While there are many possible topics and strategies to include in a coaching practice, Certified Trauma Recovery Coaches focuses on the following guiding principles. These principles are the foundation of an effective and competent coaching practice. When a coach addresses and utilizes these with a client, significant healing can take place.

Principles concerning our work with clients

• Coaches work with clients as equals and peers, not as superiors.
• Coaches function as guides, mentors and teachers.
• Coaches are listeners over talkers.
• Coaches provide endless amounts of compassion and validation to their clients.
• Coaches do not operate on a traditional medical model. They do not see their clients as broken or in need of fixing. They approach their client as an individual who is having a normal reaction to an abnormal experience.
• Coaches operate from a strength based model and believe that their client has the capacity to direct their own healing when provided with the necessary support and encouragement.
• Coaches focus on helping a client build up their strengths, healthy beliefs, and positive coping strategies rather than extinguishing “negative” behaviors and beliefs.
• Coaches provide education about trauma to their clients to help them understand and normalize their experiences.
• Coaches recognize that interpersonal trauma causes individuals to disconnect from themselves, the world and other human beings. They help their client find safe ways to reconnect.
• Coaches help their clients see the system of beliefs that their abusers groomed them to adopt as their own. They help their client to learn the truth about themselves, relationships and the world.
• Coaches model healthy behaviors and beliefs with their clients. They also model healthy relationship skills so that clients learn how to relate to others and themselves.
• Coaches help client’s set their recovery goals and together with their clients they set a path to reaching those goals.

Principles concerning our coaching practice

• We advocate for survivors of trauma in the world at large.
• We never stop working on our own recovery and seek professional help when necessary.
• We acknowledge areas of growth in our coaching skills and seek training, information and supervision to build our strengths in those areas.
• We give back to the survivor community by periodically providing services affordable to those without many financial resources so that high quality coaching services are available to our entire community.