Life transitions (moving, diagnosis, new parenthood, career change)
🔎 Client Situation: Life Transitions
Client is navigating a major life change such as relocation, diagnosis, parenthood, job loss, retirement, career shift, relationship change, or loss. They may feel uncertain, grieving, overwhelmed, or excited and anxious at once.
⚡ Techniques & How to Use Them
1. Transition Timeline
- How: Create a visual or written timeline showing life before, during, and after the transition. Reflect on what’s ending, what’s emerging, and what’s unknown.
- When: To bring clarity, acknowledge emotions, and create a sense of movement.
2. Life Chapter Reframing
- How: Frame the transition as the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Ask: “What title would you give this new chapter?”
- When: When the client is resisting or grieving change.
3. Identity Check-In
- How: Explore how the client’s identity is shifting (e.g., “Who am I now?”). Ask: “What parts of you are evolving? What’s staying true?”
- When: During transitions that redefine roles or sense of self (e.g., new parent, retiree).
4. Emotional Acknowledgment and Space
- How: Create space to name and normalize mixed emotions: grief, fear, guilt, relief, hope.
- When: When the client feels emotionally overwhelmed or stuck.
5. Strengths Reflection
- How: Explore previous transitions the client has navigated. What strengths helped them then? How might those support them now?
- When: To build self-trust and resilience.
6. Support Mapping
- How: Identify sources of support (people, practices, communities). Ask: “Who or what can support you through this change?”
- When: When the client feels isolated or ungrounded.
7. Values Alignment Check
- How: Clarify which values the transition supports or challenges. Ask: “What value do you want to stay connected to during this time?”
- When: When motivation or meaning feels unclear.
8. Future Vision Anchoring
- How: Guide the client to visualize life 3–6 months post-transition. Ask: “What do you want to be true then?”
- When: When the future feels uncertain or too far away.
9. Ritual or Release Practice
- How: Encourage the client to symbolically release what’s ending (e.g., writing a letter, closing a journal, creating a ceremony).
- When: When the client is holding onto a past version of life or self.
10. Small Wins Strategy
- How: Break down goals into simple next steps. Celebrate tiny wins to build confidence through transition.
- When: When progress feels daunting or stalled.
🔎 Powerful Coaching Questions
- “What’s ending, what’s beginning, and what’s still unclear?”
- “Who are you becoming through this transition?”
- “What support do you need most right now?”
- “What do you want to remember or carry with you into this next phase?”
- “What would self-compassion look like in this season of your life?”
Tip: Transitions are both disorienting and transformational. Your role is to hold space, normalize the in-between, and support reconnection to identity, values, and vision.