervous system can absolutely heal and release the trauma.
You deserve to heal.
*Disclaimer: While I am a healing professional, I make no claims to be a medical or psychological professional and the information contained in this article does not construe me as such. The information in this article is derived from my own personal experience and opinion, and should not be mistaken for medical or psychological advice, nor should anything under my name, page or profile be similarly mistaken or construed. For matters of your own personal mental health care, please contact a licensed mental health care provider. For your benefit, resources are provided below:
SADAG (South African Depression and Anxiety Group, South Africa)
Mental Health America (USA)
