When a client is in a leadership or care-giving profession, it can be almost impossible not to become emotionally invested in the people around them; problems, objectives and causes of others can become important to the client as well. Most of the time, this investment in others is part of what makes them good at their job.  As mentors, coaches

Last week, we looked at the tests and temptations faced in life. We also explored how we can help our clients to recognise and understand when they are feeling unhealthy desires and to understand what is at the root of their struggle. This is the first step, and an essential one, but what comes next? It’s not enough to recognise

When we hear the word “test”, it can bring us back to our childhood, sitting at a desk, anxiously watching our teacher hand out an exam, worrying that we had not studied enough or will remember enough to pass. We often view tests as negative and hard, and feel as if we are better off without them. But tests are

Last week, we explored what we can do as mentors, professional supervisors or coaches to help our clients when they are challenged with their professional fidelity. We looked at the two most common reasons: dual relationships and misaligned values.  As a reminder, a dual relationship occurs when a person has more than one relationship with someone at work. For example,

Many of my sessions as a practitioner revolve around similar topics: work/life balance, stress and fatigue, managing the emotions of self and others, and building resilience and buoyancy. Most of these deal with interpersonal issues or long-term goals of transformation. A topic that sometimes slips by the wayside is a client’s fidelity to their profession.

We cover confidentiality when we are first getting to know a client, yet often it never comes up again. It is vital we and our clients know and keep in mind our role, our limits and our mandatory reporting laws in order to help reduce risk, a competency for all mentors/coaches or professional supervisors…

I often return to the term “posture before words” when considering the necessary skills of a mentor, especially the ability to be a good listener. While our words are important and should be chosen carefully, our active presence as a trustworthy and safe person in someone’s life is a powerful gift. Often the best thing we can do is show up with open hearts and listen attentively to what our clients need to say…

As Mentors or Professional Supervisors, we dedicate ourselves to helping others; we are natural caretakers and genuinely want to support and aid our clients. It can be hard to admit when we find ourselves out of our depth, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of; there are some issues we don’t have the proper experience or skills to address. There are times when we need to refer our client to someone with more specialised knowledge. We should remember that our client’s well-being is a group effort; we are part of a team our client can turn to in times of need. This is a wonderful thing as it takes some of the pressure from us, and allows our client to receive the most effective care…

As practitioners, we understand that there are times when our clients have been significantly impacted physically, mentally or emotionally, and need to pause and rest. Similar to an injured footballer, the fans should support his decision to step away and focus on healing and health.  This will allow him to return to the field stronger and sooner than if he continued to play through his injury, making it worse. Sometimes our clients, especially those in caregiving professions, are hesitant to make time for rest, but rest is essential in any journey. Once our client has acknowledged that they are depleted and permit themselves rest, we can help them consider which type of leave would be most effective…