LIFE COACHING

Life problems or changes (such as age-related issues, relationship or marital problems, parenting/family changes, retirement, health issues, job change, divorce, grief) can result in a need for either counseling or coaching services. People seeking therapy will have diagnosable symptoms such as stress, anxiety or depression and typically want to focus on alleviating their symptoms and restoring balance and their lives. While individuals seeking coaching may also experienced tension or even distress, their focus is on actively changing their life patterns by visualizing dreams and implementing goals to create a happier and more satisfying life for themselves.

A life or personal coach is an expert in helping people bring about desired life changes, whether clients are "stuck" in a life problem or feel a desire to improve the quality of their future, marriage, career, health or the overall quality of their life. The coaching process is an individualized service where you and the coach together look at your goals and dreams, design an action plan to accomplish the desired changes, then provide feedback and support as the changes are implemented. The hours and service plans are flexible, not based on insurance requirements, diagnosis or weekly 50 minutes sessions. The first session is often a two to three hour planning session, and follow up can be scheduled in shorter time periods either face-to-face or by phone. Fees are similar to counseling fees but are not reimbursed by insurance.

Many personal coaches work entirely by telephone, and clients are scheduled on a national basis. Dr. Phillips philosophy and approach to life coaching includes personal face-to-face interaction with some follow-up by e-mail or telephone. Dr. Phillips believes in the value of taking time apart from normal life circumstances and routines to sit down in an attractive and comfortable environment without distractions in order to focus more completely on desired life improvements.

COUNSELING SERVICES FOR PARENTS

After years of experience as a child, adolescent and family therapist, Dr. Phillips is concentrating upon applying her experience and expertise in assisting and advising parents. Parents are the most important adults in their children's lives, and strategic advice can often be the most direct and practical intervention in helping children cope with problems.

While psychological treatment of children and teens is often effective, the play therapy or counseling can be a lengthy and expensive process. Children often do not understand about therapy and are not motivated to change their behavior. They like the play and may become attached to the play therapist, often deriving satisfaction from the process and improving self-esteem, but rarely do they develop lasting insight into their problems. Adolescents often resist therapy with a "shrink" (as they see it), preferring instead to seek advice from their friends. A good therapist will usually be able to engage the teen to bring about needed improvement but only if the teen is motivated to do so.

Dr. Phillips experience has been that most of the improvement derived from child and adolescent therapy is in consultation with the parents who are able to better understand their children's needs and problems, then learn and implement effective parenting strategies to bring about the desired changes. Over time she has developed effective techniques to work with parents directly to help them change parenting to modify their children's behavior. This process may include some evaluation sessions with the children or adolescents or entire family as well as information-gathering from teachers and school counselors, but the emphasis is on supporting the parents as the most important and effective change agents in the lives of their children. At times the parents marriage will be strained because of the family turmoil created in dealing with their children's problems, and Dr. Phillips can also intervene to help the parents work together as a problem-solving team instead of venting stress upon each other.

Mental health insuranceis usually available to pay for these services as they are cost-effective interventions in treating either diagnosable problems in the children and teenagers or diagnosable stress and anxiety in the parents.

PARENTING COORDINATION

Dr. Phillips has been providing Parenting Coordination(PC) services since 1997, although she is not currently taking new cases. Parenting Coordination is a service for separating or divorced families whose parent conflict makes it difficult or impossible for them to parent their children adequately. The primary goal of the service is to protect the best interests of children during and after divorce. While the divorce process itself is difficult for children, research has shown that the most damage is caused when parents place the children in the middle of the conflict. The PC will facilitate appropriate parent decision-making for the children. If possible the PC will teach conflict-resolution skills or, if this is not possible, provide recommendations or decisions to shield the children from the conflict. The PC and parents will develop a detailed parenting plan or the parents will be assisted in following an existing parenting plan.

PC services can be individualized and developed in several ways, depending whether the parents can co-parent or must parallel parent, whether the services are Court-ordered or voluntary, whether the PC functions as a mediator or mediator/arbitrator, and whether implemented as self pay or paid by mental health insurance.co-parenting implies that the parents can, with PC assistance, plan together with some degree of responsibility and cooperation through compromise. Parents who can co-parent may be able to meet together in sessions with the PC, although "shuttle diplomacy" is sometimes necessary. Parents who have to parallel parent must parent separately and independently with the PC providing the "bridge" between the parents through intervention and decision-making to structure appropriate parenting for the children.

Most PC services are Court-ordered, self-pay, for parents who must parallel parent, and the PC functions as a mediator/arbitrator who can make decisions in lieu of the Court although always subject to judicial review. In some cases parents enter PC services voluntarily, with the PC providing family therapy services to the separated families, and mental health insurance may be available for these therapeutic services. Other combinations of PC services are available, but Court-based PC arbitration services must always be self-pay.

The preferred method to investigate PC services is for one or both attorneys to contact the PC to discuss referral information. This more formal process will avoid the appearance of impartiality if one parent contacts the PC directly before the other. Dr. Phillips can provide background information and a sample Court Order to the attorneys who will then help the parents decide upon a PC or submit names to the Judge. If parents are requesting Dr. Phillips to provide PC family therapy services, the parents can both contact Dr. Phillips and schedule a joint discussion session.

PC services typically involve a range of skills including knowledge of child development, family and divorce issues, parenting, co-parenting and parallel parenting, therapeutic services, conflict resolution for high conflict parents, mediation and arbitration, legal issues as well as effects of domestic violence, substance abuse and child abuse on families. It is recommended that a PC have appropriate training and five years of experience as a PC. National level training is provided through the Association of Families and Conciliation Courts.

Dr. Phillips skills, training and experience meet the standards described above. Her many years of experience as a child, adolescent and family therapist provide a substantial background of experience to assist children and families dealing with high conflict divorces.

FORENSIC EVALUATIONS

Personality/Mental Status Evaluations. Dr. Phillips is available to perform personality evaluations for individuals involved in family court issues, not including criminal court cases. In most cases these evaluations are Court-ordered, although they can also be requested by individuals through their attorney. Dr. Phillips will formulate an evaluation plan based upon the forensic questions involving interviews and psychological testing, possibly including collateral interviews and information gathering. The attorney or attorneys involved should call Dr. Phillips to discuss the evaluation needs and request a copy of her protocol.

Parenting Evaluations. Dr. Phillips is also experienced in providing parenting evaluations when Court-ordered or requested by an attorney or attorneys. These evaluations will include interviews and assessments of various aspects of parenting and parent-child observations. Personality testing will be included only as needed or as specifically requested by the Court.

Child Custody Evaluations. Dr. Phillips provides very comprehensive child custody evaluations which include personality testing and parent assessment of mother and father as well as caretakers or significant others when specifically requested. Dr. Phillips evaluations will always include gathering a great deal of information about the child or children and parent-child observations, including an office observation and home visit. When needed, Dr. Phillips child custody evaluations will include careful consideration of allegations about parenting problems. The suggested referral procedure is for both attorneys to contact Dr. Phillips to discuss the case, request a copy of her protocol and prepare a Court order which will address the evaluation issues in the case. Currently Dr Phillips is not taking referrals for child custody evaluations.

ATTORNEY CONSULTATION; EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY

Dr. Phillips provides consultation to attorneys in family court matters including a review of materials and assessments and background information about issues such as child development, parenting, divorce, child abuse or domestic violence. She is also available to provide expert witness testimony in these areas. The appropriate referral procedure is for the attorney to contact Dr. Phillips to discuss the case.