About the Trauma Informed Approach to Coaching and Trauma Recovery Coaching

If you have read my About Me page, you may have noticed that, in addition to previous training and certifications, I am certified as a Trauma Recovery Coach. I am committed to offering a safe and productive environment where you can make progress in the areas of life that are important to you. While some coaching practices are dedicated to a specific area of expertise, like romantic relationships or business development, Lifelandscape is dedicated to individuals. There is no catchy five-step program. Lifelandscape is a whole life system approach, identifying the gaps in the whole picture, working on the parts of the system that are out of sync, and creating a thriving, whole system. As a trauma survivor, you deserve peace, safety and thriving, just like anyone else. Getting all of the systems working together might be a little more complex, there might be more layers, you might need to assemble a support team, but it can be done.

I am a trauma survivor. I know what it is like to seek help from a professional only to have that professional make things worse. Unfortunately, some professionals claim to be trauma aware, even claiming trauma as an area of expertise, yet re-traumatize their clients using shame, fear-based motivation tactics, or expressing frustration or anger with a client when their pet methods do not work. Today, I would recognize them and walk away. But, until I learned to recognize a potentially harmful therapeutic or coaching relationship, I had several re-traumatizing experiences at the hands of practitioners and clergy who should have known better. Perhaps this has happened to you as well.

The United States of America has developed guidelines for organizations calling themselves “trauma informed” to follow. The guidelines are known as SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma Informed Approach and can be found here. This might be a helpful document for you to review before looking for a therapist or other professional to treat trauma, or before you engage with any helping professional. This way, if you are being mistreated or re-traumatized, you may recognize it earlier and can choose a path to emotional safety. Everything in my trauma recovery coach coursework aligns with SAMHSA’s guidelines. These are the ethical standards I am required to meet to maintain my certification.

For clients interested in Trauma Recovery Coaching, I use a protocol from the beginning of coaching that is in keeping with my IAOTRC certification. Under most circumstances, if you have been working toward healing, working with a Trauma Recovery Coach is possible. Working with a Trauma Recovery Coach can even compliment therapy, as therapy deals more with your past than your future. Unless a therapist also uses coaching methods they may not help you design your life projects or offer consistent practical support. As a Certified trauma Recovery Coach, I am trained to hear you, see you, and work with you in an insightful way to create your new healthy way of being or write your next fulfilling chapter.