Coaching Case Study: Prevent Burnout and Live a Balanced Life

Coaching Case Study By Felwa Alassaf
(Motherhood Coach/Parent Coach, SAUDI ARABIA)

1. Who are the main players in this case study

Sara is a divorced mother of four. She is 41 years old. She is my cousin and she kindly volunteered to perform this coaching session.

2. What is the core problem or challenge you applied your coaching skills to?

The core problem is that she had her children early when she was about 17 years old and since then she completely forgot about herself while taking care of them. Now, they are all grown up and suddenly she found herself with no life as her life revolved around her children. She feels that she is lost, with no self-esteem, and she feels that she neglected herself for the sake of her children. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize this problem until it was too late as she says.

2. What specific coaching skills or approach did you use in this case?

Well, in the beginning I listened carefully and found that she got more comfortable with me by listening to her and during the session I asked her powerful and open questions and these questions made her really aware of her real problem and it felt like a wake-up call to her.

I also used the Wheel of Life Technique. (explanation below)

3. Explain your process in detail

I explained to her the wheel of life technique and that one’s life should be balanced. You can enjoy every aspect of life while not neglecting the other. For example, your self, social life, family life, and business life.

I told her first to write an agenda that includes her appointments. for instance, instead of going to the supermarket 3 times a week, she managed to make it once a week and that saved her time to do her own things. Also, she became more organized because now she can see her weekly agenda and find her free slots and block them to relax or do what ever she wants to her self.

When she saw everything written infront of her. She was so surprised and amazed of how her time was wasted on non important things or on repetitive tasks.

4. What were the results of your process? Was your coaching/ program effective? Why? Why not?

As I mentioned earlier, she was surprised actually from the result as she organized her life week by week. She also made time for herself to do what pleases her. She also minimized her motherhood role because it was overly practiced as her children are now grown up and do not need her that much as before.

5. If you could approach this problem again, what would you do differently?

It depends on the case and most importantly the problem time. To be honest, as a mother myself I empathized with her because I really felt her problem and got attached to it to the extent that I kept on thinking about her for a few days after the session ended. Unfortunately, this feeling bothered me. So next time, I will try not to have empathy too much with my client because I felt that it would ruin my relationship with my client.

6. What are the top 3 things you learnt from this experience?

1. Not to neglect myself because as a mother I know that you can tend to forget yourself as life goes on and this client reminded me of that.
2. Have a weekly or monthly plan because when everything is written in front of you its easier to realize it and be aware of it more and you can prioritize easily.
3. To be a professional coach and not to empathize with my client too much.