How to Coach Yourself and Others Empowering Coaching And Crisis Interventions | Page 108

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■ use of contracting—Before problems occur, counsellors can ask clients for advice on how they can respond
when the time comes. For example (to a client who has just begun a job search): “What would you want me to
do if a few weeks from now I notice that you’re becoming frustrated with your job search?”
With flight simulators airline pilots learn to fly aircraft in emergencies. Should a real-life emergency happen,
they are able to respond with confidence knowing that their training has prepared them. Similarly, contingency
planning helps clients prepare for personal challenges that might arise as they implement their action plans.
Success Tip
HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) is an acronym for common feelings that can trigger relapses. Help clients
explore what they tend to do, and what they might do differently, when they are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.
Counsellors need to support and encourage clients as they deal with the stress of change. One way they can help
is to remind clients that anxiety, awkwardness, and periodic slumps are normal when change is occurring.
Meanwhile, counsellors can look for ways to reframe failure or setbacks as learning opportunities. Wilson’s
(1994) comments might be offered to clients:
“Although you may fail to reach the goal, there are benef