Chad Verigin, life coaching instructor at Rhodes College
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) cites enhanced decision-making skills, fresh perspectives on personal challenges, and increased confidence as benefits of using a professional life coach. These benefits are enjoyed not only by clients, but also by coaches themselves. According to the ICF, “those who undertake coaching also can expect appreciable improvement in productivity, satisfaction with life and work, and the attainment of relevant goals.” (ICF, 2016)
The benefits of life coaching to both client and coach are clear at Rhodes Wellness College, where instructor Chad Verigin guides students toward fulfillment of their personal and professional goals.
Verigin has witnessed the transformative aspect of coaching school firsthand as a professional counsellor, former wellness program coordinator, and current life coaching instructor for the college. Through evidence-based training and experiential learning principles, he and his fellow instructors help life coaching hopefuls find and follow their individual sense of purpose.
Fostering a Passion for Helping Others in an Experiential Learning Environment
“There’s something about Rhodes in particular that really speaks to people who are seeking purpose in their life, seeking that direction,” Verigin explains. He believes that those who are great listeners and supportive friends are often predisposed to excelling in this industry.
Listening “empathically and mindfully” is cited by the ICF as a fundamental coaching skill. (ICF, 2016) At Rhodes College, students hone their mindful listening skills in hands-on, experiential classrooms where instructors like Verigin encourage them to address personal challenges through collaborative exercises and discussion.
“It’s both a science and an art,” he explains. “And so many people, even if they don’t become counsellors or coaches, they take this education and they make themselves better and their families better and their lives better.”
Helping Students from Diverse Backgrounds Develop Diverse Coaching Niches
People from all walks of life choose to develop their coaching and counselling skills at training institutes like Rhodes Wellness College. Students bring vibrantly diverse skillsets and backgrounds to Verigin’s classes, which he says helps them broaden their perspectives and fine-tune their coaching specialties.
When coaching career opportunities exist in fields as varied as corporate counselling, general life skills training, addictions counselling, and many more, these diverse personal backgrounds can help students find their niches.
“Everybody’s got something they’re passionate about and excited about,” he shares. “There’s no point in us putting out 14 coaches that are exactly the same. I want to go to a coach that speaks to me personally.”
Diverse individuals come together to learn and grow in life coaching courses
Meditation: Showing Students in Life Skills Training the Power of Presence
Along with his counselling credentials, Verigin has trained in hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming (NLP). Described by NLP Canada’s Linda R. Ferguson as “techniques for changing perception,” NLP can be used to facilitate relaxed, focused, and meditative states that help individuals centre themselves in the present moment. (Ferguson, 2014)
At Rhodes College, Verigin draws on NLP language patterning skills to guide his students through 20 minutes of meditation at the beginning of each coaching class. He finds that practicing meditation and purposeful presence helps his students meet the day’s work with clear and open minds.
Once experiencing the sense of “being in the now” offered by meditation, Verigin says that the vast majority of his students continue to use meditation in their own professional coaching and counselling practices. Building rapport with clients, handling challenging situations, and trusting in your own abilities as a life skills coach can all be made easier with the clarity that comes from being truly present.
Facilitating the ‘Work of Warriors’ in Life Skills Coach School and Beyond
Discovering this inner peace, purpose, and strength is no small feat. When students arrive at counselling and coaching training schools like Rhodes Wellness College, Verigin believes they are taking their first step down an exciting and challenging path.
“They’re embarking on an adventure,” he shares. “You know, this isn’t plumbing school. They’re coming in here and they’re going to really open up to a new understanding of themselves and the world.” With the right skills, knowledge, and sense of purpose, graduates of counselling and coaching programs can come full circle: fueling their passions by helping clients follow passions of their own. To Verigin and his peers in the coaching community, these complex, positive transformations are what the work is all about.
“This is the work of warriors,” he says. “This is strong, powerful work, and it changes things.”
Are you ready to begin your own meaningful coaching or counselling career with life skills training in Vancouver?
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Sources:
International Coaching Federation. (2016). 2016 ICF Global Coaching Study. Retrieved from CoachFederation.org/2016study
Linda R. Ferguson. (2014). Living Your Purpose: The Heart of NLP. Victoria, BC: FriesenPress.
Walsh, L. (Interviewer) and Verigin, C. (Interviewee). (2016). July 22 Phone Interview [Interview transcript].
