A life coach is a professional who empowers people to make progress in their personal and work lives so they can be happier and more fulfilled. As a teen life coach, I specialise in working with young people and their families.

I empower the young people I work with to discover and unlock their potential, both personally and in their education. I help them overcome their barriers, encourage self-discovery and build resilience so that they can better manage the many stresses and struggles of adolescence with increased confidence.

The teenage years can be a challenging emotional rollercoaster as well as a period of impulsive decision-making. As our teens struggle with developing their own identity, they can also feel under pressure from a range of different sources – such as the hormonal changes of puberty, increasing academic demands, important decisions about the future, and growing peer pressure. Life coaching can help your child navigate these difficulties and nurture personal growth.

Coaches provide a safe space for teens to talk. This means they listen with empathy and without judgement. They also encourage the young person to get curious through asking exploratory questions and inviting reflection. Furthermore, using assessments can also provide additional valuable information for our young people.

During coaching, we don’t tell our young people the answers. Instead we guide our teen clients towards self-discovery, encourage them to develop their own understanding of their difficulties and support them in creating solutions to their problems, using their own resources. Finally, encouraging teens to channel their energy and motivation into meeting their goals creates forward momentum and positive growth.

Coaching and therapy (or counselling) share a common goal – to enhance well-being and outcomes for those they serve. Some young people will have both – a coach and a therapist – with each supporting the client with different needs and goals.

So how to decide which is best for your teen?

Choose a coach IF your teen:

• is functional, coping with life and does fine with daily tasks.
• wants to be better, grow and achieve higher goals.
• aims to improve their relationships, performance at school or life satisfaction.
• would benefit from a “success partner” to help facilitate the next level of growth and change.

A counsellor or therapist would be a better fit IF your teen:

• is struggling with dysfunction related to mental health issues, concerns or symptoms that interfere with daily living.
• needs help coping, alleviating pain or distress related to trauma, mental health disorders or illness.
• needs to work through their problems to return to normalcy.
• requires a mental health professional to help them get well and live well again.

A child’s adolescence and young adulthood can also be a difficult time for parents. Indeed, for many parents, it can be challenging to stay strongly connected to their teen – I know from experience! For example, you may find that your teen is no longer keen to open up to you about their problems or take your advice, leading to regular disagreements. So having a teen life coach there who understands adolescent development and behaviour, and who is attuned to teenage communication, can help break through the barriers you might encounter as a parent.

Parent coaching can help provide support in navigating the challenges of parenting through the teen years and into young adulthood. Generally parent goals are around re-building positive communication patterns with your child, building a calm environment, and engaging in solving problems collaboratively.

My parent coaching will help you learn about the developmental changes of adolescence so you can better understand your teen, adopt strategies to help your teen with their emotional regulation, and provide valuable parenting tools. In this way you can transform your relationship with your child as they grow, so that you can both enjoy each other’s company again!