Melissa Johnson
Forum Replies Created
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*Summary Post*
After reading this discussion a week ago I did some more pondering about Partswork and how it will play a role in my business.This is a path I want to travel down further and learn more about, because I would like to bring more awareness to the subject on my retreats.I think we spend so much of our lives trying to get to know other people, that we don’t take the time to get to know ourselves. We think we know ourselves but we don’t actually know how complex we can be. Learning our parts and having them interact with each other is a huge part of this that I’d like to enlighten my clients on. I really appreciate this subject and will be exploring it further.
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Like Ben Marchman, my session was also in relation to my other post, so if the stories are similar, that’s why.
For my session, when I began entering Partswork I was a bit nervous the client wouldn’t understand the point of it or how it can work. I was hoping she would be open to it and comfortable enough to put herself into that headspace, and thankfully she was and did. I will say that from our cohort being in Boulder, and doing all this work, we are pretty open to all of this experimenting, but trying to explain and work with someone who has no knowledge of these things, it’s a bit intimidating at first.
Partswork went really really well though, and I was surprised how powerful of a session it became. The parts that came forward was Nurturer and that part needed to do some communicating with the Soul. There was a back and forth conversation between the two for a good 10-15 minutes, emotions were high. People don’t realize all of their different parts and what they truly may need for their Soul to feel full and whole. I really enjoyed experimenting with this for our session and asked how it made the client feel. She had never realized she had this part of her who needed to rest, and it was very reassuring for her to acknowledge that part.
I will absolutely be using Partswork in as many sessions as I can. I believe it puts our minds in a different place, seeing how many parts make us whole, what is serving you and what isn’t, and that you don’t have negative or positive parts. I cannot wait for Partswork 2!
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*Summary Post*
I’m realizing that I don’t exactly have to do or say everything in an exact order. There are steps to take but each session and individual is so different, that there is room for play and for nature to take on its own part as well. The first intensive then I was in the fishbowl, I used the book and my notes and tried to do things in correct orders, saying the right thing, and focused too much on that structure, that I didn’t get to be as present with my client as I should have been.
Second time around, this past intensive, I put away the notes, the book, and gave my client my undivided attention, and let nature take its course. It felt a lot more authentic and being in the present and working with Gestalt principles really created a different awareness this time around. I look forward to learning more with this group, and I also look forward to reading more on the principles of Gestalt.
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Hi all!
My practice client is in a transitional place where they feel that they spend all of their energy taking care of everyone else’s needs but not their own. My client is actually my wife and I was able to successfully transition out of that role, as did she, to coach/client. My client has a therapist and she was interested to see a different approach than her therapist.
What steps did you take to establish the Coaching Relationship and focus the session?
Right away established trust by letting the client know this would be between us both and also added that I may need to discuss with my cohort, and client agreed. I asked permission to be the role of nature connected coach in that moment and we instantly stepped into the role of client and coach instead of wife and wife.How did or could Gestalt fit into your nature-connected coaching session?
We focused a lot on the present moment, and didn’t bring up much discussion about past or future, but a lot of awareness was created in those present moments.What challenges did you face? How did you adapt?
This session actually happened in a car ride, so that seemed like a big challenge to me because there was a driving focus during the session. However, we did experiment with parts work which proved to be REALLY powerful in what the topic was. During this the client stepped into her Nurturer and addressed her Soul and then had the Soul address back to the Nurturer, it proved to be a very moving experience for the client.What flowed and how did you build off it?
A lot of emotions flowed and I let the client sit in that present moment and take the time they needed to get through the emotional feelings of Partswork. After that passed, we began to make a plan of how to address what the Nurturer and Soul needs to both feel heard and appreciated. We developed a weekly plan and the client was really excited about the outcome.What did you learn about yourself and nature-connected coaching?
I learned that you really can have a session in any landscape. I was concerned about the car situation and it actually really worked out quite nicely, we had trees surrounding us during this drive which set a peaceful mood, and also got to see wildlife during this as well.I think focusing still on nature, even being in a moving car, helped this session to get the client to have a breakthrough. -
*Summary Post*
After reading everyone’s posts, watching the video call, checking out all the worksheets. I realize I have to take some more time to think about my ideal clients to get more clarity. I have the thoughts in my head, and have from the beginning of joining EBI, of who I want to work with, but in the marketing sense, I need to think about the target audience for each niche I want to work with. This has been super helpful to have me re-think what I thought I already knew.
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*Initial Post*
Hey guys, I know I am really behind in participating with the online courses, so I am taking time to catch up on everything. When I Think about coaching and guiding the first type of person that comes to mind for me and my vision is somebody who lives in a busy city, with a busy life, and is looking for a way to reset their minds with nature. The second type of person that comes to mind, is somebody who is struggling in a transitional place, looking for a way to see their bigger selves. I also see myself working with people who are grieving over a major loss in their life, whether friends, family, pet, career, anything. Finally, working with LGBTQ community is really important to me, and LGBTQ youth as well.
I would say the population that excites me the most is your average middle-aged person who is used to a routine and looking for change. The thought of helping somebody disconnect from social media, and just technology in general, and seeing how it affects them in the long run, it Is really exciting to me. We are so stuck in this unhealthy cycle of spending most of our days staring at a screen, and I would love to have the opportunity to help people connect back to their roots in the natural world.
I imagine working with these types of people on weekend retreats that I would specifically create different programs for each category of client. I would like to have specific weekend retreats focusing on grief, disconnecting from technology and resetting mind, LGBTQ, and possibly more options in the future. In addition to the weekend retreats, I would also be offering one-on-one guiding as well. I envision the one-on-one guiding in a place located right outside of the city where there is access to nature, but not too far because I want it to be a realistic option for them to seek out nature whenever they need.
After doing some research, I realize there is no one doing this in my local area in the way that I envision, however these are some internet results that could kind of come close.
https://www.lifecoachphilly.com. – This is a generic life coach to me. It’s more about careers, relationships, parenting, etc. There is nothing nature based about this, and that is what would set me apart from life coaches like this. It’s the most common type of coach I have come across. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with this type of coach, it just isn’t the type of guide I wish to become.
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***Summary Post***
Sorry so late on this one!
After reading and going through everyones interactions on this module, I feel a lot more comfortable about allowing myself to accept and go through the Threshold experience. Like my initial post said, I was very hesitant at first to open up, and it sounds like a lot of you were as well. I truly appreciate the vulnerability of this cohort because it allows us to gain experience for how to work with our own clients. Creating awareness plays a huge part in the Threshold experience, also 50/50. Without allowing that other 50% of nature to come in naturally, I think that Threshold would feel too structured and really head in the opposite direction of what we are looking to achieve.
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Taylor,
I love this post! Coming from a corporate world I completely understand what you mean about creativity not really being valued, and now we are going down a path where a major factor of success is using our creative sides.
How did it feel for you to bring Partswork into a session after our last intensive? Is this something you will try to work with all of your clients?
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I can relate to this on so many levels. I have always given advice, related everything to my personal life, told stories about my experiences.I don’t know if that is a selfish quality to have or not, but learning to truly deeply listen and put ego aside has made me such a better listener. I’m not trying to compare or focus on me in any way, even though some thoughts may slip in, I try to push them out. Good for you though, look how far you’ve come =)
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Bearded Ben,
Sounds like a great session with many road options to travel down. Sounds like you picked the right path with this session. Having a space at your home to bring clients to sounds like the perfect situation for you and your busy life.
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Hey Strong Ben!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I totally understand what you mean by feeling that you were lacking as a coach but that isn’t the case at all. I’ve worked with you as my coach and I know you are an awesome coach. I think some times when we get stuck we just have to do EXACTLY what you did and start to experiment and approach from another angle. Each client is differently and their levels of approachability will shift as well.
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*Summary Post*
After watching the video, listening to all the great new knowledge, and reading all of your posts I am so very inspired. I love how we each have such different visions but all are based around the same soul, Nature. I am proud of everyone here for discovering our purpose even deeper. As the year goes on, we are learning more and more about what we are capable of, who we are, and where we belong. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of humans to be standing beside during this transformational time in our lives.
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BROOKE,
You are going to be amazing with all that you know, all that you are learning and all that you do. After being your practice client, and seeing the way you work, with all the knowledge you have about nature, you are absolutely on the right path. You have a soft directive approach and I can absolutely seeing you work with your ideal clientele. I only wish I lived closer so I could be your client 🙂
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Ben,
That is so awesome that you can use your farm space to work with clients. I’m going to have to research some city spots that I will be able to work in with clients. I’m happy for you to have that resource and learning how to use that space in new ways.
I’m like you as far as trying to figure out where mentoring and coaching begins and ends, I think in a way we are doing both, and as long as we just go with our gut instincts, we will lead our clients down the right path. -
Cory,
Great post! You talk about intimacy and trust and how can you move forward with a client if that comfort level isn’t there. That’s something that’s really important to me as well. I want to make sure my clients know I am holding that space for them, that this is all confidential and I am here to help them navigate. I think the nature kind of helps the client to trust in us because we ARE already connected to nature. I think that’s something most strive to do, so hopefully just having that ability to recognize our connection to nature can also help inspire them to trust us.