Coaching with Counsel
Mutual Commitment
The points below are intended to outline the scope of our Coaching with Counsel partnership.
Coaching with Counsel is an accompaniment-based relational alliance between two people—the Coach-Counselor (me) and the Client-Friend (you) which looks at whole-person growth and gives pride of place to the spiritual life. According to your expressed needs, desires, and consent, I incorporate fundamental elements of coaching, pastoral counseling, and spiritual direction into my accompaniment. Coaching with Counsel is not psychotherapy, mentoring, or consultation, although certain elements of all of these helping, healing, and growing modalities are sometimes referentially touched upon at the client-friend’s discretion.
Success is highly predicated upon your openness, your desire, and your commitment. You can expect me to be honest, clear, and focused upon your desires and needs as determined by you and as brought forward by you in our sessions. My role is not to provide you with answers, but to aid your own discovery of the answers that lie within, and to help you gain greater insight into your choices.
I subscribe to the Code of Ethics of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), by whom I am certified as an Associate. All conversations within the context of our Coaching with Counsel relationship are confidential except by your expressed consent, unless there is a duty for me to disclose (e.g. child protection issues, threats to self or others, etc.).
For monetary compensation, as befits a monk’s life, rather than charging a set fee I choose instead to trust in Providence and subsist on donations. You are welcome to view my Curriculum Vitae which details my educational, experiential, and vocational background, research what comparable accompaniment goes for on today’s market, and discern what compensation feels right for you given the whole-person qualifications I bring to our encounters and the value that you derive from them. My philosophy here comes from the words of Jesus in the Gospel, “Freely you have received, freely you give” (Mat. 10:8), which means my availability to serve without expectation, and my commitment to turn no one away due to lack of means. Donations may be sent via PayPal or Venmo via sahajaministries@gmail.com (for Zelle, I use a different address which I am happy to provide upon request).
Our sessions may last up to one hour, and will be conducted in person, by phone, or via “Zoom”, according to our prior agreement. Please, no matter the format in which we meet, be in a place and “space” in which you can focus your mind and heart on our time together with undivided attention and without distraction (phones, devices, notifications, etc., off), setting aside multi-tasking in favor of single-tasking: you are worth this much! I assure you of the same focus with undivided mind and heart.
While this contract may be ended at any time by either of us, I have no official contract termination or appointment cancellation policy other than good, open communication and the mutual respect that comes with a relationship of accompaniment. Should you or I need to cancel or reschedule, let’s try to do that ahead of time. In a word, clear and kind communication is a gift. Let’s use it!
