Life coaching for MSPublished: 17 October 2024 Amanda Worpole, a life coach who specialises in helping people with MS, explains how she’s working with MS-UK to help people improve their lives Earlier this year, I was excited to explore how group coaching with MS-UK members might support people with multiple sclerosis (MS). I delivered an hour of group coaching every week through the spring and early summer. Coaching delegates were free to attend either fortnightly or every three weeks. Coming to coaching sessions weekly can feel a bit pressurised, whist an interval of more than three weeks risks losing momentum around taking action towards achieving the goal. What is personal development coaching? Put simply, effective coaching is a constructive and forward-focused conversation between us. An effective conversation is one where I employ methods and techniques that centre primarily around effective listening and questioning, constructive and gentle challenge, and helpful feedback. What worked really well? First off, people came with very different goals, ranging from making progress with a work project that had somehow ground to a halt, to organising domestic affairs that had got out of hand, to decluttering prior to moving house, to gaining confidence to drive in Europe, to revisiting favourite hobbies once again. Members of the group signed up to respecting confidentiality and allowing everyone to share or not to share, as they felt comfortable. It is clear from the feedback that delegates were kind enough to provide, that this approach to life coaching brings rewards to individuals. For my part, it is a huge privilege to be able to bring my professional skills to the table. I deeply value the remarkable experience of engaging with a client’s thoughts, feelings, and aspirations as we sit together. It is a true privilege to be invited into their world and to observe their progress towards the goals they have set themselves. In fact we had such great feedback from the participants of the course, we’ve decided to run another one in the new year! Why not join next time? For our next sessions, we will be working on a specific topic or goal that will help you to achieve the lifestyle you want to create. Coaching is about you and our work together is to help you to reach your goals and aspirations through a supportive process of questions to help you arrive quicker than perhaps you may on your own. The coaching sessions are a place for positive discussions that increase your understanding of yourself, enable you to understand what options are open to you, and encourage you to take action. As life coach with a special interest in MS, I help people with the condition to develop strategies and plans to deal with any of these seven areas of their lives Social and family relationships Career and educational aspirations Financial security Physical health/leisure Life’s routine responsibilities Society and contribution Mental, emotional and inner wellbeing It is important to say that there are no right or wrong answers – though it is also important to understand that it is about you taking responsibility for the actions you have committed to. What it is not… Not about me making any judgements on our conversations Not about me giving you any advice or suggestions during the sessions We do not delve into the past or deal with psychological issues or serious addictions We don’t break confidentiality, except during those circumstances outlined within the Code of Ethics which I will send to each participant Some questions to help you to decide if you’d like to give it a go… Do you feel that currently, you aren’t reaching your potential and feeling fulfilled? Do you sometimes feel you don’t have the skills, resources, or confidence to get something started or complete? Do you feel stuck and put off making decisions or fail to stick to those decisions you have made? It’s about getting you from where you are in life (including things like work, retirement, relationships, wellness) to where you want to be. Often clients haven’t really got a clear vision on what they’re aiming for, so that’s pretty much where we start. A coach will enable you to clarify what’s going on and bring things into focus, to untangle the spaghetti in your mind so you can make more sense of what’s going and take appropriate action. I will be by your side, cheering you on, as you bridge the gap between where you are now and what you want to achieve in any area of your life – work, not-work, relationships, health, and hobbies are just some examples. Along the way, there will be time for emotions, space for brainstorming, deep dives into motivation, checking in on progress, and for welcoming reflection and change. FIND OUT MORE Interested? There’s still time to contact Amanda to register interest for the next course. Simply view the intro session (https://ms-uk.org/event/introduction-session-to-life-coaching-2/) and email register@ms-uk.org before Monday 21 October 2024. Other Stories You May Be Interested In... Blog Can MS cause blindness? 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