College & Youth Coaching & Purposeful Companionship

None of us want our children and young adults to face difficulties without support. Kerri offers not only unconditional support from a highly-trained, objective adult ally, but also the opportunity for them to develop knowledge and skills that will benefit them throughout their entire lives. Youth-Clients will receive consistent encouragement and reinforcement; they will be seen and heard in an environment where it is safe to express any thought or idea. They will also be provided tools, the right questions, and action planning to move towards overarching well-being and achieve goals.

• *Coaching is not counseling (please see below)
• **For more Career-Related information, Please Also See Adult Coaching and Resume Services

Youth-Coaching Can Help Children and Young Adults to:

• Prepare for their careers (see A.G.E.)
• Manage challenging situations
• Identify and mitigate triggers and false beliefs
• Generate healthy habits
• Build relationships
• Handle anxiety and stress, and develop coping mechanisms
• Acknowledge and work through difficult emotions
• Establish and obtain goals
• Defining what they can and can’t control
• Expand sense of security
• Explore thoughts and circumstances
• Access new perspectives and understanding
• Increase resiliency
• Consider a variety of choices and actions, and enact them
• Design and choose paths to pursue 
• Develop a positive, healthy self-esteem and identity

This is Especially Helpful During Periods Of/With:

• Family Challenge (separation, divorce, loss, death, moving, transition, etc.)
• Social Challenge (loneliness, bullying, feeling different, peer pressure, etc.)
• School Challenge (learning challenges, stress, work challenges, high self-expectations, experiences of failure, etc.)
• Big Goals (school, work, project, career, etc.)
• Self-Image Development (self-esteem, self-knowledge, etc.)
• Direction Defining (career direction, interests, etc.)

The skills and support they receive can also be applied across their lives to many different situations and for general well being.

“No matter what challenge a child or young adult is facing, our underlying focus will always be on helping them to develop a positive and healthy self-esteem. As a coach with fourteen years experience, I have seen over and over that no matter one’s age, this is the common vein that drives my clients towards fulfillment, resiliency, and achieving the lives that they desire (I can say this from my own life experiences as well). Therefore, helping children and youth learn how to develop and maintain a positive sense of self at such a young age is of critical importance, and a very real gift.” – Kerri K. Yates, CPCC

Coaching is not counseling. Coaches help their Youth-Clients to develop their strengths and overcome challenges in the present and to become equipped for the future; they do not address healing methods for past traumas (although healing can be a side-effect of coaching), handle diagnosed pathologies (mental health disorders), or “fix” them. Instead, the Coach addresses her Youth-Client as a whole and capable person and provides the companionship and tools for him or her to be affirmed, explore, plan, act and be his or her best self.

Coaching, however, can coincide with therapy (and does so well). If a Coach believes therapy is required instead of coaching or in addition to coaching, the Coach will inform the Youth-Client and the parent. With permission, the Coach and Therapist can interact on behalf of the Youth-Client.

The Coach-Youth Client relationship will remain confidential unless the Youth-Client presents information that indicates any form of risk (sexual, physical, emotional) or actions that should be taken by the parent (for example, in the case of bullying). The Coach is also available to speak to schools, counselors, and teachers if appropriate. This will be explained to the Youth-Client by the Coach and discussed in an ongoing manner. The Coach will confer with psychological experts on any topics/issues that are questionable as to whether a break in confidentiality is required. In cases of significant immediate risk, the Coach maintains the right to contact the police and appropriate social and health services.

Generally, the Coach will express to Parents/Guardians his or her general sense of how our coaching is proceeding and encourage the Youth-Client to do so as well. If agreed upon with the Youth-Client and Parent/Guardian, the Coach can provide more specific observations via telephone or in person (see F.A.Q.s below). With Kid-Clients, this is more expected. With Teens and College-Aged Clients, this kind of reporting usually generates a breach of confidentiality and trust.

The Coach will always respect the religious and cultural identity of each Youth-Client. The Coach will request information about each client and his or her family in a pre-coaching questionnaire.

If appropriate, requested, and accepted by the Youth-Client, religious and cultural views can be included in the sessions. The Coach, however, will not force the Youth-Client in this area.

Pre-First Session: For all clients excluding college students, a parent/guardian questionnaire and a client questionnaire will be requested before the first meeting.

• Kids: we suggest a 55-minute family session where the coach will meet with the parents/guardian, the family as a whole, and then the child. Alternatively, a telephone session can be arranged with the parents/guardian.
• Teens: a family meeting is negotiable.
• College-Age: We do not do initial family sessions.

Sessions:

• Coaching: Sessions will have a focus (goal set with the client) and utilize self-discovery, tool-building, action plans, and follow through (accountability).
• Purposeful Companionship: Sessions will be about being present, with an underlying focus on developing safety, feeling seen and known, self-expression and, as a side-result, life skills. The coach will include activities such as: active listening, question asking, mirroring, identifying (calling out), discovering, and visioning.

Parent Reports:

• Kids: Parents may arrange to have post-session telephone calls or in-person discussions about the coaches’ observations. This will be decided in a manner that protects the child’s sense of freedom with the coach.
• Teens & College: See “Confidentiality & Parents” above.

THE A.G.E. Program:

Activate, Guide, and Empower your student for their upcoming career and for life!

Through this three-month program, Kerri will activate your student to think about their post-grad life by developing a short and long term career direction plan. She will guide your student through the entire job search process from building a high-end resume and cover letter with keyword integration, to interview preparation. Lastly, Kerri will empower your student through personal coaching in areas such as improving time management and professional communication skills; all to ensure your student feels prepared after graduation to succeed in this new stage of life.

Coaching sessions can take place at the 7 Nightingales office in Mt. Pleasant, via Skype, or Downtown/On Campus.

Please contact Kerri for pricing.

COLLEGE LIFE, COMMON COACHING TOPICS:

• Questions about life direction
• Goal achievement
• Self-esteem challenges & expansion (resilience)
• Understanding & celebrating his or her unique personality, interests & gifts
• Stress (workload, social, loneliness, etc.)
• Periods of hardship (divorce, bullying, etc.)
• Motivation

TEENS, COMMON COACHING TOPICS:

• Understanding & celebrating his or her unique personality, interests & gifts
• Needing a consistent, “got-your-back,” safe & consistent mentor
• Goal achievement
• Self-esteem challenges & expansion (resilience)
• Feeling “not-understood”
• Stress (workload, social, loneliness, etc.)
• Periods of hardship (divorce, bullying, etc.)
• Motivation

KIDS, COMMON COACHING TOPICS:

• A mentor/adult who provides consistent listening, companionship & affirmation
• Identifying & celebrating unique personality traits and abilities
• Self-esteem challenges & expansion (resilience)
• Social challenges (loneliness, not fitting in)
• Periods of hardship (divorce, bullying, etc.)
• Stress
• Needing a sense of security