Coaching and Support
It is easier to sustain your momentum if you enlist the help of others who can provide both encouragement and a sense of accountability. Spirited Life builds those support mechanisms into the program, making lasting change more likely.
At the Spirited Life workshops, you will divide into small groups with other clergy for in-depth discussion and reflection in a safe space. You are invited to correspond and connect in whatever manner suits the group, both during the program and beyond.
Leading these small group discussions are a group of highly trained wellness advocates. One of them will be available to serve as your coach, advocate, and source of support and resources throughout Spirited Life. We understand that your goals for the program and the amount of time you have to devote to it may evolve over time. So we enable you to select the level of engagement you wish to have with your wellness advocate, knowing that you can adjust it at any stage of the two-year program.
Your wellness advocate can provide the types of support noted on the tabs below and will work with you to identify the levels of engagement most appropriate for you.
Coaching
If you elect to engage in a coaching-based relationship with your wellness advocate, he or she will arrange regular phone conversations, establishing a consistent pattern of contact. During those calls, you can expect your advocate to ask lots of questions designed to evoke self-reflection. You'll work together to name goals and an action plan to achieve your vision of wellness. Your advocate will help you to discover and reinforce your core values and strengths and to identify and resolve potential obstacles. He or she will also help you create an accountability structure to reinforce your efforts.
Resource Support & Advocacy
If you elect to use your wellness advocate for resource support, you can expect to spend time articulating the areas in which you have most need of support. Your wellness advocate, in turn, will act both as concierge (researching and identifying specific resources) and as advocate (encouraging you to take action or responsibility for initiating these contacts.) You'll engage with your wellness advocate on an as-needed basis, and he or she will check in occasionally to make sure that your need has been met.
Social Support
You can set up monthly phone calls or emails with your wellness advocate, who will serve as a non-judgmental sounding board for issues that crop up in your day-to-day life or ministry. For the most part, they'll simply reflect back to you what they hear (no probing or counseling), but they'll also listen for signs of change, indicating that you might be interested in setting goals or obtaining resources that can help.
Spirited Life Contact
Your wellness advocate can serve your primary contact within Spirited Life -- a person to ask questions about the program. He or she will check in with you monthly via email and send the occasional resource or program news that you might be interested in. You're not obligated to respond; we'll simply be here if you need us.