Barbara Sher’s Idea Party

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How Does the Online Idea Party Work?

You have a dream or a wish, and an obstacle to getting there. (If you don’t think you know your wish, work through my kick-starter and read this post. To learn why you must put logic aside to find your dream, read the following.)

The online Idea Party is here to help you – and the other fellow party goers – with your wishes and obstacles.

Voices from Success Teams and Idea Parties:

Having a team to report to and hearing what everybody did each week is very exciting. It’s kept me moving all year. In the past I made some good starts on my own, but found, every time, when the energy ran out, I ran out. Now it doesn’t run out.
Jade G.
Children’s Playroom Therapist, New York Hospital

I would do a painting a year, a sketch a year. If it was only me I know I would never do it. Having to tell you makes all the difference. It’s crazy why I didn’t do this years ago, it’s so easy all of a sudden.
Caroline R. Personnel Executive, Macy’s Dept Store

Post Your Wish and Your Obstacle Here!

And help your team mates out when you can. Use the Reply link to help, the form below the comments to add your own Wish and Obstacle.

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4,428 thoughts on “Barbara Sher’s Idea Party

  1. Dear Team Barbara!
    I have been fascinated by Mrs Sher’s brilliant ‘scanner’ concept. I think at its best it could be described as a ‘jack of all trades master of ONE idea!
    What do you think of this one?
    * Scripture study (The Holy Bible)
    * Praise and Worship (Songs of Praise, Ancient & Modern etc.)
    * El-Shaddai’s service (Serving our Lord God – the God who is more than
    enough)!
    * Christian Apologetics (Defence of the Gospel – the Good News)!
    * Information Technology
    * Accountancy
    * Languages
    * Internal & International Affairs
    * Super sound memory (consider Tony Buzan, Dominic O’Brien, Harry Lorayne)
    * Endgame-oriented chess
    * Dietetics and Nutrition
    * !
    Brilliant Team Sher, perhaps this is one way of being a SPECIALISED scanner!
    (Just a fantasy for me right now – but it is a highly motivational concept)!

    God Bless!
    Jeremy Fajemisin

  2. Hi All Dreamers,

    My name is Amanda and my dream is to return to Africa this year to be involved in sustainable humanitarian volunteering on a long term basis. I am 39 years old and have spent time in Kenya, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania and Kenya in the past, and most of 2021 in Tanzania doing various volunteering through workaway.info. which is an informal site for short tern volunteering.

    I came back to the the west at the end of 2021 due to needing to recover from long term Covid as well as I needed to earn some money (Africa is not generally where you go to find paid work!! ) I also had trouble with visas as most of these countries you can stay 3 months only a tourist visa so it’s hard to really merge with any project for too long. I learned a lot in this time about sustainable and empowering projects in the developing world vs. non sustainiable humanitarian work and handouts.

    Now that I have a part time job online and can support myself I would like to return. I’d just need a place that I can access the internet for a few hours a day where I live.

    Is anyone connected to a sustainable project in Africa that has internet access on site (where I could work part time) and is looking for long term volunteers? My past skills/experience includes medical support (I have 13 years experience as Paramedic), caring for children and adults with disabilities, elder care, agriculture support, teaching/leading yoga and meditation, teaching new entrepreneurs how to create basic websites/crowdfunding pages/marketing materials like logos, business cards, brochures.

    Thanks in advance for any ideas!

    • Dear Amanda,
      I am affiliated with a very dynamic church that has done a number of projects over the years in various countries in Africa. And they go back again and again. The name of the place is the Real Life Church, and they are located in Covington, Washington, which is in Southeast King County, in Washington State. The head pastor there is Pastor Steve Murray. I’m positive that he or his staff would be glad to hear from you and at the very least, it would be very good to talk to them, and I really bet that they would be able to tell you about any upcoming things that they are planning to do in Africa. They do a great deal to do things that help the greater community that surrounds them, like no other church I’ve ever seen. And they reach out beyond their own community too.
      A number of years ago now, here in rainy Western Washington, we had a horrible landslide at the mountain town of Oso. It wiped out 32 homes and killed a bunch of people. The church got busy. Someone knew how to drive a semi. He brought his truck to the church, and they loaded the whole truck up with everything that they’d collected for someone who had just lost their house and everything they owned–clothing, pots and pans, and everything you can imagine. Then, they called up the town of Oso and said, “Get ready, we’re coming!” They mobilized the youth, who followed along by school bus. When they got there, the contents of the truck were distributed right into the hands of the people who needed the items. No middle man, no storehouse, no nothing. Stuff went right to the people who needed it. And the youth, at risk to their own lives, stayed behind to help people who were trapped in the mud to pull them out of the mud, and rescue them!
      What church on Earth ever does anything like this?? This is the Real Life Church for you! What an outfit! They do things like this all the time. One of their fairly recent projects in an African country was building a sanitation system for the people who didn’t have any sanitation at all, and who really needed it. Another time, they went to another place where there’d been a lot of war, and where there were orphans, and started and sponsored a children’s orphans’ choir. They were sponsored to come to the U.S. on tour, and they performed at the church once. It’s because of these sorts of things and much more that they do that I go there! They’re great!
      You can look them up on line at http://www.reallifechurch.com

  3. Hello,

    i am from Germany. And my Problem is i want to study Law, but i dont want to be stuck in Germany. Because if i study german Law then i can only work in Germany. But my biggest dream is to live in a warm and sunny place, like Spain or Italy. So i thought: “ok i will just study spanish law and work there”.

    But i also want very much money. So my problem is i can do spanish Law in Spain and have warm and sunny weather but very less money. Or i can do german Law in Germany and have very much money but very bad weather…

    To be honest i dont want to decide, because i want both. I want much money AND ALSO live in a warm and sunny place. Maybe you can help me. Thank you very much.

    • Dear David,
      Great, that you refuse to choose! Keep on keeping your high standard!
      What about International law, European, environmental, human rights, global trading/branding, real estate, ect. This would give you the possibility to work with International/global organizations or brands. I think, the more “global” you think, the more chances you have. Your income depends on your ability to attract wealthy clients (or millionaires if you want), so find out what such people need and wish and what they are willing to spend money on – and then make your offers fitting those needs.
      And / or do something in social Media, so you are independent of a specific location and be able to live as a digital nomad whereever you want and make much money too.
      You also could do something for wealthy German expats in spain, if you want them as clients (find out, may be you could study German law and then specialize in expats)

      So much ideas, hope, that some of them are helpful.

    • If you don’t do any sort of law that requires showing up in court, except to deliver documents, I expect you could have a paralegal in Germany and a home and office in Spain. Maybe even find a branch of law (commerce? real estate? intellectual property) that makes being in Spain an advantage for some of your German clients?

  4. Greetings,
    I was saddened to fine out that I cannot never meet Barbara Sher that was one of my dreams.  I am married to a doctor but always alone.

    I need friends that don’t take advantage of my kindness. My heart’s desire is get my homeschool academy for teenagers back up and running. Need help to getting Acreditaion but to much for me.

    Maruyi Hughes

    • Keep up your search for new friends, Maruyi. Maybe join a few online communities for homeschoolers and ask if any have any experience with accreditation or any other regulatory hoop-jumping?

  5. Hello everyone. I would really like to get involved with these idea parties. By the time I found Barbara, she had already passed. Is this page the idea party or is it elsewhere?

      • I will try to keep this short. I was raised in a narcissistic environment & treated quite poorly by my parents. People in my situation raised in Ohio became druggies. I felt & saw no hope for me, so became lost in drugs & alcohol for 30 years. I had counselling for codependency & had my moment of clarity September 27 2017. Since then, I recognise how wide open are my choices.

        When I had my moment of clarity, I thought I would be able to radically change my life (living situation, income, relationship status, et cetera). Almost 5 years in, everything is exactly the same. I am still struggling to pay for my extremely frugal life, working far too much, & not making much progress.

        I thought about doing coaching specialising in codependency. I have almost 5 decades of experience & knowledge in that area & I see a gigantic demand for people to be taught this.

        I also thought about designing & building my own shoes. I am fascinated with shoes.

        Another option would be to further my education in Information Technology. But I am uncertain if this would produce the results I am seeking. There are so many crap IT jobs in my area.

        There may also be professions of which I am unaware that would suit my personality style. How does a former drug addict approaching 50 years of age get their shit together?

        Thank you for reading. Hugs. 🙂

        • Dear Daniella,
          I do not mean to sound like I’m blowing you off–far from it. But here’s the “short answer” to what I think:
          1. Shifting focus to you as a person with talents to offer the world instead of a “former drug addict approaching 50” is vital.
          2. To start the process, get hold of Barbara Sher’s first book, Wishcraft, How to Get What You Really Want, and apply yourself religiously to the exercises, and
          3. Don’t Do This Alone! You are saying it yourself, in so many words, you need a focus. And hopefully, a focus that really supports and reflects what you love doing, that you’re good at. And, get into a Success Team near you. There are many across the country. Barbara has said it many times, “Isolation is the dream killer, not your attitude.” If there isn’t a Success Team in your area, get back to Patty Newbold, who can help you to figure out what to do about getting into one. They are dynamite, and they really work!
          That’s the short answer.
          It is a bit of a longer answer to say that I believe that life is a circle, with four equal quadrants to it–the spiritual, the physical, the emotional, and the mental. The spiritual part is your relationship to yourself and the Creator. The emotional part is your relationship to yourself and others. And instead of introducing yourself to the world as an ex-addict approaching 50, which is like tarring and feathering yourself, it’s time to start painting yourself with a different brush. Wishcraft will help you do that. The physical is 5 things: your health, your home, your neighbors and casual acquaintances, whether you need to move or not, geographically, and whatever your survival income is. Then there’s the mental part: Right Livelihood. And the way I define that is: What you love doing, that you’re good at, and you get paid, and someone benefits. That’s right livelihood.
          I’m good at floor mopping–I once was running a house cleaning business–and I’m good at accounting, but I utterly hate it! So it isn’t what you are good at. It’s what you’re good at that you Love Doing. That part has to be in there, for it to be Right Livelihood.
          I discovered Barbara Sher and her work in 1987 and got into a Success Team back then. I have been sticking with her work ever since, and at this point, I am establishing a life coaching business, and independent of it, a psychotherapy practice. I know that her work is not only richly rewarding but is rich in another important way. It does a great deal to help to bind up the wounds and re-define our character, for those of us who come from abuse backgrounds. Her work really works, on all levels. HO is really great too, and it is very good to just mingle with others who are absorbing Barbara’s lessons on a weekly basis. People in there never fail to grow–sweetly, kindly, and gently.
          Consider that you’ve already embarked on the healing journey! It’s great work, and a great legacy that Barbara has left us.

        • Daniella, people who have had their moment of clarity usually do a great job of building a life one brick at a time, instead of the wild leaps others keep trying for. I would suggest you start with whatever you can get going quickly and without leaping. Coaching is good. You can continue to do another job to support yourself while you begin to charge people a decent sum (I would say $120 to $200 an hour) for coaching by phone with you. Maybe just one client the first month, then two. Keep building. And specializing is the key. Keep it to codependency. Then pick any audience you can easily target (women in IT, shoe makers, children of narcissists, etc., as long as you can find groups of them online).

          If you can start learning more about shoe making in your other spare time, you’ll be in a much better position to design shoes when you have enough money at your disposal to move where you’d like to live and to buy shoe supplies.

          And in the process of looking for coaching clients, I am certain you are going to learn about about building a web and social media presence, more than enough to veer into IT without returning to school, just using all of the free resources online.

  6. Hi!
    I’m Patty and this is my first post here and can I tell you how excited I am to have found Barbara’s work and all of you?

    I’m not sure how this works or how I work, so I’m hoping to get it all figured out with your help!

    I’m thinking of joining Hanging Out and wondering if anyone has any experiences with it that they’d be willing to share.

    I’m very much looking forward to being part of your party!

    • Welcome, Patty! Please feel free to give Hanging Out a try. We offer a 100% refund within the first 30 days, so you’ll get a good feel for what Barbara is offering. It’s a real treat!

    • Welcome, Patty!

      Hanging Out is so amazing! I looked forward to the emails! They really made me think, or relax, or dream…..So much fun.

      I was in the first group, and made many friends. It seriously changed MY life. I knew I loved water and healing and animals, and I ended up deciding to study canine hydrotherapy. I thought I invented it. LOL. I was supported, made friends (some of who I ended up meeting in real life)…..and am starting my service in June. But more amazing than that, is that you don’t have to have a goal. You seriously are just Hanging Out….and you get to Hang Out forever, even after your year is up. I LOVE Hanging Out, and if you have any other questions, just email me.

  7. Hello! This; I believe; is my first message on this site. So I guess the first thing I do is post my wish and what’s holding me back?
    My wish is that I could get my business up and going. It’s a great one; with potential to generate a lot of income very quickly. What holds me back is my inability to calm down and focus…I have a form of attention deficit disorder however; accomplishing things IS possible; I simply have to get past the belief that I cannot focus and become a success.

    • Welcome, Holly!
      Have you read about Success Teams? Have you read Barbara’s Wishcraft? Do you have a buddy who you can work with that will help hold you accountable, and perhaps even help you with some of your tasks? Could you

      I also have ADHD, and after several years in the making, am about to launch my canine hydrotherapy business. I started a small success team of co-workers to begin supporting each other on our dreams, then, found a buddy and we hold each other accountable and encourage each other. Barbara and Patty and the folks in Hanging Out were my biggest cheerleaders!

      Where do you live? There are many success teams throughout the world. I think there is one starting soon on Zoom, through Barbara’s newsletter. Have you signed up for the newsletter yet?

      Best of luck!!!!

      • Hi! And thank you for the nice welcome! I live in Phoenix Arizona. No, I don’t have a buddy but it would be very nice to. I’m not sure if I signed up for the newsletter. I do get email Alerts whenever someone posts. So what should I do next to get things moving?

        • A buddy you could meet with in person would be great, but it is not necessary. I have a buddy in Canada (and I live in Florida) and we just “meet” once a week online to set goals and support each other.
          And Patty Newbold can help you sign up for the newsletter and see if there are any in person Success Teams in your area!

          • Dear Karla,
            I didn’t realize that you live in Florida. I thought you were in the Northeast somewhere. Is this a fairly recent move over the last few years, or what?
            I, too, am looking for a buddy or a Success Team. I certainly know the value of a team, and what it can do. I tried to start a Success Team with me as a member a few years ago here in Tacoma, and it didn’t go so well.
            But, the value of it is so great, and I know how good it is! You have shown me the possibilities of working, even remotely. Accountability is one important factor, but so are suggestions and the true concern you get from a group that cannot be found anywhere else.

    • Hi, Holly! Barbara Sher also suffered from ADD. She always tried to work around it, breaking every project into very small steps and choosing a different step depending on when her brain was not focusing and when it was. She always said that every small step gives us a sense of accomplishment and a new vantage point on our destination.

      • Thank you for that! That’s inspiring to know that she was able to accomplish so much in spite of that. Gives me hope

        • Dear Holly,
          Maybe you and Michelle can connect with one another and become buddies, each working on your goals. I know that Success Teams are a most powerful means of getting things accomplished, and bringing things into reality that seem impossible.

          • Hey, Mary Ann!
            I couldn’t find a button above to your question about me living in Florida. I have lived in the Panhandle near Pensacola for over 22 years (long story, but I prefer and miss the west), but have been spending a month in Vermont every summer for the last 15. This summer we are going on a shorter vacay in Alabama, so I can hopefully spend time starting the canine hydro service. I spent time out your way, doing my hydro courses (Sequim, and then Vancouver Island). Hope you are doing well!

        • I love that she can keep on giving people hope two years after her death. I expect it will be decades after. Off to a great start.

  8. Hi, I am from Kazakhstan, with a Bachelor’s degree in Law from a Kazakh uni, 2 years’ experience of working in a law firm in Kazakhstan, and a Master’s degree in Law from a US uni. My dream is to live and work in the US, practicing in the fields of corporate law and/or international arbitration. I graduated from a prestigious US law school last year and successfully passed the New York Bar Exam, but due to COVID the whole 2020-2021 academic year was online, so I have not gotten a chance to travel to the US (I don’t even have a travel visa). I have been job-hunting for about 8 months now, but the law firms I have applied to are not eager to sponsor visas, and they seem to prefer candidates with greater experience with a right to work in the US.
    I would be very grateful if someone could share any contacts in US law firms who are open to the possibility of hiring entry-level lawyers with my background (especially, if they would consider sponsoring a work visa for a non-US candidate like me).

    • I have no such contacts, but I would suggest you look for large law firms and/or law departments in very large corporations, because smaller businesses have no staff trained in the visa process and are therefore less likely to go the extra distance to hire someone.

      I would also suggest you contact everyone you met during your online schooling to ask if wherever they landed might be looking for more lawyers.

    • I would also recommend you try https://indeed.com and the placement office at the school you attended. Your experience plus passing the bar should qualify you for many such positions. And NY City is the place to look.

      • Hello, Patty! Thank you very much for your response and advice. I have applied for the Diversity Lottery (results will come out in May 2022), have applied to many companies via Indeed, and have asked some of the fellow alumni for advice. I have been doing this (job hunting) for a while now, but I feel that one of the reasons I haven’t been successful so far is because I am afraid to ask for help, hence the lack of my networking efforts. Barbara Sher’s words that “isolation is a dream-killer” resonated with me, so I will hopefully become better at networking (although the fear of rejection is still there).

        • Bravo for all of that, Zhibek! If you want to reduce the fear of rejection, set yourself rejection goals: I pledge to keep applying for jobs and contacting people who might help me until my fourth rejection of the day. After that, I can do what I like for the rest of the day. It worked for me when I began selling management consulting services. Once you recognize that rejection is a necessary part of finding employers and clients, it gets easier to see it as nothing personal, just a process of meeting the right person on the right day, which is helped the most by meeting more people, most of whom will reject you.

          • Oooooooh, Patty! Love the idea of rejection goals to keep a rejection (which is inevitable) from stopping someone in their tracks.

          • Thanks, Karla. One of the best tips I ever got. I have shared it with all sorts of folks looking for work or clients.

          • Patty,
            I am going to keep it in mind when I approach veterinarians in June with my brochures and letter about my service. 🙂

  9. Hello Mary Ann, thank you for your reply. Of course I both respect/ understand what you are saying and do work in tandum with both psychiatrists and psychologists. I refer Coaching Clients to them for specified therapy sessions as well I as a Homicide Survivor who has over 25 years of Grief Therapy Training and Integrative Healing Modalities Training and have garned a way to manage the terrain a survivor is left to navigate, many people turn to me to see what I am doing that is supporting my Healing Journey.
    I feel, as many will agree I have a lot to offer because I can articulate and share my tools I garnered through Surviving Cumulative Trauma and Losses including losing my immediate family, 3 best friends, 6 very close long time friends last year to Covid, have managed depression since my teens, and continue to learn and attend conferences with both Progressive Thought Leaders, including the Powerful Tony Robbins, as well as other Grief Therapists with new practices to integrate to heal wounds.
    I appreciate your input and wish you luck with your upcoming publication.
    I am very proud of the positive impact I have made as both a Social Media Influencer with my blogs/ video blogs sharing my tools with a healthy dose of levity to make the ‘medicine go down’.

    • Dear Maureen,
      Nothing like being a homicide survivor or the survivor of a best friend’s suicide to catapult a person into the expert’s seat! I call it trial by fire.
      I have been through “this death stuff” as I call it, 33 times so far, losing family, friends, and relatives. My best friend ever, hiking buddy, backpacking buddy, cross-country skiing buddy and mountaineering buddy suicided in Mt. Rainier Park in 2014. Her survivors are still impacted by that, one way and another, 7 years later. Over the past two years, I have lost 7 close loved ones, some of them dying just weeks apart. One at the end of March 2 years ago. And then, not even two months later, another beloved one, in May. Then, a few months later in September, another dear one, after fighting a wretched and miserable battle with cancer. And then, 6 months later, one to dementia. I struggled for a month, manfully, applying all the skills in my toolkit to get her food deliveries that she desperately needed, and much, much more, but nothing could stabilize her. She’s a goner. And, then, right after that, beginning in May and lasting through August, the most grisly cancer death I have ever had the misfortune to witness, with a dearly beloved friend careening in and out and in and out (and trust me, careening is the right word!) out of various hospitals up through the end of August, and another friend, whose husband died 3 years ago, also careening through multiple relationships, leaving a path of destruction in her wake and multiple griefs from failed relationships to grieve, not just one, and making extremely irrational decisions regarding the mutually held spiritual center that we are supposed to be stewards of. She wants to turn it into a public tourist trap, because she is lonely, and wants people around. Long story. Bad story. Two days before Christmas, she almost died of a heart attack, and has also been in and out of the ER 7 times in the last 3 months.
      I have one cousin left.
      I took sabbatical from my work for a year and wrote a book, developed the first draft of another, and am now forming a private practice in psychotherapy.
      I don’t know if you know about David Kessler. He is a wonderful and very compassionate grief counselor, who has also been “hurled” into that position by being the survivor of traumatic family loss. He is hosting a Grief Summit the end of this month, April 28 and 29. I don’t know if it’s open to everyone, or just counselors and therapists, but he emailed me about it. There will be many expert speakers on grief for those two days. It goes from 7 a.m. – 2:40 p.m. Pacific Time for those two days. A very important event for anyone interested in grief counseling. And the price is right–registration is free. This might be something very interesting to consider.

      • Mary Ann, my heart goes out to you! My deepest condolences over the cumulative losses, struggles, challenges, illnesses…Dear God, it’s like you have to grab on to something grounded to keep from being blown over by that torrential hurricane!
        We have a lot in common..I can relate as I we have similar storys and have chosen through it all to encompass a healing path as a vessel sharing our tools in the hopes for other survivors to know even in the darkest tunnel if you garner support and empowering tools you will find that light moving forward.
        Thank you for the information about David and his upcoming workshop. I attended a workshop through Compassionate friends probably 15-20 years ago when mom was alive and there with me. He wrote 2 books and one addressed the anger in the grief. I contributed my input regarding how when faced with trauma, we often go into survival mode where we are on auto pilot.
        I love David Kessler, he is kind, knowledgeable and I always feel in attending his talk, I come away with new tools, validation for my own grief..as Im sure you can relate…and a more empowered approach to overcoming any obstacles with my own grief in moving forward.
        I was sad for you but then I realized I have a similar story to share..it’s almost as if through our cumulative losses we have garnered the inner strength to weather the most severe storms as we are still standing. Granted I too have been brought to my knees by grief and depression which is why I decided to share my book on Amazon,I Had To Laugh To Live( Hiw Humor Saved My Life)
        The reality is humor was one of the 1st healing tools I garnered through a ‘accident( I know, there are no accidents) in a Homicide Survivor Support Group! Of all places which is the story behind Chapter 2’The Case of the Runaway Underpants’
        I still smile when I think about the hillarioys incident with mom who was not only a Special Ed Teacher, she was for some time a Director at Kohl And received a peers’ recognition award in ’89 which was presented by Oprah Winfrey! I was/ am so proud of her! She left her teaching legacy and pertinent life lessons and convictions I live by like ‘Pay It Forward’ I love this and do this on a regular basis since I discovered the amazing story behind the movement.
        I’m pleased you responded as I know no one who can relate almost with specific losses, grief, and so many challenges/ trauma it is almost too much for me to state how many we have in common. I took care of mom who had 4 Chronic illnesses due to her stuffing grief with an eating disorder to function. It is tragic she struggled her whole life especially after my sister was killed! She made sure I was getting training with the best Grief Specialists like Dr Ken Moses who was also a Professor at Northwestern
        The program was called Shattered Dreams and Growth. I just realized how he planted a seed of many that sprouted in my program: Healing Journey.. (From Grief to Growth)
        I will definitely plan to attend David’s workshop
        I will write down the information. I had his contact info back when mom and I attended The Compassionate Friends Conference in Chicago, Il downtown. Wow, this brings me back…
        Thank you So Much for sharing this and all you have shared from your heart.

        • Thank you! I just emailed David regarding this upcoming workshop at the end of the month; I’m hoping he remembers me!
          I hope to see/ meet you.
          Isn’t it funny how small the world rely is.

  10. Hi!
    I’m a psychotherapist and life coach from Washington State. I notice that in your post, you don’t mention the training it takes to become a psychotherapist, which is a behavioral science master’s degree.
    Be careful where you step, with this. No matter which state you are practicing in, or what training you’ve had, you can’t practice psychotherapy without a license, anywhere, and to be licensed, the first step is that master’s degree. There’s no getting around this.
    As far as getting in touch with stars goes, I have connections to one of them, and the “ways in” are usually through their fan bases or through their agents, if they have any. Some major screenwriters also may know of ways, and if you can meet one of these people, you may find ways in.
    As a life coach and a therapist, I know that I can give a client life coaching services, if there is a perceived need and the client’s consent. The life coaching would have to be done in separate sessions from the psychotherapy. When you’re delivering CBT, you’re practicing psychotherapy. Grief therapy is usually considered as psychotherapy as well. I don’t happen to know if Tapping is empirical or not. However, if I take on a life coaching client, and start from there, I could not offer him or her psychotherapy, even though I am trained and there is a perceived need. It is unethical to do so. I would have to refer that client out.
    Psychotherapy sessions have to be documented, and careful records, involving treatment goals and progress notes of each session have to be kept. You can’t mix this, in the same session, with life coaching. It is both unethical and illegal. In most states, the first two years a therapist practices, they must practice under supervision.
    So the life coaching sessions can be done for therapy clients, but need to be done separately. A licensed therapist cannot practice across state lines for the state in which they are licensed. This means that if someone from Kalamazoo, Michigan wanted therapy from me, I couldn’t take them on. I couldn’t even refer them. Likewise, if I were counseling a young client, and she went away to some other state to go to college, I couldn’t continue to work with her, even if I was delivering therapy v ia telehealth. Even that can only be done within state lines.
    Of course, it’s different with life coaching. With that, you can work anywhere, nationally or internationally.
    Another sound warning: As a therapist, and only as a therapist, be careful that the modalities you use to treat clients are empirical. I’m not certain that all that you mention above is. Until now, I haven’t heard of humor therapy. Of course, there are many documented cases of people who have literally saved their own lives through the application of humor. But there’s a very big difference between documented cases and empirical evidence.
    In any practice like this, it’s vital to know and follow the ethical and legal guidelines.
    My life coaching business card says this:
    “Life Coaching
    A Pathway into
    Finding your purpose, developing your desires, activating your dreams, healing whatever is standing in the way.” That’s the essence of life coaching, as I understand it. It doesn’t and cannot involve therapy.
    I have written and am getting ready to publish one of the few statistical research papers in the field of Ecopsychology. It helps to give that field legitimacy, which it really needs. Unfortunately, in Behavioral Health, things are not legitimately recognized unless they are empirically based. This galls and even disgusts us more creative types, but this is, unfortunately, what goes.
    So, just make sure that you aren’t practicing psychotherapy without a license. This way, you avoid all kinds of legal great godawful legal trouble. By law, I have to report anyone who is practicing psychotherapy without a license, and there are penalties for me if I don’t. And keep the boundaries between therapy and life coaching crystal clear. And, if you really want to do psychotherapy, which it seems that you want to do, then go after the master’s degree. Hopefully, you had the grades (3.0 or better) in undergraduate school to get into grad school. This is what it takes. There are no exceptions and no “get arounds.” It is not just a matter of appearances, or of legitimacy. It is the law. So the clarity here, is vital.

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