Q. What is life coaching?

A. To put it simply, Life Coaching (also called personal coaching) helps clients move beyond self-limiting concepts and behaviors and assists them in determining and achieving their personal goals. Our focus is on personal integrity, honesty, communication, dreaming big and pursuing and achieving goals that excite you! Our coaches act as guides towards the discovery of our clients' highest visions for themselves and assists them in remaining true to and fulfilling their visions. Each coaching program is customized to individual needs while remaining based on the principles of The Handel Method. Through Life Coaching, you will learn how to design and maintain each area of your life beautifully and in a way that makes you proud.

Q. Is it all about results?

A. Yes and no. If you have a specific goal in mind such as “ I want to lose 100 lbs” or “I want an amazing relationship with my wife” then heck yeah, it’s about the result! Bring it on! We love making stuff happen. If you are interested in an overall improvement in the quality of your life, it’s less about a specific result and more about finding what is blocking you from experiencing life joyfully.

Q. How is life coaching different than psychotherapy?

A. Life coaching is more action-oriented and advice-oriented than therapy. We tell you our opinion based on our perception of your situation, and place a strong emphasis on results. You could say that Life Coaching is much more about the present and the future while psychotherapy focuses on the past. At times, we do delve into the past to root out the source of habits and behaviors, but the emphasis is on implementing change in the present, toward a specific goal for the future.

Q. Who are your clients?

A. Our clients span all age ranges and come from a variety of backgrounds. We work with executives, artists, authors, teachers, nurses, actors, stay-at-home moms, students and even teenagers. Anyone who has an interest in improving one or more areas of his or her life will benefit from life coaching.

Q. Do you ever refuse a client?

A. Yes, if we feel that we won’t be able to help them or if they have a problem that needs a specialized field of study.

Q. How is the coaching done: over the phone or in-person?

A. We generally coach our clients by phone. However, if mutually agreed upon by coach and client, sessions can be held in person. Lately, many of our coaches have been using teleconferencing technology, such as Skype or ichat, which is a free service and allows for face-to-face interaction from two computers equipped with webcams.

Q. How often are clients coached, and how long do sessions last?

A. We tailor our coaching regiment to fit the needs of each client. We generally recommend that sessions be held weekly or twice monthly, and last an hour. Group coaching sessions are held for one hour each week, and span a timeframe of 12 weeks. Some clients use coaching to target a specific problem, and thus use our services for a few months. Other clients integrate coaching into their lives as a regular source of support and inspiration.

Q. Do I have to share personal information with my coach?

A. Well, no, you don’t have to… however, the coaching will be a lot more effective if you do. Of course, you can certainly wait until you build up some trust with your coach, but that shouldn’t take long. We have a very stringent privacy policy so you don’t need to worry about your information getting out without your permission.

Q. What makes The Handel Group methodology unique?

A. What makes our work unique is our focus on Personal IntegrityTM, learning to author your life, and not compromising on your dreams. What also makes us unique is that no other life coaching company has our credentials: We teach at MIT,NYU and Rutgers Business School , we coach some of the top executives in the country, we are career coaches for businessweek.com and we have the highest quality of coaches in the world.

Q. Who becomes a coach?

A. Our coaches come from all different backgrounds; some have Master's degrees, some have experience in education/teaching, some have backgrounds in business. What they all have in common is that they are passionate about personal development. It is important to us that our coaches walk their talk - they need to be living an extraordinary life with an unusual amount of personal integrity.

Q. Are Your coaches certified?

A. Currently there is no regulating body for the Life Coaching industry. There are several organizations that claim to be the “official” certifying body, but, of course, none are. One certainly needs to be aware and choose wisely when looking for a life coach, (as with any service provider) whether certified or not. We at the Handel Group choose to rely on our reputation for great work and on hiring the highest quality life coaches. Look at our Life Coaches Bio’s and you will find a PhD. from MIT, a Lawyer from Harvard, a Masters in Psychology, past business owners and other impressive credentials, but what makes them great Life Coaches is their ongoing training in the Handel Method and their natural intelligence and intuition.

Q. Where are coaches located?

A. We have coaches all over the country. Our corporate offices are located in New York and Connecticut .

Q. So are you all happy 100% of the time?

A. YES! Yes, we are. Just kidding. No. Humans are humans, of course. Sometimes we all get upset, lazy, scared, mean, bored, unsure, etc… We may have a few more tools in the toolbox to get out of it faster, but we are human. At the Handel group our coaches are encouraged to keep their integrity fully in place and to communicate any upsets as they arise with the goal to be as free as possible and an excellent representation of our work. This doesn’t mean they walk around all day with fake smiles plastered on their faces, but they do, however, walk around with an uncommon level of integrity and positive intentions.

Q. What if I can’t afford a private Life Coach?