My name is Jody Bergstrom and I am a Certified Life Strategies Coach. I reside in Billings, MT.
Domestic violence is pervasive in our society. It leaves its victims in a place of hopelessness and fear. The victims start to come out of the darkness and often feel they have nothing. Many of these individuals have the inner strength to overcome the aftermath of being abused. The victims need a guide to help them find a way to reach their inner strength and help them see the light within.
These victims have been programmed by their abusers to think they are nothing or unable to fend for themselves. Victims need a myriad of services and help. Coaching is one of them. In the beginning, meeting with clients in a group, giving them a basic awareness of the process of coaching and what it can help them achieve has been successful. It often leads victims to a place where they are willing to accept the challenge and work one on one with a coach. It is a slow process. Victims need to dispel the myths their abuser has ingrained in their minds. Guiding them to a place where they have their sense of identity back is where the hard work begins. Sitting with a victim and mapping out their fears and goals helps them a great deal. Once they identify what they want and need for themselves, the individual can prioritize what needs to be addressed first and work up from that point the point where they have found a positive self-image. Often this process is lengthy and it can be overwhelming if the try to take on too much. Chunking down the steps is a vital part of the process. The individual can work at their own pace so they don’t have too much coming from within that leads them into a negative place. Keeping them in a safe environment for the session and a safe place mentally is a priority.
Working with victims of violence is difficult. It is hard to separate from the overwhelming amount of emotion coming from the individual you are working with. Staying objective and guiding someone in this mindset takes an internal strength that may require the coach to step back and take a break just like the individual will need. It may mean ending the session and getting set for another place to begin. Keeping both the coach and individual in a safe environment is priority number one.
Coaches choosing to make this a niche in their business need some experience working with other types of cases first. The purpose of gaining experience is to practice maintaining objectivity and gaining skills to facilitate change. Once the coach feels they have come to a place where they are ready to accept this challenge can begin the slow process of working with a victim. Being objective and guiding these individuals to a place where they can call themselves survivors is a rewarding part of a coaches’ experience. This provides the coach an opportunity to not only build experience in a challenging way, it is an awareness you find when you guide a client to freedom in their hearts and minds.
Jody Bergstrom
