How do I know if I’m ready for parent coaching?

Take this quiz and find out!

Coaching is an amazing process of empowerment and change. While it’s true that most people would probably benefit from working with a coach at some point in their life, its effectiveness is often determined by timing and what you’re willing to invest in the process.  Take this short quiz and find out if coaching might be a good fit for you at this point in your life.

Rate yourself for each answer below using a scale of 1-5.

(5 = Yes, Absolutely!    3 = Maybe.   1 = No, not yet)

____  I am ready to restore peace, hope, harmony, and serenity to my life, my family, and my relationships.

____  I am ready and willing to do what it takes to make the changes I am seeking happen.

____  I  am willing to ask for help and accept the support I receive.

____  I am committed to putting myself first in my life.

____  I am ready to take ownership of my own healing process and actively take a lead role in my family.

____   I am willing to look at myself first for the answers and solutions my family needs.

____  I am willing and able to invest time, money, energy, and emotion into changing my situation.

____  I am willing to be open, honest, and vulnerable both with myself and with my coach.

____  I am willing to listen to feedback from my coach’s viewpoint, learn new skills, and adjust my own thinking.

____  I am willing to get out of my comfort zone and try new things.

____  I am willing to stop tolerating things in my life.

____  I am willing to stay the course, even when change does not happen overnight and isn’t always easy.

____  I am more interested in positive results and healing for myself and my family than dollar signs.

Add up your score!

If you scored:

55-70 points — You’re ready! You are well on your way to making significant changes happen in your life.  You’re ready to move forward, leave the trenches of chaos for good, and reclaim your life. Coaching can help you reach your goals and cross the finish line.

35-54 points — You’re in the zone. Ask your coach to help you discover what might be getting in your way and to support you in removing those blocks so you can move forward, take control of your life,  and begin to create the changes you want to make happen in your life.

14-34 points — You’re most likely not ready to hire a coach at this point in your life.  Take a long, hard look at things and ask yourself if you truly want things to change or if change just sounds like a nice idea.  If you find you truly do want it, what’s the first thing you’d like to work on?

When is coaching not appropriate or effective?

• If you are looking for a “magic bullet” that will fix your kids without making changes in yourself first. 
• If you’re looking for someone else to tell you what to do or give you all the answers.  
• If you prefer a more passive experience or are not ready to take the coaching process seriously.  
• If you aren’t willing or able to make the necessary investments of time, financial resources, or emotional energy to be “all in” with the process. You’ll get out of coaching what you put into it. If you have very little to invest, you’ll get very little out of it.  
• If you’re doing it because someone else is pushing you into it or thinks it’s a good idea.
   
• If you have an untreated or unresolved trauma history of your own.   
• If you have a diagnosed mental health condition other than depression, anxiety, “Adjustment Disorder” or PTSD. All of these are fairly common among trauma parents and often get better on their own as we work through the coaching process. Anything else will likely need a higher level of care and supervision.   
• If the depression, anxiety, or other symptoms you experience are severe enough to regularly disrupt your ability to function in daily life.

If you think parent coaching might be the next right step for you…