What Happens One-on-One

Format
After meeting one-on-one for up to 90 minutes in a first session and assessing where you are in the change process, I typically create an individualized plan based on information you have shared. The plan is tailored to your needs and timelines, and I usually e-mail it to you. Again, we may be targeting life balance / career change or job search situations. Formats used with previous clients include hourly sessions over a period of time varying from weekly to monthly, as well as intensive sessions, working for the better part of a day on consecutive days or around the weekend. Weekly follow up, which may be by phone, is included with the intensive packages. I encourage you to commit for a series of sessions, and, in the case of exploring career change, at least a three month program. (I take cash, check or PayPal by way of payment.) When I work with someone on an intensive basis my fee is based on half or whole day rates, generating savings for you.

It is imperative to view career development as a "process" rather than a one-time "fix," and it represents an investment in your current and future happiness, in your life and in your work. Career development and life planning / life integration are often areas of our daily existence to which we do not consciously devote focused attention, that is, until we find ourselves in some state of dis-ease regarding work / job or at an important life decision point. In terms of process, this also happens from the inside to the outside, internally to externally. The process is based on personal reflection and making time for musing and contemplation to occur; that has to become intentional. For most of us career development is a continual growth process that flourishes with periodic cultivation. On occasion I suggest various exercises and processes to be explored and most often we would debrief those together in a session.

While I am grounded in the Health Realization orientation and use of The Highlands Ability Battery, I also often recommend books and periodicals to clients as they explore various avenues.

Often I will meet with a client and we work together for a period of time clarifying focus and goals. Then the client may transition to one of my job search success teams, which is a small group format designed to help individuals continue in their job search with support of others also in the job search and designed around weekly goal setting.

My roles
I function as a listener first and foremost; as well as process guide; mirror of reality - the marketplace or wider world, reflecting what you have said; as a coach, asking appropriate, sometimes challenging, questions; mentor encouraging growth; objective third person who views your situation from another perspective and can give feedback about that; counselor, maintaining confidentiality and encouraging you to draw on your resources.

As a licensed counselor in Georgia I am bound to maintain confidentiality of the content of our sessions. What you share will remain between us, with the exception of information regarding harm, to yourself to anyone else. That information must be shared with proper authorities.

Client role
Your role is to explore what is happening at present in your life and to visualize a better, more healthy and meaningful life for yourself. You commit to contemplation, consideration, and change that points toward a more fulfilling life.

Our roles
We collaborate in identifying what represents a more creative, meaningful life for you, examining values, personal strengths, options, future expectations, market realities and other factors that may have significance for you. Then you create an action plan to move forward, and I encourage and support you in reaching those goals.

Where
Atlanta area clients meet in my Buckhead office, ideally for at least the initial session. Working by phone, e-mail, in-person and combinations are also possible.

What
Toxic work environments, mismatch in job or industry, imbalance between work life and personal life, values conflicts, dual career couples, lawyers unhappy in the practice of law are situations clients have presented over the course of the last ten years.

I look forward to talking with you and determining how we can work together in a collaborative manner to meet your goals.