The purpose of this paper is to identify two challenging transitions that people go through at some point in their lives and how having a coach can help guide them through that transition. In addition, this paper will give this author’s methodologies toward coaching individuals through the transitions chosen to highlight and cover how that coaching style will affect the business model being developed. Finally, this author will conclude with how the selected transitions have personally impacted her life.
Transitions occur throughout our lifetime. Recognizing the transition process can provide opportunities to map out the transition to result in more significant benefits. A transition is a process of changing from one state or condition to another. This author chose two transitions to highlight in this paper. The first is discussing the transition from military service back to civilian life. The second is examining the transition of loss because of the sudden death of a loved one. Then the author shall discuss how a life coach can guide through the transition phases for each scenario. Blackaby et al. (2018) advance, the coach’s job is to help clients become free to make informed, God-honoring decisions. As coaches, we inspire and give further information on the topic of transition.
Coach’s encourage reflection and discussion that inspires more profound thought about the process of transitioning. Coach’s will demonstrate to the client how to put the action steps into practice and application, thus guiding them through the transition by setting the course towards better results. During times of transition, individuals can feel the most vulnerable, lost, and have feelings of despair. Coach’s can bring scripture into the sessions to give guidance and encouragement as in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you; declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (New International Version, 1978/2011).
Transition #1: Transitioning from Military Service back to Civilian Life
According to the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (Sokol et al., 2021), over 200,000 service members separate from the military each year. There are various theories and studies that describe the transition from military to civilian life. Sokol et al. (2021) postulate that service members separating from military service are considered vulnerable. This vulnerability varies from individual to individual, and there are myriad variables at play. The first year is the most challenging as the service member attempts to transition back to civilian life roles and responsibilities. Considering the challenges of the transition, which often include adapting to a novel culture, obtaining a new job, and navigating complex interpersonal relationships, we might expect increased suicide rates among transitioning veterans (Sokol et al., 2021). Add to the weight that many service members suffer from physical, psychological, and emotional disorders after military service (Derefinko et al., 2019). In the study the researchers noticed that many veterans do not seek mental health or substance abuse counseling from their qualitative data (Derefinko et al. 2019).
They further suggest a lack of preparation for this transition eliciting solid emotions like anxiety, anger, loneliness, or uselessness. Some individuals join the military as a way out and up from poverty and dysfunctional family situations. When they transition back to civilian life, the support systems that were not in existence when they entered the military are not there. Depending on the level of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses suffered while serving, the veteran can find it difficult nay impossible, to transition properly back into civilian life and maintain a job, home, and relationships without proper counseling or guidance. Research by Krause-Parello and Morales (2018) suggests that service dogs improved veterans’ physical and psychological health, provided a coping resource and a form of social support, and supported sustaining their independence. Approximately sixty percent of veterans continue to meet the criteria for P.T.S.D. despite receiving empirically validated interventions (Krause-Parello et al., 2016; as cited in Krause-Parello & Morales, 2018). The study also revealed that highly trained service dogs help mitigate veterans’ physical and psychological challenges.
Life Coaching Approach to Transition #1
This author has first-hand experience working with veterans and training psychiatric service dogs for them. This author has been a certified service dog trainer and evaluator since 2000 and has trained over twenty post-traumatic stress disorder service dogs and worked directly with the veteran during the transition phase from military life to civilian life in that critical first year. It is important to convey that each veteran is unique in the issues they are experiencing and that the dog being trained must match that individual’s needs. This author works directly with the veteran for two years, preparing the dog and providing coaching to the veteran. When the program is developed, the veteran is asked several questions about what barriers they have and how the dog can assist them in combating those barriers.
The goal of the Lead Dog Service Dog Program through Alaska Dog Works is designed with the individual in mind. A puppy is hand-picked for the veteran to match temperament and lifestyle goals. The puppy and the veteran attend bi-weekly training classes for twenty-four months and are required to pass progress tests. As a life coach, this author is advancing her education and knowledge base to serve her clientele better, expanding the program to not only focus on training the dog to assist the veteran but as a life coach being able to assist the veteran in creating their own S.M.A.R.T. goals, action steps and develop accountability. This author found that including the veteran in the process and teaching the veteran how to train the dog themselves has reaped myriad benefits.
Transition #2: Transitioning through Loss/Sudden Death
Loss of any kind has profound effects on the loved ones left behind. Caregivers to those suffering terminal illness experience diminishing levels surrounding the quality of the relationship, roles, control, well-being, intimacy, health status, social interaction, communication, and opportunities to resolve past issues according to (Loose & Bowd, 1997; Sanders & Saltz-Corley, 2003; as cited in MacCourt et al., 2016).
How caregivers can cope and adapt to relationship and role changes and losses is determined mainly through their ability to manage their grief around these losses (Silverberg, 2007; as cited in MacCourt et al., 2016). When a loved one dies suddenly, there is not an opportunity to transition into their inevitable passing. The sudden death can have detrimental effects on those left, including spouses, children, and even parents. With any loss, having a support system can keep those left behind from falling into depression or other forms of psychological disorders.
A life coach can assist with grief, the preparation and transition when someone is experiencing a terminal illness or dementia and can help those left behind reset their goals and move forward into a new future.
Life Coaching Approach to Transition #2
Life coaching, along with servant leadership, is an excellent approach to assisting those experiencing loss and grief from the sudden death or prolonged terminal illness resulting in the death of a loved one. Giving oneself, listening, and providing constructive conversation will help the individual see a way out of the fog that grief and despair create when a loved one passes on. Working with a life coach will allow the person to experience a different type of counseling focused on setting goals, discovering the future, and benefiting from it—turning a negative experience into a positive one. This author has the first-hand experience with sudden death of her first husband who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1999. This author sought out the assistance of a life coach at that time. The life coach created a plan with action steps to ensure that this author could reach her goals. One goal was to build a successful dog training business. This author turned the loss into an opportunity. The life coach taught me the verse by Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (New International Version, 1978/2011, Joshua 1:9). This author recites this verse the most when she is feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. This author hopes to pay it forward and help others who experience the sudden death of a loved one in the way that this author was helped all those years ago.
Reflection and Conclusion
Life coaches are able to offer their clientele alternatives to counseling by not only having them reflect on the past situation but to teach them how to see through the transition by helping them be accountable in reaching their own goals and moving toward a new path for their future. Psalms 32:8 suggests, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (New International Version, 1978/2011). This author is attending this program to become a life coach as it aligns with her dog training business and with her executive leadership training non-profit that teaches people how to be better in their roles as leaders in their companies. “Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. It enables you to keep growing” (Lawrence Bossidy, as quoted by Blackaby et al., 2018). That quote resonates with this author, who understands that through her own transition experiences how important it is to learn each day and to keep growing. It is this author’s vision to utilize what she learns and to apply to everyday life and to pay it forward to her clientele.
References
Beech, N., Gold, J., & Beech, S. (2017). Military lives: Coaching transitions. European Journal
of Training and Development, 41(5), 434-449. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-02-2017-0010
Blackaby, R. Royall, B. & Pyle, B. (2018). Spiritual leadership coaching: Connecting people to
God’s heart and purposes. Blackaby Ministries International.
Derefinko, K. J., Hallsell, T. A., Isaacs, M. B., Colvin, L. W., Salgado Garcia, F. I., & Bursac, Z.
(2019). Perceived needs of veterans transitioning from the military to civilian life. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 46(3), 384-398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-018-9633-8
Krause-Parello, C. A., & Morales, K. A. (2018). Military veterans and service dogs: A
qualitative inquiry using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Anthrozoös, 31(1), 61-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2018.1406201
MacCourt, P., McLennan, M., Somers, S., & Krawczyk, M. (2017). Effectiveness of a Grief
Intervention for Caregivers of People with Dementia. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, 75(3), 230–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222816652802
New International Version Bible. (2011). The NIV Bible. https://www.thenivbible.com (Original work published 1978)
Webb, K. E. (2019). The COACH Model for Christian Leaders Powerful Leadership Skills for Solving Problems, Reaching Goals, and Developing Others: Morgan James Publishing.
