Hey sleep enthusiast, first off I want to celebrate your looking for support with your sleep struggles! I know what it’s like to be frustrated by night, trying your best to get through your days with tactical coffees, grinning and bearing it, whilst always trying to catch up on rest.
As a sleep coach, I’m happy that you’ve found this guide and hope it may bring some clarity on things to consider when finding a sleep coach, or any other kind of coach. Because the coach and coachee relationship is an important place for you to feel safe, seen and supported in meeting your goals.
When it comes to finding a coach, there are many options to choose from and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. This guide offers some practical factors to look into before exploring what makes a coaching relationship vibe for your best results (spoiler alert - your connection with the coach and sharing core values is where the magic happens).
If there's a section that calls you, feel free to jump straight to that, or you're welcome to get into the whole thing:
Relevant skills, qualifications and experience in a coach
When a coach has relevant skills, qualifications and specialised experience, they can effectively identify patterns in behaviour, provide tailored advice, and develop individual strategies to help clients overcome obstacles. The information they share on their websites, linkedin and other social media should give you information about these points. You can also ask any specific questions you may have to see how their offer may support your needs.
When it comes to sleep coaching specifically, there are different approaches that can be taken. A well-known therapy is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI), which is part of the Restful Sleep offering. I draw on this with a blend of holistic sleep coaching and embodiment practices to offer a bespoke coaching experience based on the individual needs of the client.
Testimonials, results and personal recommendations
Whilst you are looking into a coach’s credentials, it is also helpful to look for information that shows you who they have helped before and how they rate the service. In particular, testimonials or customer success stories can be insightful as you can find out if the coach has been able to get results for people who have similar struggles to you.
You can check out some of the sleep success stories from previous Restful Sleep clients and see how they may resonate for you. Some former scenarios I have helped clients to explore and resolve their sleep struggles include:
You can also find Restful Sleep testimonials on the one on one sleep coaching page. Again, hold in mind that you are welcome to enquire with a coach to see if they have worked with clients with sleep struggles that are similar to yours, or what they may be able to recommend for your particular situation.
Logistics and time commitment
Being able to access coaching online brings more freedom and choice, however it also comes with some practicalities to consider in terms of time zones and availability for sessions.
As well as bringing the time options that may work for your schedule, it’s also worth looking at what kind of time commitments coaches offer with their packages, because it’s often not just about the one on one sessions.
Accountability is a core component of creating new habits and getting results through coaching, so bear in mind that you may need to allocate time to activities between sessions, as well as checking in with your coach. Every coach will have a different offering so consider how this may be able to fit in with your lifestyle, time available for self-development and budget.
Preparing to make the most of a free discovery call with a coach
So you’ve found a coach who has relevant qualifications, skills and experience in helping people to solve problems like yours.
This is where you will get the opportunity to ask any questions from the points above, as well as get to know the coach. The call will also give you a feel for how it might be to work together, so it can be helpful to leave time after your call to write some notes about the experience. Covering any useful information that you gathered, as well as how the connection between you was. You can arrange a free Restful Sleep discovery call here.
Assessing the connection when finding a coach
There are various different guides out there for how to assess personal qualities and how you can connect with a coach, for example: you could check out Tony Robbins’ recommended attributes to look for, or The Angry Therapist’s things to look for in a coach on Psychology Today. These are helpful in looking at typical qualities in a coach that can be supportive and can make for a great starting point to inspire what your own list may look like.
Ultimately though, a connection between people is a subjective experience. As you will be sharing openly about personal details of your life (some you most likely would not volunteer freely in regular conversation), it takes a willingness to be vulnerable to get the most from your coaching. This is why having similar values to a coach can bring ease in feeling safe to express yourself, as well as trust in being understood. If you'd like to know more about the Restful Sleep core values, you can read about them here.
I hope you have found this guide helpful for considering what you may need when it comes to finding a sleep coach who will be able to best support you. All of the information about Restful Sleep coaching is available here, if you have any questions you'd be welcome to drop me a message or we can talk in a free discovery call.
Stay curious,
Maša
