The Benefit of Having an Emotional Regulation Coach

What is the benefit of having an emotional regulation coach?  This is a question I have been asked many times in my professional life. Initially I struggled with the answer to this query, but now I have grown more comfortable with giving a succinct answer.

Emotional Regulation Coaching is most beneficial when an individual realizes that the feelings and expressions of their emotional are not serving them in their personal and or professional life.  Having emotions is not only normal and natural…it is what makes us human!  However, as humans, we depend on others to care for us and others depend on us to give back.  In a work situation, we depend on our co-workers, management, and staff to be dependable and honest for any business (large or small) to operate at maximum effectiveness.

This sharing of care, dependability and honesty requires each person to regulate emotional expressions to serve the situation at hand.  The bedrock of all cultural activity is the social awareness and emotional skills of its members.

When these skills are not well formed, or temporarily get out of control, so that your life is not served by them, that is the time a coach can help. Coaching is not therapy! You are in control and guide the process.  The job of a coach is to listen, witness and offer some commonsense guidelines as you both explore what it is to be human and how to optimize your innate qualities to amplify personal and professional wellbeing and success.

Another skill of a good emotional coach is best exemplified by this wonderful little exchange between Winnie the Pooh and Piglet:

“Today was a difficult day.” said Pooh.

There was a pause.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet.

"No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."

"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.

"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.

"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.

"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."

And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right." - A.A. Milne