Neurodiverse Couples Coaching.What’s the difference between coaching and counseling? Relational coaches focus on creating a new life path for the couple to achieve certain goals. Cognitive behavioral therapy and strategies are used in which to meet those goals. Counselors (therapists) focus on specific problems and look into emotional resolutions through a psychological lens, finding solutions to those specific problems, while making ‘healing’ as one of the main objectives.
Neurodiverse Couples Coaching
How are coaching and counseling similar? While coaching can be therapeutic, it is not therapy. This would also depend on the counselor’s approach; some approaches in counseling are similar to coaches in that they focus on solution-oriented change. There is room for both coaching and counseling in the service of helping others.
Coaching is a collaborative process with clients in a thought provoking and creative way that inspires them to maximize their desire to move forward or change behavior to reach their desired results.
Traditional marriage counseling is not effective with neurodiverse couples. The asperger (AS) partner, typically the husband, and neurotypical (NT) wife speak different languages and process information quite differently. The nuerodiverse coach acts as a translator interpreting behavior that may appear to be odd, unkind, and unloving to both partners. Sometimes asperger behavior can be misconstrued as narcissitic or emotionally abusive.
Neurodiverse Couples Couching
Most neurodiverse couples need coaching more so than counseling. Psychoanalyzing either partner maybe needed if underlying issues prevent moving forward. Some people have a difficult time with the objectives and may have some incapability factors. That is where individual counseling would benefit to see where and why they are stuck. The moving forward process with me, includes putting a system in place, acquiring tools, and implementation/exercising those tools. The couple states what they want for more harmony and we talk about what that looks like behaviorally.
In between session I coach the AS partner to follow through with what he has committed to and exercise being more relational than transactional. Just like be coached in soccer or basketball, there are certain “plays”/behavior that are given as a directive to the AS partner so the NT partner can feel an emotional connection. Learning a new language isn’t easy but with practice and getting positive results make it worthwhile.
For more information on Neurodiverse Couples Couching and my fees please send me your email address.
