The Australian life coaching industry has boomed in recent years, following closely behind their American counterparts. Trained to help people achieve goals by overcoming personal barriers, life coaches are being sought out by everyday Australians looking to get their lives on track.
Senior executives have endorsed the skills of coaches and mentors since they started making headlines in Australia in 2001. Since then, numbers have risen in the business arena, with around 70% of managers using a coach. The use of life coaches in America became so popular that by 2000 life coaching was the country’s fastest growing industry, second only behind IT.
Over a decade later Australia is catching up and enjoying the same industry boom. The country’s approximately 3000 coaches are growing in number every day and keeping on par with industry growth in Britain.
Although levels of qualification differ vastly, top life coaches are trained in a range of psychological techniques such as hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming, and guide their clients to achieve goals relating to health, careers, finances and emotional wellbeing.
Sydney-based life coach specialising in weight loss motivation Kylie Ryan has helped hundreds of women lose weight and supercharge their lives in the process, and says that the coaching relationship is integral to achieving ongoing success.
“The most successful sportspeople have a team of coaches around them. Sure, they have coaches for their physical performance, but more and more now, they have coaches for their mindset too – to keep them focused on their goals and ensure that they’re mentally prepared to perform.
“What’s happened recently is that normal, everyday people have realised that they can create the kind of successful life they want more easily by using the help of a life coach – you don’t have to be in the NBA or a top corporate executive to benefit from having a coach.”
“A lot of people need support and accountability to help unleash their potential and achieve their goals. Everyone has the potential for massive success, but usually people first need help to overcome the issues, blocks and self-sabotage that’s holding them back from living their best life.”
Kylie Ryan uses a wide range of psychological techniques in her coaching, including meta-coaching, neuro-Linguistic programming (NLP), hypnosis, and timeline therapy. Rather than focusing on nutrition or fitness, Kylie tackles the underlying psychological issues and gives her clients tools to make a lasting, lifetime change to their health.
Those seeking the services of a life coach should look out for:
- Compassion – find someone you can relate to and trust, who is caring and still strong enough to keep you on the right track
- The right qualifications – top Australian life coaches are Meta-Coach qualified. You might want to look for someone who is also trained in hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, time-line therapy or EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
- Success stories – experienced life coaches should have multiple testimonials from people they’ve helped, do your research and make sure your coach has the backing of their clients.
To find out more contact Stephanie Julian at www.mymindcoach.com.au