Leslie Wier
Forum Replies Created
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Summary Post
Main Takeaways:
– I see Partswork as a tool primarily used for facilitating deep internal transformation. Its purpose is to generate awareness and understanding of one’s internal wilderness, which is often the first step needed in generating movement forward and integrating new ways of being.
– I feel Partswork is most efficiently used with clients who have a particular foundation in place – a decent sense of self understanding and awareness and certain psychological resources (non-judgement, self-compassion, resilience), and an understanding of coaching as well as a relationship with me already. Certainly these things don’t have to necessarily be solidly in place, but I would find it very challenging to do Partswork with someone who doesn’t because it’s a methodology that’s very draining for me as the coach. It’s certainly not something that I would start off using with a brand new client.
– The tracking part of Partswork is one of the most valuable and practical takeaways I have. Tracking language and when a client might be in different parts really helps me to be more in tune with the client. They don’t necessarily need to be aware of it, but when I am then I’m able to ask some powerful questions designed to bring awareness to what I’ve noticed within the client.
– The Soul, being a critical part of Partswork, is something that a person needs to be able to access. If they can’t, I can see Partswork being very difficult. At the same time, Partswork may be a great way for them to practice accessing the Soul and becoming more comfortable with sitting in that space. In this way I see Partswork as a path towards developing authenticity and truth for a client which I feel is a major goal in coaching. It’s a tool that brings a person more in alignment with their own truth.
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Summary Post
Main takeaways:Be flexible. Every person is different and learns differently, so the way I approach guiding and coaching needs to be informed by that person’s individual needs. I’ve found that doing a pre-coaching questionnaire that asks questions like, “How do you best learn?” and “What kind of support do you find helpful?” has been very helpful for me in meeting each client’s needs. One of my clients appreciates humor and having that information early on has made it easy to create a space where he feels comfortable. Another client told me that she needs a lot of time to think about things, so I make sure to give her the space to speak with lots of pauses. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to practice meeting each person’s needs. I find this also applies to the idea of long-term coaching, and this coming week I’m looking forward to being able to explore the long term with one of my clients now that we’ve bee working together for a few weeks.
Focus on strengths. In Positive Psychology, strengths are the collection of a person’s unique abilities, interests, and virtues that contribute to their positive flourishing. I think it’s important as the coach to both formally (with assessments) and informally (through conversation and getting to know the client) take stock of a client’s strengths in order to help design a program that best fits them. For example, I probably wouldn’t use the Four Shields model with someone who isn’t interested in connecting with nature.
Diversify your toolbox. This may not apply to everyone, but for me at least I need to continuously diversify and expand my coaching toolbox. Some people may decide that they only want to do Nature Connected coaching and with that being their niche, the only clients they take are those who would resonate with nature connected coaching tools. For myself, I realize I like being able to work with a diverse group of people and methodologies, so I want to become experienced with a variety of different tools.
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Initial Post
I’m finding this post to be a little challenging to write, mostly because I’ve realized that Partswork is not a tool that I want to be using right now in my coaching. I find Partswork to be exhausting for me as the coach and I also realize that it’s something that is not as accessible for many clients as some other tools and methodologies are.
I could see using Partswork with a client who has done a lot of internal work on themselves already and is ready to dive even deeper into that work. Because paying attention to language used is so important, I think it needs to be used with someone who can articulate themselves well and generally has experience talking about and exploring their inner wilderness. For people who are newer to self-exploration, I feel like Partswork could be a challenge.
So hypothetically speaking, I could see Partswork being used in a couple of different ways with the client. It could be used from the very beginning, almost like a specific program package the coach would offer for potential clients. You might advertise Partswork as one of your primary coaching methodologies like these businesses do: (The system will not recognize my post with the links in the text or embedded as html, so I’ve included the names)
Mandala Consulting, LLC
Center for Creative ChoiceIt could also be something that the coach realizes might be helpful for a client in the midst of working with them, that the coach then suggests as a potential methodology for moving forward with the client. One thing that comes to mind when thinking about Partswork as a tool to use with clients, and any tool or methodology in general, has to do with client Strengths. I think it’s important to choose tools and methodologies that fit the Strengths of a client, and so having a robust toolbox is important. At the same time, if you know all you want to do is Partswork, then advertising as such would essentially be your niche. I think because I work with a lot of different, diverse groups of people in my coaching right now, the former is more important for me.
One of the biggest benefits of learning about Partswork for me is in how it’s improved my tracking. In this sense, I would still like to keep Partswork in mind as a coach because I’m able to start seeing different parts within my client as I’m coaching and then pick up on interjects and internal dynamics as a result. Paying attention to the different parts I see in a client helps me to see ambivalence also, which is something I heavily focus on when using Motivational Interviewing.
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Hi all! For some reason the learning center will let me post other replies, but won’t let me post my initial post. Trying to get it up but I appreciate your patience!
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David what an interesting coaching situation, and I can’t help but think that you are the perfect coach for her. I historically have always felt challenged by being vulnerable with the opposite sex but around you I’ve always felt very comfortable and safe. I know you’ll be able to create a safe space for growth for her.
I think the idea of explaining snap backs to clients can be incredibly validating for them. A while back I was reading a book on habit change and the way it was described was really to easy to understand. When you’re creating new habits and ways of being, in your brain you’re not erasing the old habits and patterns, you’re writing over them. So, the old patterns will peek through from time to time, and will certainly still be visible in the beginning when you’ve only just started writing new patterns. I’ve always found that metaphor resonates well.
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Maria it sounds like you’ve really put a lot of work into setting up that initial Partswork session! Would you be open to sharing the materials you developed for it? I always find it helpful to see examples of how other coaches do things in order to inform my own practice. No worries if not!
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Gina something you said stuck out to me and it’s not something I had really explicitly considered before in regards to Partswork, “…one can become lost or feel unstable quickly. I realize the importance of assisting the client in having a grounded state before beginning the process.” You’re absolutely right of course, and just making a connection, this reminded me of resourcing. Just another context in which resourcing could be a powerful way to support a client.
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Maria this is a fantastic point, “The client needs to have a strong understanding of the role of Soul as a place of non-judgement, radical self-acceptance, while being self-directive to the parts as well.” And thinking about this, I could see that someone who is highly critical of themselves and unable to practice self-compassion may have a very difficult time with Partswork. I wonder if that might necessitate first developing a foundation of non-judgement and radical self-acceptance before diving into Parswork with a client. I do think that a specific set of internal psychological resources could make Partwork more effective for a client.
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David I often have the same fears about the in-between sessions! The question you asked at the end, “What is going to happen between sessions that could blow this work we’ve done to pieces?” sparked something in me. What if at the end of a session we asked a client, “What needs to happen between our sessions to make sure the work we’ve done in our sessions sticks?” That feels like a great place to partner with the client for accountability and longevity of that “intention” that’s set in threshold.
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Great question Maria! One thing that’s really become more clear for me recently is the idea of transitional coaching vs. transformational coaching. While both are goal oriented, I think transitional style coaching is more in alignment with what I do for Noom as a health coach – setting goals based on a wellness vision, identifying strategies for achieving those goals and strategizing for accountability. It’s very tangible. In contrast you have transformational coaching which is exactly what it sounds like – developing awareness for deep internal transformation. It’s often amorphous and intangible. Sometimes they overlap. The skills at the ACC and PCC levels of certification for the ICF are really in alignment more with the former while the skills for the MCC level of certification with the latter. I think Partswork is probably more ideal for the latter also. If I have a 30 minute health coaching session with a client, Partswork certainly isn’t ideal. In a situation like that I need to look at how to help move the client forward in the most efficient way, and Partswork isn’t it. But if a client is looking to develop a deeper awareness and understanding of themselves long term, I think Partswork could be great.
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Maria it sounds like your client is in the process of developing resilience when she experiences snapbacks. I’ve found I really struggle when clients move slowly and have low resilience because I want so deeply for them to achieve everything that they want for themselves. I have to remind myself to meet them where they are, and if that means going slow then I have to slow down too. That’s hard because I’m so goal driven and always rushing forward, haha. I think in that way, coaching has really helped to change my brain too.
I’ve found with clients in this space, working explicitly on self-compassion has some significant positive impacts. I have a client within Noom right now that your post reminds me of and every time I think she’s made progress forward, her brain snaps her back into the old ways of being. It’s just a constant chipping away at the earth until eventually the water can flow on in it’s own and create a river, then a grand canyon 😀
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Thanks for picking up on matching my language to their language Maria! This is actually something that I’ve noticed is an important ICF competency and something that’s explicitly stated in the benchmarks for the PCC certification level, so this is definitely something that’s been on my radar.
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David thank you so much for the kind words!
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Sarah it sounds like the content in this module was very validating for you! I’ve found that in my past experiences learning about the brain and trauma, I’ve also found that it’s been the gateway for me to change how I perceive my struggles. This just shows the value that explicit education around the brain can have for clients, and how we might play a role in conveying that information is endless. You said, “Understanding what is happening within myself also gives me a better understanding of what is happening with my clients” and I strongly feel that’s one of the foremost skills in developing presence as a coach. There’s so much in the shared human experience 😀
