Gifted Coaching FAQs

Why would it be important for me to work with a gifted coach?

Mentally speaking, gifted people often work more by “skip-stepping” and “meta-thinking” through ideas and feelings rather than going linearly via step-by-step logic. In working with a gifted coach who understands - and shares - this statistically uncommon mental pattern and rhythm, gifted clients often find relief for being able to move at their own pace while simultaneously being understood by their coach. Gifted clients also benefit immensely from the insight provided by their coach's knowledge of the mechanisms and structure of the gifted mind. Gifted coaching is both a logic process - learning how one's gifted mind works and how to use it well -, and an emotional process - feeling safe to be and explore one's gifted self in the presence of a gifted professional who understands.

What are your coaches' qualifications?
First and foremost, we require that all the coaches in our network be themselves gifted and have gone through their own giftedness discovery and integration journey. More formally, we require that they have training in three areas: basic psychology principles, coaching techniques, and working with gifted populations. Some of our coaches are licensed psychologists (though currently we do not offer therapy as a service), and we all have advanced degrees. Many of our coaches have followed extensive training with our founding director Jennifer Harvey Sallin via her training courses, as well as ongoing individual training and supervision sessions.
Do you offer therapy for gifted people?
Generally, we do not offer therapy for gifted people, but our coach Fabienne Wydler does offer some Root Cause Therapy sessions within the context of giftedness integration work. You can see our Gifted Therapy page for more information and for resources and recommendations for finding a good gifted therapist.
How can I know if I need coaching or therapy?
Most generally speaking, coaching is forward-looking and creative toward building a future, while therapy is backward-looking and therapeutic toward healing your past. Oftentimes, therapy is a process that prepares one to fully engage in the coaching dynamic, as it is easier to take constructive action when past wounds are healed. Another way of looking at the difference between the approaches is that therapy is aimed at bringing one back to "neutral" (healthy), while coaching is aimed at moving forward toward higher levels of thriving. Coaching does not handle crisis situations or predominantly negative emotions; it requires clients to be in a stable and constructive state of mind, able to learn and apply insights in real time.

How do coaching / giftedness integration sessions work?

The number, frequency and length of sessions depends on your needs and goals. Some clients wanting to integrate specific aspects of their giftedness take only a few sessions. More often, clients desire ongoing support for deeper integration, career development, relationships, parenting, or other more complex goals. Clients sometimes work with us for months or even years, sometimes with periods of pause in between a series of sessions.

Our coaches all work via zoom, and we also work in person, when possible. Billing and payment is done directly with your coach in their currency, usually via wise.com or Paypal.

Which languages do your coaches speak?

We offer sessions in the following languages: English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Swedish.

I'm working on several goals at once. Can I create a custom coaching plan to work on them all?

Many times, gifted clients are working on several themes at once or consecutively, such as entrepreneurial or career goals, self-care goals, and parenting goals. You can work with more than one coach of our coaches consecutively or simultaneously, depending on your needs and the specialty of our coaches.