OTcoach - Coaching Approach in OT

I am currently developing a workshop about the Coaching Approach in OT and Jen Gash in an amazing OTcoach and has a great web site, has kindly shared some of her resources.  She and I are part of International SIG Group.  Anyone is welcome. 

This narrative from one of her slides:

• Staying with the client, “whole” listening, giving time to think, asking intuitive questions
• Allow their process to unfold and their wisdom to be unlocked 
• Using tools to explore and align values, beliefs and goals

I have just read the Kawa Model and have adapted it for a Wellbeing and Mindfulness Green Coaching 6 week programme in adult education that I started on 23.02.12.  It was only when I allowed myself to adapt this model for the 'well', I guess you could say and specific to Wellbeing and Mindfulness that I am really understanding how much the coaching approach sits so well with OT.

It is a perfect match because these 3 points although of course they are part of enabling skills, as is coaching and OT.  The last point really resonates with me.  I love meaningful and purposeful activity, I get that, however what I have noticed on occasions is that sometimes this is much more than ADL's, functional stuff, roles, and often through asking coaching type questions a persons values, beliefs and goals in life have been revealed not only to the Therapist but also to the client.  Once you tap into this, the flow of life so to speak then we can really engage the client, not that you cannot engage the client anyway with our OT skills, it just that the coaching approach is such that it elicits the whole therapeutic relationship much more quickly, resulting in the client being heard and hearing themselves.

I have been surprised the amount of times I have approached a client (I work 2 days as week in neuro rehab) with so what do you enjoy doing and not even talking about the deficit, impairment yet and the client sometimes comes up with that.  I then ask such obvious questions, like so what do you need to do to be able to do that and this is when options and possibilities start to open up.  Of course as an OT I have ALL THE ANSWERS!!!  I can make great rehab plans, implement a structure and suggest what next, for sustainable on going rehab without me being around,this is not going to last very long.  People are really quite creative and ingenious too.  Almost all of the time this seems to support the client with going to places that they do not want to go to because they are being guided by their values and therefore often their strengths.

I am learning even for myself that when I connect to values more and think about my life flow, it helps me to do the things I don't really want to do.  I am really valuing so much the 'marrying of' OT and coaching skills and feel really blessed to have also discovered the Kawa Model. 

"How do you go from where you are to where you want to be?  I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life.  You have to have a dream a goal and you have to be willing to work for it."  Jim Valvano

I really believe that the dream/goals is driven by our values and once we tap into what really matters, a person can achieve anything.  

The Bodyguard Muse - Live Your Dreams - Kaizen Muse Creativity Coaching

"If your heart is in your dream, no goal is too extreme." - Ned Washington.  This is interesting that this chose me twice today and so I am going to pay attention.  I have been an Occupational Therapist for a number of years now and have been so privileged to be in positions that have allowed me to expand and grow and if not then I have had great lessons and moved on.

I first studied coaching in 2005 and again 2006 with Results Coaching Systems and have to say that I struggled so many times with the structure finally I feel I have a wonderful balance of their training, which is extremely thorough and professional and has taught me the 'coaching skills', in particular the 'coaching 'conversation'.  I love some of the structure that I used to not because having tried to be more right brained and hardly left brain has often left me feeling overwhelmed and a little lost with clients at times.  I feel I now have a wonderful balance and the flexibility with the structure, which has given me the space and time to have much more balance and be creative.  It has also supported my being able to support clients in their creativity and non linear ways of being, whilst supporting that they achieve what is important to them and is sustainable.  I have also been privileged to study and become certified as a Kaizen Muse Creativity Coach and Muse Group Leader. 

All of these aspects I use every single day of my life.  I looked at my web site the other day and was blown away because I could truly say I have experienced every single thing that I offer, how lucky am I and that is why I am so passionate about wanting others to get it for themselves too.

The Bodyguard, I cannot believe my journey to right now.  I am currently doing the ARTbundance Certified Training, which is so fantastic and compliments everything I am doing.  What I am starting to hear is that I am truly allowing my BIG dream to come to fruition, after all these years and now I need the Bodyguard more than ever.  Funny how when you so can be who you want to be and truly step up, that is scares the hell out of you and yet it is what you have been working for for years. 

"When our passion and commitment to the expression of our talents comes from a source inside that's unaffected by anything external, no worldly fear or discouragement will stop us from bringing them into fruition."  The Bodyguard Muse, creator Jill Badonsky.

I have for years been putting off my dream, at times even hiding it or disguising it, wanting it so badly and believing in it and, perhaps if I learn this and perhaps if I learn that then I will be better at doing that and I have to say I am amazed at what I have learned now this package with ARTbundance I know is going to be very useful - ah what crap my first thought, with Audacity Muse was it is going to be phenomenal. 

God, did I say that, yep.  I implore anyone who has done the same as me to please, please drag that dream out, let it shine, breathe air into it, please listen, you will know if it is the right thing because no matter how long you have had it or it has been buried it will have manifested and appeared over the years in different guises but will always have the same theme. 

Please allow yourself this because unless you do, you will continue to have conflict with yourself, maybe with the world because you are in disharmony.  You are meant to live your best life, experience, joy, laughter, awe, sadness, anger, frustration, wonder, curiosity, being.  It will not make life perfect, it will not make life easy, although I promise with all my heart it will be easier, eventually, but you will feel and be alive.  You WILL notice the difference.

So please allow Bodyguard Muse to be along side you, no matter what to protect your dream, your vision, not by hiding it away.  Let you and your dream shine and protect that with everything you have.

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

I Want To Be Somebody New - Dont Make Life Weight - Living Life From The Inside Out

"Once I wanted to be in the zoo.  And that was the day I first met you.  You said that the zoo was not for me.  The circus, you said, was where I should be.  From the book under the Dr Zeus label Beginner Books, written by Robert Lopshire.

I first read this children's book in 1996 and for some crazy reason bought in Scotland cost all of 2.99 Stirling pounds.  (Don't have the symbol on my key board).  It has travelled far and now lives in New Zealand.  For some reason yet again, I was thinking about the Don't Make Life Weight blog and this just was around. 

It is a lovely story about a creature called Spot, who listened to someone else telling them what to do because well they thought it was a good idea.  From then on the creature continually changes to fit in, to do the right thing, constantly changing the outside shape, continually not feeling right but trying all the same.

Finally on the eve of Spot changing their shape yet again "Oh, no you don't! You stop right there! We like and we really care.  We liked you best, a whole, whole lot, when you were just our old friend spot.  So do you trick with your one, two, three ...  But show us what we want to see!  Say! You are right!  As right can be!  And it does feel best to be just me!

I wonder how many times we try to change ourselves, particularly the outside of us to fit in, to think we have to look a certain way.  Sometimes we do it with new people and forget they were attracted to us in the first place because of who we were anyway and yet we think we need to be not who we are.  I really like this story because it is a reminder that no matter what shape you are on the outside it really is the inside that counts. 

I know I have for years tried to change the outside of me so many times and so many times have succeeded but did not feel that great about myself still, which just made me feel worse.  It has only been by learning to accept myself compassionately, which has taken years by the way, not that it needed to but it just did!  I only needed to get to feel good enough and when you get there magic, truly happens.  Thank goodness that self help has changed and is much more realistic, eg we need to feel all of our feelings emotions, connect to something we love doing just because we love doing it.  Creativity, what ever form, have fun are key to everything else.  I promise.

How would it be to consider a time, situation you may be in right now where you are not feeling good enough and have tried to change the outside to make it happen.  What if even for 30 secs you acted as if you feel good enough inside, what would you be doing differently. 

Meaningful and Purposeful - OTcoach

I attended the first Positive Psychology Conference in Auckland on the 9th and 10th September 2011. About half way through the first morning I started to pinch myself and ask if what I was hearing was for real – truly. I was in disbelief and finally had to ask someone if what I was hearing/grasping was indeed correct. I ask someone next to me “I am hearing that meaningful and purposeful lives is a new profession in Psychology and it has only really been discovered kind of now?” “Um – pretty much, this is a new arm to Psychology, a selection/choice of interest.”

So now science has caught up with what we have known all along. I still cannot believe this as I write. Bottom line, Psychologists have empirical evidence, in fact lots and lots of research and figures to back up what we do, ie. creating meaningful, purposeful lives based on values and particularly strengths. Now as an OTcoach I have used the coaching approach to remind the client what is working when obviously at times there is so much evidence of what is not working. I often work on values and interests/hobbies first to engage a client, to assist with motivation etc to then rehab. There is of course no order or prescription but basically this is my OTcoach approach.


Hedonia and Eudaimonia were part of nearly every presentation. Hedonia = emotional wellbeing, gaining pleasure immediately basically, if feeling sad, make it better and in an instant make yourself feel good. Eudaimonia = psychological wellbeing and social wellbeing. So now they recognise that emotional wellbeing is not enough and not sustainable and that in fact we need both psychological and social wellbeing. Is this familiar??

Todd Kadshan is a prominent psychologist in USA and we were lucky to have him on Skype. He was fantastic and apologised to Psychologists in general for saying that Psychologists can assess the clients but, if it is not in context, then it means nothing. OT is totally about context, values etc, etc. Can you imagine what it was like to sit there? I did have moments of basking in the knowledge that we get this and knew this and there is a whole Profession out there that does this.

Positive Psychology really promotes and I am 100% behind them in this, is the fact of our own Wellbeing. They liken it to brushing teeth every day and now find it incredible that we do not nurture our own Wellbeing, we do not need to become unwell before we start to look after ourselves. Of course, being Psychologists they have researched this and have evidence that it affects everything and it should be a priority in our lives.    The Wellbeing is of course balance – work, rest, play, mindfulness, dealing with all emotions.


So I still believe that everything I do is informed by Occupational Therapy, even more so now. As much as I was somewhat frustrated that we are not recognised, in the bigger picture I am delighted that finally the concept exists on a much wider scale and in the medical field. It now can impact on so many people that we could not possibly have reached before. I believe to be honest, that my coaching is occupational therapy of the ’well.’ It seems that Positive Psychology is about that too. Of course most Psychologists are working in mental health.


It feels as if we could benefit from their results and use it to remind DHB’s, Government why it matters and that our approach can lead to sustaining health and ultimately could reduce revolving door syndrome and repeated visits to hospitals/GPs.
My dream is that as a whole we as humans can bring wellbeing into our lives, just as we need to brush our teeth and share these concepts with our clients, so they take away tools that assist them for the rest of their lives. The strategies are so simple and yet we find it so hard to give ourselves permission.


So I challenge you to just look at your own life/practice and notice how much you look after your ‘wellbeing’. Please ask yourself what are you getting right and what is working and then celebrate.


Interesting times ahead

Excitement Overwhelm - Get it, Got it, Great ... GIGIG

Get it - what is the real issue
Have just attended an amazing conference, workshop and watched a You Tube video which all speak to me really loudly and resonates so much in personal  life and professional life.  I feel I have hit on something and I have of course not.  I have a lot of energy and making myself feel overwhelm and pressure to share this information with others and consolidate it and use it.  Phew. 

Fact is I am using a lot of it anyway in Occupational Therapy, Supervision and Coaching, which is a great confirmation.  So what is my issue.  What is that I feel pressured to do?

Got it - now I know, what are my choices
I have it.  I am so excited and have all these feelings in my tummy, I want them to stop and I am concerned that I will forget stuff.
Options

• be mindful of my feelings, use ACT to sit with them
• treadmill for 30 mins
• eat my through
• drink wine
• get lost in You Tube
• watch a TED video that is always worthwhile
• play games on the computer
• remunerate about it and do nothing
• bore my husband with it
• write a list/plan of where and how I want to share this stuff
• actually - I have written up notes
• wrote an article this morning
• informed a couple of people already

Need to give myself some compassion and enjoy 3 lovely slow breaths in and out - there done, feel better already.

Great ... I get to

• watch a lovely DVD 2.30 mins of lovely scenery and music
• make room for my feelings and breathe in to them
• make a plan on the new on line Ta Da lists
• then definitely have a glass of wine

Um - what might stop me

• distraction
• eating instead of being - haha
• not wanting to sit with good but uncomfortable feelings
• procrastinating

Great ... what can I do to over come the above

• just do my plan without thinking and judgement

Ta Da

• I am so pleased that I did this here
• Feel a bit vulnerable sharing my experience but hope it helps someone else
• Glad to see how I can sabotage myself sometimes  and ruin something that is really fantastic and exciting - wahoo
• Love the breathing - kind of handy

Celebrate

• Glass of wine
• Enjoying beautiful video and music
• Just being
• Will give myself a gold star - literally in my gratitude note book

What worked - Gratitude

• Writing this, not judging
• Putting things in black and white cannot believe what I have achieved already
• So grateful to have experienced the above and share it

So my challenge or enquiry to you.  Can you think of a time that some really cool happened and you were overwhelmed with how you were going to deal with it.  Try GIGIG and see if it could work for you.