The Significance of Group Coaching For Teens and Young Adults

I'll never forget the first coaching group that I facilitated. I was new to Life Coaching and had been coaching women individually for about six months, and realized how much they would benefit from hearing each other's stories, fears, accomplishments, dreams, resiliency, and deep desires and goals. I held my first group session with six women and the topic was on Self-Forgiveness. After I led a meditation and journaling exercise, I asked who would like to share what they wrote and what came up for them, it was total silence for what felt like eternity and I panicked a bit. I was just about to break the silence when finally one woman raised her hand and softly said "I'll go". As she began to read from her journal she noticed a few women nodding their heads with understanding and she loosened up and her voice grew a bit louder with more confidence. A couple minutes later I saw a few other women had tears rolling down their cheeks while listening to her. When she finished there wasn't a dry eye in the room as the other women all shared one by one, and the rest of the session I sat back and watched these women come into community with each other, supporting and resonating with each other, encouraging and coaching one other. I decided in that moment that there is nothing more empowering and healing than group coaching!

 When we created Extraordinary Purpose for Teens & Young Adults we started only coaching 1:1 for a while. We eventually had the same realization I had when I was coaching women individually, that these kids could really benefit from being in a community together, growing socially, learning how to encourage and empower each other, with more accountability, and overcoming fears together. We were getting clients really awesome results coaching them 1:1, our decision to add in group coaching really stemmed from so many parents concerned about social anxiety and other social dysfunctions, and us recognizing the benefits of these kids hearing each other's questions, goals, life visions, values and passions, and so much more. And we are so happy we made that pivot! Week after week we end our group meetings with laughter, so incredibly inspired by these young adults and them with each other, sharing fears that they overcame, celebrating accomplishments, and just learning and growing together. The hybrid approach of group and 1:1 coaching has proven to be a perfect combination for teens and young adults, as they still get the privacy and special focused attention individually, and get to be part of a tribe of like-minded peers. These groups offer a whole different focus and perspective than the usual bubble of their everyday life with school, homework, jobs, family life, and the friends they interact with everyday. They get an opportunity to show up differently and talk about aspects of themselves and life that aren't typically a focal point for them.

 Click the button below to learn more about the benefits of group coaching, and to join our next group!!