Life Coaching

It’s a conversation-based approach of working together to help you name what you're dealing with and activate your imagination and agency. This space is where you can practice putting words to your thinking, without judgement. As you practice this, you will come away with new awareness about yourself, plus new clarity on your topics, challenges and wishes. You will be better able to name what you are seeking, to identify distractions, set goals and take the next steps.

Coaching is not therapy. It’s a combination of practices to help you reflect and explore your experiences, build up awareness about yourself, and think forward for “what’s next”.

I benefited from coaching in 2013. At the time I felt stuck in my job and life. I wanted to take a break and try new topics in life, but felt really unsure. Through coaching I gained clarity and reconnected with a confidence I didn’t realize was missing. I learned I had everything I needed to make change, it just took support from the right person to help me find it.

Coaching helped me with building a greater sense of awareness. From then onwards I have been able to better identify what I like, what I dislike, what I value, and what I seek. I feel better able to appreciate and be open with the things and people I love and better able to identify anything that takes away from this love.

I bring a mix of my own experience, plus my coaching training, to create the right space with you. I received my qualification from the Animas Centre for Coaching in 2020, which is also recognized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Each session is an opportunity to express the thoughts in your head and bring them out through the coaching dialogue. It’s a chance to reflect on your experience, who you are, where you are, and where you want to be. I'll listen and respond with open-ended questions to help further facilitate this. We’ll work together to help you define goals and work towards them along the way.

My training includes tools, frameworks and experience to support and encourage your thinking. My personal experience receiving coaching plays a big part in this too. Here are 3 common areas we can work on:

• Changing in work life: Have you been let go from a job? Are you stuck in your current work and you are dreaming of something new? You have authentic experience and also a lot of uncertainty. Perhaps you've become disconnected with your sense of agency and imagination. Coaching will help you take stock of where you are and reconnect with self-compassion and empowerment. Then we'll help you identify clear steps forward.

• Creating a new life after moving somewhere new: I did this myself and am happy to help you as well. Here coaching can support you to reflect on what you want out moving to a new place, the resources resources you have and how to start moving towards a new stability.

• Bringing change to relationships: You can both celebrate the variety of relationships in your life and take care for their evolution. Coaching gives you a confidential space to think out loud about what’s happening for you in any relationship, again without judgement. Start pondering what change you want, for both you and others involved. Whether bringing change to friendships, work relationships as well as romantic/sexual relationships, coaching validates your experiences and helps you make changes.

Within our coaching space I'm happy to facilitate different activities, exercises and frameworks with you to support your exploration and next steps. Some examples are:

1. Values exercise: what's qualities or attributes are important for you in your day-to-day work interactions? What about in the people in your life? Naming your values gives you something to carry with you as you move in the world.
2. Self-care practices: what you do to take care of your body and mind, plus exploring what else you need or want to try. There's science behind certain activities that help us cope with experiences and generate happiness.
3. Agency and Empowerment: you might feel burned out from recent work experiences and environment. Together we’ll help you reconnect with your experience and the joy you find in doing good work with nice people.

Write via email and I'll reply with a link to schedule a call. Then you can share what’s on your mind and I’ll follow up with suggestions on how we might work together. If we feel there is a good match, we can setup the first few sessions.

If we start working together: Sessions (1 hour) can take place easily online (via voice/video), as well as in an office, at a cafe, outside, or even during a walk (moving often helps our thought process). Together we agree on what might work well and change it if needed.

Fees via Donation/Gift Economy approach:

I am happy to work with you no matter what your financial reality might be. I define recommended fees based on a gift economy approach:

If you have steady work/income that covers your basic life needs, plus you are able to enjoy further personal expenditures, then I recommend 60€ per session. Your fee supports me and the furthering of my coaching skills, plus supports my offering of coaching to others who cannot comfortably afford it.

If you have inconsistent work and/or inconsistent income and are just able to cover your basic life needs, or not, then I offer sessions for free. If you still wish to make a donation, this is very welcome of course. When we reach an end point of our session we can chat about this.

Coaching is always confidential and the goals, topics and progress are owned by you.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

“Michael was my life coach for a period during the first COVID19 lockdown in Berlin. Despite the gloomy times, we met online and were able to get to the heart of the matter which was my need for a transition in not only my life but how I viewed success. As I use alternative teaching methods in my work, he gamely explored some of these to use in our sessions – such as the Futures Walk. I loved his flexibility, insightfulness and gentle demeanor.” — SO, Berlin

“My coaching journey with Michael was very successful. In our sessions he created the right space for me to think out loud on several topics. In return he responded with very powerful questions which helped to begin arriving at points of clarity. After just a few sessions, I was already able to move forward on these topics and find resolutions. And by the end of our sessions I was also able to start evolving my own coaching business.” — PP, Hamburg

“I really appreciated Michael as a coach. His technique and approach is thoughtful, and he really kept our sessions focused and cohesive. Thanks to his guidance, I felt much more confident about our goals, my values, and that our work was leading me in the direction I needed.” — KC, Oakland

“I came to Michael for help making the transition from monogamy to polyamory with my long-term partner. I found his approach to be thoughtful, caring and supportive, and it was invaluable in helping me to figure out concrete steps that I could take to move forward when I felt stuck. The weekly check-ins also proved helpful in holding myself accountable for making progress on those steps, and reflecting on my journey as I went. And the most important detail – it worked. With his help, I was able to move forward, and successfully make the transition in relationship and lifestyle, and I couldn’t be happier!” — BF, Berlin

“Michael is an excellent coach and a gifted listener. I had the privilege of working with him when the COVID pandemic pushed me to shift my business from offline to online. Our honest and clear conversations helped me maintain focus and define my goals, and Michael’s insight reframed my thinking in useful ways.” — SM, Berlin

“I was in a vulnerable phase in my life when I came to Michael looking for some help. Through our coaching sessions he helped me navigate my feelings around my relationships and career by focussing on my values, strengths, and goals. He has a real talent for active listening and generous guidance, and more than once he offered small but profound insights that led me out of thought patterns I’d been stuck in for months. He gave me the clarity and courage to move forward from this phase with self-determination.” — JK, Berlin

” I recently had the incredible opportunity to experience coaching sessions for the very first time. I had the privilege of working with Michael, and I wholeheartedly recommend his coaching services to everyone. Michael is not just a coach; he’s a remarkable listener who possesses a unique ability to ask the perfect questions. His skill in summarizing situations and helping you sort through your thoughts is nothing short of extraordinary. Michael reads between the lines. He delves deep into your concerns, follows up diligently on previously discussed points, and seamlessly connects the dots between separate sessions.” — J, Berlin