PRESS COVERAGE

"BIRTH OF A NEW PROFESSION"
Press Release, Palo Alto, March 11, 2002

The powerful urge to maintain the status quo is often set against the desire for something greater, be it a change in career, a new relationship, or a different perspective on some aspect of life. Difficulties can arise when the exploration of these desires raises questions that have few easy answers. It was from the search for these answers that the profession of life coaching was born.

Initially, life coaching attracted practicing psychologists seeking more dynamic interaction with their clients. Unlike psychology, which focuses primarily on healing and can sometimes get stuck in dysfunctional eddies of the past, coaching, they found, moved their clients forward in the river of life, with coach as guide and manifesting potential as goal. Soon individuals from fields beyond psychology were drawn to the power of coaching and the profession flourished.

As the economy lurches towards a recovery that seems to be perpetually six months away, the upheaval accompanying the current recession has forced many people to reevaluate their lives. As a result, the demand for life coaches has increased as now jobless professionals seek to answer that age-old question, “What Should I Do with My Life?”

Menlo Park resident Gwen Fuller, 44, a Stanford graduate and mother of three high schoolers, was casting about for her own answer to that question when a friend suggested she attend a weekend workshop at Coaches Training Institute (CTI) in San Rafael. CTI’s coaching model is based on a co-active philosophy that its clients are naturally creative, resourceful and whole people who are completely capable of finding the answers to whatever challenges they face and that all parts of a person’s life (career, relationship, recreation, personal growth, finance, etc.) are interrelated and should be addressed as such. Coaches are trained as facilitators of that self-discovery. The philosophy resonated with Fuller and she found her profession.

Today Gwen Fuller is completing certification at CTI while coaching a variety of individuals. “Imagine a relationship with someone who is sometimes even more committed to what you want in life than you are,” says Fuller. “I do not know more than my clients, neither do I necessarily know much about the professions at which they desire to excel. I am trained to help my clients discover their potential and to guide them into living it in any or all arenas of their life.”

Coaches, she adds, can help their clients deal with common on-the-job challenges, change jobs or return to school, lead a more balanced life, create more satisfying relationships or simply help them find greater fulfillment in every day. Coaching sessions can be conducted in person or via telephone for the duration and frequency that best suits the client.

Click Here for a Coaching Session