Life Coaching and NLP - Finding the Right Coach

Demand on life coaching in London is steadily increasing. Where a few years back the terms life coaching and NLP weren't heard of for many, it's now becoming more common knowledge. There are thousands of NLP practitioners and life coaches in London and the UK. And increasingly, everyone is starting to realise the importance of having a life coach. But with all the options out there and all the different areas that life coaches specialise in, how does one decide?

1- Accreditation/Certification

Unfortunately because life coaching is not yet regulated in the UK, anyone could claim to be a life coach. It's therefore important to ensure a life coach or an NLP practitioner is accredited or certified by a recognised body, school or trainer when you consider hiring one.

2- Testimonial and References

Testimonials are an imperative part of every life coach's and NLP practitioner's practice and they are equally vital in your decision making process. When reading testimonials look for things that matter to you. For example a testimonial saying "after working with London life coach for two sessions I got rid of all my social anxiety%u2026" is very different from: "working with London life coach I gained crystal clear clarity on my goals and I got the promotion after only 3 weeks." Although it's not uncommon for one life coach to deliver such fantastic and yet different results, it is highly dependent on his/her experience.

Also feel free to ask for references. A proficient life coach will never hesitate to provide references to a number of clients that he/she has helped change their lives.

3- Field of Specialty

There are numerous different fields that life coaches specialise in. There is executive, business, relationship, spirituality, women, leadership, confidence, career, fitness, performance coaching and the list goes on and on. Identify what your need is and find a coach that has expertise in this particular area. Sometimes you might not know exactly what it is that you want and you're not sure where to start. This is where the free introductory session that most life coaches provide will come handy. Do keep in mind that a life coach with expertise on executive coaching for example doesn't necessarily mean that he/she has been an executive for the past 10 years. That's an entirely different concept which will be addressed in another article.

4- Free Introductory Sessions

Most life coaches offer a free introductory session. This will give you the opportunity to discuss with your life coach or NLP practitioner your specific needs. Or to try and find what is it exactly that you need. This will give you the opportunity to assess whether this life coach is right for you and equally this will give the life coach an opportunity to assess whether you're right for him/her.

5- Right for Each Other

Just like you assess whether a certain life coach or NLP practitioner is good for you or not, he/she will equally consider this. If a life coach feels that he/she can't help you and refer you to someone else don't take this personally. It's for your best benefit. After all they are losing money doing this but a passionate life coach is all about delivering the best results and most profound change for their clients in the shortest period possible. Money is merely a secondary reward for doing a damn good coaching job.

6- Gut Feeling

All the previous steps have been logical so far. But it's also important to trust your gut feeling. If you don't feel comfortable working with a life coach or an NLP practitioner, find someone else. Comfort and trust are essential in coach-client relationship. This is not to be under estimated.

Hopefully this gives you a good starting point when researching your NLP practitioner and/or life coach in London or the UK. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

Until next time,

Tarek N

Copyright (c) 2009 Tarek Life Coaching - London life coach, RESULTS Coach, Performance Consultant, Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)