There is so much information out there to do with mental wellbeing, mindset and mental health that wondering what is best for your own situation can be a mission in itself. So I decided to give you just a brief insight into the various areas so that you can at least consider which avenue to wander down as you then look to find a person or situation that suits what it is you are trying to achieve or improve on.
The following are some general explanations and examples. All are in my own words and my own opinions and where I do have an association with anything, I will clearly show that. I am more than happy to have a quick chat with you if you are seeking further clarification or if you are unsure about which area you think may be the best way forward for you – I offer this, not because I will push to get you to work with me (I don’t do this), but because I can appreciate that when you are not sure which way to turn it can feel overwhelming and sometimes you just want to ask a couple of questions to help give you confidence on which pathway to consider.
I will help you find the right pathway... even if you don't want to work with me directly - it's just what I do
Coaching
People usually associate this with sports and sporting academies. This is where it started to become mainstream however it is now widespread through all areas of life and all aspects of situations. The intention of coaching is that a coach is a support person that helps to provide a safe and confidential space for you to express your current situation and gain assistance in helping you find your own way forward towards your goals, dreams and aspirations – or help you find them if you feel you haven’t got any. Great for mindset work and accountability on helping you look at life through a different and more positive lens. Can be a great solution if you feel you are starting to struggle with things but still feel in control enough that you want help to turn things around.
Counselling
An absolutely valid and necessary service and the one that people first think of when they are feeling that they need help. However, it is not always the case, nor right, that counselling is the solution. This service helps people with their current situation and to begin to understand why they are where they are today. What is it in the past that has made them be who they are today? Are there mental stressors or medical ailments that need to be considered in order to help a person to feel on level ground again? A wide-ranging service, dependent on the need and the severity of the need of the patient.
Consulting
A Consultant is someone who has expertise in a particular area and offers suggestions, advice and insights into ways to work through what is brought to the table. Originally set in the business context, this has now ventured out into personal situations too. A person who hires a consultant accepts that there may not be a personal experience that can be relied upon but that the consultant is qualified enough to look at effective solutions to the situation at hand.
Mentoring
When people seek help from a mentor, one of the key factors is that the mentor has further experience than the mentee and that they can impart with direct assistance in helping the mentee to get further along in their own dreams and aspirations. Mentors utilise their own experiences and relay them in a way to the mentee to offer support in a “this is what I did when I had to deal with this situation” mentality.
Reactive Assistance Examples
It is a normal human being reaction that we wait until we personally feel the pain, experience the hurt or become a witness to a negative situation before we will actually look to do anything about it. We can read about it, know about it, be aware of the direction things are going in yet still do nothing about it until the s*it literally hits the fan.
It’s frustrating but understandable!
So, thankfully there are services available for when this situation occurs. Counselling is a classic example. Another is Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). These are often associated with organisations and are usually classed as a “benefit” for working for the establishment – a confidential space to seek help with some form of trauma or emotional setback that their employees may be struggling with. Other examples are some support groups and drop-in centres depending on the service offered, for example, addiction support or mental stress support.
Proactive Assistance Examples
Although reacting to pain is the default status that the human being resorts to, there are many of us who are acutely aware of how precious our minds are and look to seek help in either maintaining our positive mental health or at least learning about tips and techniques that can help us when we have ‘wobbles’ so that we can catch ourselves early on in the pain zone and not suffer so badly.
Coaching definitely fits in this camp. And so do consulting and mentoring.
There is also an opportunity now for organisations to avail of a proactive wellbeing programme. It is called “What About Me”* (WAM) and creates private memberships for those in the organisation who wish to avail of it where they will find videos and worksheets, tips, tools, techniques and guided assistance on understanding what it is to have positive mental health and wellbeing. I wouldn’t like to say it is THE only programme out there that can help, but this one allows members to take responsibility for their own wellbeing, have some self-guided areas to work with and can call on support and guidance if it is required. This programme has been created by Expressions Partnership and I am associated with their work because I wholeheartedly agree with it and have worked with the Managing Director on its development.
If you would like to see what it looks like, click this link here or contact me directly for a virtual tour. https://www.ymrcoaching.com/external-partners
Self-help
Oftentimes, in my coaching capacity, I hear from my clients that they have tried numerous self-help books and courses but never really saw any changes. Yet, I would tend to disagree somewhat because had these clients not at least read about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques or Mindset aspects or at least understand that the brain can cope and yet not cope at the same time, then they would have had even less understanding to know that coaching could be of help at all. So whilst I would never say ‘self-help’ aspects will always work in lieu of one-to-one working of your own situation, they certainly have their place in helping prepare your mind for the possibility of an alternative way of managing things. And at the end of the day, even if you only picked up one little tip isn’t that a useful tip more than what you had before you started?
Book recommends
These are just some of my own personal favourites that I think could be of some help for you no matter what your current mindset and wellbeing are. I cannot say that they will change your life, but I firmly believe that they will be informative and will help you to start thinking in a different way. What you want to do after reading these is still entirely up to you and will require your own effort if you want to see sustained and ongoing changes.
Mindset – changing the way you think to fulfil your potential – By Dr Carol S Dweck
Who Moved My Cheese? – an amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life – By Dr Spencer Johnson
Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway – How to turn your fear and indecision into confidence and action – By Susan Jeffers
So, there you go. Some insights into the various ways that you can seek help with your mental wellbeing either through one-to-one direct and personal support, support through an organisation you work for or by starting to learn more about these things yourself while you work out the next best step forward.
One of those steps forwards can be to get in touch with me here. As I stated at the top of this piece, I am happy to have a general chat about this writing or to see whether working with me is perhaps something that would work well for your situation. Absolutely no obligation and if you merely want to get some further understanding of the avenue you are considering then I am happy to help with a quick chat to ascertain with you what that might look like. You can contact me at yvonne@ymrcoaching.com
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Yvonne is qualified in Coaching, Positive Psychology, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and believes in continual personal development. She is currently based in the UK and also has life and work experience in Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. She helps with mindset wellbeing and change which includes significant relocations. She is contactable for client availability, public speaking events and media enquiries here: https://www.ymrcoaching.com/helpful-links