You University Founder Maia Berens on Coach Certification

Life Coach Certification Or NOT

I’m involved in a life coaching forum and was perusing the entries today and found an online conversation fraught with frustrations and stress. The stress and frustration had to do with a coach’s inability to share their wisdom, knowledge and experience with the client. They had their own life coach certification. One of the posts was something like this,

” … unfortunately, as (a certain brand) coach we are not supposed to impart our wisdom. We are supposed to draw it out of client. I bite my tongue because I want to share some of what has been talked about here, but I am in life coach certification right now and my supervisor reminds me that I am supposed to be wisdomless and bring it out of the client because they are naturally creative, resourceful and whole.”

This is exactly why I haven’t gone through a formal life coach certification program.

I believe my clients are naturally creative, resourceful and whole also. They’re wise enough to seek support when they are going through challenges, change and transition. It seems to me it is almost unkind and callous to withhold these thoughts from a client.

So as a result, my style of coaching includes mentoring in addition to coaching (asking powerful questions) which means besides helping the client plumb the depths of their own intuition, knowledge, inner guidance and wisdom, I often advise, counsel, guide and/or teach.

I continuously remind the client that they will know and that I am not them nor in them so I could be completely wrong but I have found that they come to rely and respect what I offer them since I too have often walked in their shoes and continue to walk my own path of transformation daily.

Having lived 67 years and consciously pursued a personal and spiritual growth path and being an acute observer of the human condition – mine and others – I feel it is my responsibility and joy to share that with those who ask. The counsel that I give can not be found through life coach certification but through life itself.