Creative Coaching

Creative Coaching Everything You Need to Know About Creative Coaching ChaptersNot Just For Creative PeopleBasic Principles of Creative CoachingWho Could Benefit From Creative Coaching?Benefits of Creative CoachingFinding a Creative CoachCreative coaching is a coaching method that helps individuals grow into their most authentic selves.   The process is designed to bring the coach and the client together to collaborate on identifying and nurturing the clients’ greatest visions for themselves as people whether they are artists or just need a different perspective on life. To be creative is “relating to or involving the imagination.” We are all capable of using our imaginations. Every time we make a decision we imagine which choice we want. By using your imagination, you tap into the creative mind. The creative mind  is where we can make  the changes needed for a better life. Our ability to apply these creative skills, thinking and expression in all aspects of our lives provides enormous benefits and results.Creativity Coaching as a professional pra ctice aims to help clients figure out how to articulate and nurture their creative vision for themselves, recognize obstacles, establish attainable strategies for moving toward their visions and in setting up systems of shred and self-accountability to assist them in achieving their goals.  Creative coaching is all about seeing challenges and solving problems using multiple perspectives. Sometimes, we get caught up in our own thoughts and habits and don’t recognize that we have the tools to see old challenges in a new way. By approaching obstacles in this way, we can often find options and solutions we’ve used successfully in the past.A coach can help you unlock your creativity. (Source: stux)Basic Principles of Creative CoachingAt the centre of coaching is the idea that clients are given the power to help themselves. Creative coaches will not offer advice, give their opinions or pass judgement, but instead, they will equip you with the tools so you can help yourself. Instead o f instructing you, they will guide you to an answer. There are some basic principles of creative coaching that all coaches should follow:- Subjectivity: we all have different perspectives, none of which are 'right' or 'wrong', but some perspectives can be restrictive and can stop a person becoming who they want to be.- Empowerment: it is within everyone's capability to adjust their own perspective. With the tools that you learn through life coaching, anyone can learn to open their mind to achieve their goals.- Guidance: there is a difference between an instructor and a guide. An instructor shows a person exactly what to do, whereas a guide provides the tools and support a person needs to do something for themselves. A life coach is a guide, not an instructor; they will not tell you what to do.Have you ever thought: I really should update my website; I should call that contact I met last week; I should do a lot of things, but I just don’t have the energy or drive.Coaching can help you deal with these, and any other issues you might have in your career, or your life.Coaching is a means of bringing clarity to your life. It is a tool that will help you unlock your innate and natural creativity.Coaching helps you overcome the stumbling blocks that are holding you back from being the very best that you want to be.And there’s the core of creative coaching: it’s about what you want to be. Not what your agent, your boss, your partner, your friends, or even your life coach wants you to be.Coaching is not therapy. Rather, it is for people who are stable and grounded, yet feel stuck. Life coaches will encourage you to look at the present and the future, rather than dwelling on the past.A creative coach can improve many areas in your life (Source: jill111)Benefits of Creative CoachingCreative coaching can help you face your day with energy and enthusiasm, brimming with ideas and positivity to face the day. It can help you tap into your creative side so you can look a t life from a different perspective and think outside the box to find solutions to your problems, whether at work or at home.When you have clarity about what is important, essential and necessary in your work, in your life, then creative changes begin to happen. The exciting thing about tapping into your natural creativity is that once you start, your creativity overflows into all aspects of your life.Even if you don’t think you’re the creative ‘type’, we all have creativity in us. Creativity flows from a clear and calm mind. There is nothing to stop you from tapping into your natural store of talent. It is only the clutter within your mind that prevents your true creativity from shining through.Even if you’ve never picked up a paintbrush, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the potential for creative expression. If you’ve ever cooked a meal, chaired a meeting, played a sport or written a report, then you’ve used your innate creative talents.Creative coaching can help b ring these talents out in a client no matter your profession.If you are a writer, photographer, artist, designer, musician, filmmaker, craftsperson or anyone in the creative industries, life coaching can help you tap into new and deeper layers of creativity to help you reach levels of success you’ve only dreamed of before.If you are a salesperson supplying goods and services to the creative industries; if you run a gallery; if you work with public arts organisations; if you’re an artists’ agent; if you are part of any business that is connected to the creative industries; then life coaching can help you find creative solutions that will make your business more efficient, more effective and more profitable.Finding a Creative CoachIn the UK creative coaching is an unregulated profession. This basically means that anyone can call themselves a coach. This doesn’t mean that you won’t find a great coach, it just makes it essential you do your research.Search online directories t o find coaches that have memberships with a professional body and have the appropriate insurance cover and qualifications.Having said this, rapport is one of the most important factors in finding the right coach for you. So don’t focus solely on qualifications but instead focus on finding someone you feel comfortable with.It’s a good idea to get in touch with a coach before you book a session. This way you can get a feel of what the coach is like before you commit yourself. Don’t feel obliged to continue if you don't want to, you are choosing someone to help you reach your personal goals so make sure you find someone you’re happy with.There are many resources online where you can find the right coach for you. You can search for specialist business coaches, relationship, spirituality or even creative coaches (if you need some help finding creativity in your life!).Sites like this one are full of resources to find a coach. Simply type in your postcode or town and hit the sear ch button to find a coach near you. Here you’ll find different profiles which describe who they are and what they do.No matter where you look for a coach make sure you do your research. Check that they have references, relevant experience and be picky!Creative coaching is something we can all benefit from at some point in life. It can help all of us find different perspectives on life and is a tool that can enrich our lives and help us lead a happier one!See more about these different types of coaching:personal development coachinghealth coachingbusiness coachingspiritual life coach

Teaching a Growth Mindset Principles to Your Child

Teaching a Growth Mindset Principles to Your Child In my last post I discussed the powerful impact that having a Growth Mindset can have on motivation and academic achievement. With a Growth Mindset you believe that through effort and the use of solid strategies you can become smarter and better at just about anything you put your mind to. And in fact, theres a great deal of neuroscience research supporting the notion that we can in fact grow our brains and become smarter! Unfortunately kids with ADHD may be more likely to have a Fixed Mindset. Their struggles with motivation and academics may have lead them down the path of believing that their hard work doesnt really pay off, and there is nothing they can do to become smarter or better at the things that are challenging for them. And with this set of beliefs, mustering up the motivation to work hard at school or tackle challenging homework problems is extremely difficult. Fortunately, research has shown that mindsets can be changed and that includes your child with ADHD. Parents and teachers can foster Growth Mindsets in their children and have a big impact on their motivation and achievement. So, how do you go about encouraging a Growth Mindset? It takes two phases. First, teach your child a few core Growth Mindset principles. Then on a daily basis, emphasize Growth Mindset thoughts and actions to cement the new Growth Mindset lessons and encourage increased motivation over time. So lets start with Phase I: teaching three core Growth Mindset principles. We can grow our brains. Explain to your child that the brain is like a muscle. When we lift weights our muscles get stronger and they grow. The same thing happens when we exercise our brain. The more we challenge our brain the more it grows, and the more we grow our brain the better we become at things like math, reading, writing, and even fun things like videogames and sports. (Videogames may make the most sense to some kids: Remember when you got that new game and didnt know how to get past Level I, but then you kept playing and learning and you were able to not only get past Level I but get all the way to Level 4. And now youre still playing and learning and soon youll be at Level 5? Thats because you were exercising your brain and challenging it to grow.) There are some excellent videos online that teach kids about how they can grow their brain. For younger kids I recommend the Class Dojo Growth Mindset series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrtHt3bBmQ and for older kids I recom mend the Khan Academy Growing your Mind video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtKJrB5rOKs. How our brains grow. In order to straighten our muscles, we challenge them through exercise. If we keep lifting the same light weight over and over again, then our muscles wont really get stronger. We need to challenge them by gradually adding heavier weights. With our brains, we exercise them by doing challenging work. By trying things that may seem hard, and by making and correcting mistakes. Mistakes can actually be good things, because when we correct our mistakes our brain gets stronger! (Lets go back to our videogame example: When you first started Level 2, you struggled to defeat the monster. He won a lot of the time. But you kept hitting the reset button and challenging yourself to find a way to get around the monster. Each time you failed to beat him, you learned a little bit more about what might work next time.) We need good tools and strategies. Your child has certainly tried to do challenging work in the past. But if your child has ADHD, theres a good chance that there have been quite a few times when he or she were not able to succeed at the level that was expected of him or her. These failures may have made your child hesitant to take on new challenges, even if he or she knows that challenging work is good for him or her. So, make sure to let your child know that in addition to challenging work, they need strategies that will help them succeed. Tell your child that you recognize that he or she may not have had the tools and strategies that he or she needed in the past. But youre going to do everything you can to help him or her learn different strategies and tools so that he or she can succeed now. And with your childs hard work, combined with new strategies and tools, the sky is the limit! (And one last time well revisit the videogame example: And then when you reached Level 4, you real ly struggled with the dragon. But it was your babysitter Mark who gave you a great idea for a strategy to try and it worked! Sometimes we need some coaching and help just to give us a little help in what direction to go in or what we might want to try. Mark didnt give you the answers, but he gave you a strategy. And having that strategy helped you beat that Level. Sometimes life is like the videogame where we just need someone to give us a new strategy or a tool to help us do our work and then we can see the way forward.) In addition to teaching your child these key Growth Mindset principles, get started on figuring out ways to help your child learn new strategies for the things that are hard for him or her. Talk to your childs teacher about subjects that are difficult. Find out which learning tools are currently working for your child and which tools are not. Kids with ADHD may need different learning strategies, so ask about alternate tools and strategies that they can try. Consider getting extra help for your child through their school or through a learning center or tutoring program (see my previous post on choosing a good tutoring center for your child). Remember that your childs hard work will only lead to improvement when he or she is putting their effort into using the tools and strategies that work for him or her. My next post, the last in this Growth Mindset series, Ill talk about Phase II -- the things you can do every day to encourage a Growth Mindset in your child. Youre well on your way to instilling a Growth Mindset, and soon youll start to think about all of the ways that your child and you can rethink challenges and have a Growth Mindset approach to life. ABOUT DR. MARY ROONEY Mary Rooney, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Dr Rooney is a researcher and clinician specializing in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and co-occurring behavioral, anxiety, and mood disorders. A strong advocate for those with attention and behavior problems, Dr. Rooney is committed to developing and providing comprehensive, cutting edge treatments tailored to meet the unique needs of each child and adolescent. Dr. Rooney's clinical interventions and research avenues emphasize working closely with parents and teachers to create supportive, structured home and school environments that enable children and adolescents to reach their full potential. In addition, Dr. Rooney serves as a consultant and ADHD expert to Huntington Learning Centers. ABOUT HUNTINGTON Huntington Learning Center is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students of all levels succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington's mission is to give every student the best education possible. Call us today at 1.800.CAN LEARN to discuss how Huntington can help your child. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only.