Is Life coaching for young people really a thing

As a life coach who helps young people, of course I would say yes. I absolutely believe that Life Coaching can help young people as well as adults.

So why would life coaching be useful for a young person?

In my experience, young people hate being told what to do. If you tell them to do something they will often decide to do the total opposite. Advice is great but it can be very frustrating when they don’t take the advice you have given and very difficult to resist saying “I told you so”!

The basis of Life Coaching is to allow the client, in this case, the young person to discover what they want to change or improve, which is their goal, to create their own ideas and to take actions that they have decide to take. This gives them a feeling of ownership and independence that they may not have previously experienced. The motivation to achieve their goal is much greater if they feel they really own it and it feels achievable for them.

One of the main pieces of feedback I get from the young people is feeling listened to. Young people often feel they talked at, rather than talked to and certainly not listened to. Very often, giving them the space to talk through their concerns and worries with someone who is not family or a teacher can be liberating for them. They can express how they really feel without fear of judgement or criticism. This can lead to what I call the ‘light bulb’ moment, when things become very clear for them. They can see the way ahead and how to get there.

What can Life Coaching help them with?

Life Coaching can help them with anything that they want to change, improve or deal with in life. I have coached young people on

· Low confidence

· Lack of self-esteem

· Body Confidence

· Anxiety and Stress

· Anger

· Behaviours

· Friendship Issues

· Bullying

· SATs and Exam Stress

· Bereavement

· Family Breakups

· Transition to Secondary school

· Making decisions after GCSEs, A-Levels or College

and the list goes on!

So what does a Life Coaching session look like for a young person?

There are many different options depending on their age, what they want to discuss and what approach suits them best.

I coach young people on a 1:1 basis, usually for about 30 to 40 minutes. These individual sessions are tailored to the pupils’ individual needs and gives them the opportunity to discuss, in confidence, anything that they are concerned about, want to change or improve. They come away from the session with actions for the week ahead and things to think about, in time for the next session. I often use worksheets and drawing, particularly for Primary school aged children, which gives them the structure and focus that they need to get the most from the session.

Group sessions for young people last between 45 and 60 minutes, depending on the age of the group and the topic to be covered.

This group work is to help the pupils bounce off each other. They’ll discover lots of possibilities and it will help them find ways to improve their wellbeing and behaviours. Group session topics that I have available are –

· SATS Stress

· Year 6 to Year 7 Transition

· Dealing with Change

· Anger Management

· Making Decisions after GCSEs, A-Levels or College

The sessions often take place in a school environment or in the home if the sessions are arranged by the parents. I prefer to coach young people face to face, however for older children, from 16 and up, it can be via zoom.

Why would I choose Life Coaching for my child rather than counselling or therapy?

There are many different options out there to help young people.

Life coaching is very forward focused, looking at what the young person wants to change or achieve. The sessions will focus on the actions they can take to move them to where they want to be, how they want to behave or how they want to feel. It will empower and motivate them to make the changes that they want to make in their life whether that be in school, at home or with themselves.

Counselling and therapy look more at the past and focuses on an event or trauma that may have led them to feel or behave in a particular way. Addressing a concern in this way can help to shed light on what has caused the problem to then provide coping strategies and mechanisms. There is much more of a focus on mental health so if the young person is suffering from a mental health illness, I would recommend a counsellor, therapist or even a psychiatrist to deal with the underlying issue.

I am not a trained counsellor and as such cannot resolve their underlying mental health issues; however I have coached young people who are in the extremely long waiting list for mental health support. I coach them on some of the issues that I mentioned previously, helping them to cope, even just with the small stuff.