Trauma-informed coaching, in plain language.
What it is, what it isn’t, and exactly where the line with therapy sits, because most people searching this phrase are trying to work out which one they need, and almost nobody answering them is a coach.
It is a way of working, not a treatment
It means I start from the assumption that you are not lazy, broken, or incapable. Most people who come to me are stuck in survival patterns, fear, avoidance, overthinking, emotional conditioning, and nervous system responses that were once protecting them.
Those responses were useful once. That is the part people miss about themselves, and it is why willpower alone keeps failing them.
It also means I will not push you through something you are not ready for in order to hit a milestone. The plan bends around the person.
That starting point is the same whether the pressure comes from a career or a sport.
Where the line actually sits
If you only read one thing on this page, read this. Getting it wrong costs people months.
- Works forwards from where you are now.
- Sets a finish line, breaks down what it takes, and holds you to it.
- Builds structure, routine and accountability around a goal you name.
- Treats the pattern as something to interrupt and rebuild, not to diagnose.
- Is not licensed, not clinical, and not covered by insurance.
- Treats diagnosed conditions, which coaching cannot and must not.
- Works backwards through the past, at whatever pace that needs.
- Is delivered by someone licensed and regulated to do it.
- Is often the right answer on its own, and often the right answer alongside this.
- Is where I send you if that is what you need.
If it’s a therapist you need, I will say so
I say it on the first call, before you have paid me anything, and I say it with a name rather than with “see a therapist” — the ones I give out are on the resources page. Sometimes the answer is both: plenty of my clients have a therapist already, and that combination works well, because we are doing genuinely different jobs.
If you are not sure which you need, five questions on the questionnaire help sort it out.
Not sure which one you need?
Fill out the questionnaire.
If I think you’re a good fit, I’ll get in touch.
If I don’t think I can help, I’ll point you to someone who can.
West Palm Beach, FL