The final session
Since her adult son cut her out of his life a year ago, my client Pat had been trying to manage a complex mix of feelings: self-blame, grief, and despair. Each time we met, it seemed that she had taken one step forward and one step back.
It was distressing to witness Pat’s pain, but I had to remind myself that I don’t have a magic wand. A coach’s role is not about fixing everything for our clients (some things are not fixable!); it is about creating in our clients a sense of mobility and self-efficacy.
Over the past 12 months, I had helped Pat to develop some self-care and survival strategies, so
