Sometimes you know where you want to go, and the path keeps getting postponed: a career decision, a new leadership role, a personal project, a change you have been weighing for months. Coaching is a structured working space in which we put the goal into words, find the resources you already have and turn intention into concrete steps. I work as a certified coach and personal development counsellor, in English, French or Romanian, at my practice in Corbeanca near Bucharest or online.
What coaching is
Coaching is a partnership between client and coach, focused on goals and on the future. The International Coaching Federation describes it as a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires people to make the most of their personal and professional potential. The coach asks questions, reflects, challenges and holds the structure, while the answers and decisions belong to the client.
Personal development counselling starts from the same place and puts the emphasis on self-knowledge: your values, your needs, the patterns that repeat, the way you make decisions and the way you relate to others. My background as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist lets me work on both levels, with today’s goal and with the story behind it.
What coaching does
- turns a vague wish into a well-defined goal, with steps and deadlines
- brings to the surface the beliefs that hold you back and puts them to the test
- shows you the resources and skills you already use in other areas of your life
- helps you decide when there are several good options or high stakes
- keeps the momentum of change from one session to the next, through tasks you choose yourself
Why it matters
Research supports the effects of coaching. A meta-analysis published in The Journal of Positive Psychology found positive effects on performance, well-being, coping, work attitudes and goal-directed self-regulation. Another meta-analysis, focused on workplace coaching, reached similar results for learning and performance.
In everyday life the change shows in the way you make decisions, in the energy that goes to what matters most, and in calmer relationships at work and at home.
For expats, a move to Romania often brings several transitions at once: a new role, a new language, a family that is settling in. Coaching in your own language gives you a place to sort out priorities and to make the new chapter your own.
Who it is for
Managers and entrepreneurs
Decisions under pressure, leading a team, delegating, balancing work and personal life, preparing a new stage of the business. For those who also want to work on brain regulation, coaching can be combined with neurofeedback for managers.
Personal development
People who want to know themselves better, find their direction, build self-confidence or change a pattern that keeps repeating in relationships or at work.
Career transitions
Changing jobs, returning after a long break, professional reorientation, a first leadership role or relocation to another country.
Coaching or psychotherapy?
The two complement each other. Coaching works with the present and the future, with goals and action, and suits people who are functioning well and want to move further. Psychotherapy works in depth, with suffering, symptoms and personal history. As both a clinical psychologist and a psychotherapist, I can tell from our first meeting what suits you now, and sometimes one naturally follows the other. When a difficult experience sits behind a block, the page on EMDR trauma therapy explains how we work with it.
How it works
- First meeting. We talk about what you want to change and set the goal of the process.
- Coaching agreement. We agree on the approximate number of sessions, the rhythm and how we track progress.
- Working sessions. Usually every one or two weeks, each with a concrete step for the period ahead.
- Review. We look together at the road travelled and at what remains to be consolidated.
Fees and where we meet
A coaching or personal development session lasts 50 minutes and costs 400 lei in English, 450 lei in French and 350 lei in Romanian. We can meet at my practice in Corbeanca, Ilfov, or online. All fees are listed on the pricing page.
Read also: Coaching: what it is, what it does and why it matters.
Frequently asked questions about coaching
Do I need a precise goal to start?
It is enough to feel that you want a change. The first part of the coaching process is precisely to put the goal into words, and that alone often brings real relief.
Are online sessions as effective?
For coaching, yes. We work by video, with the same structure and rhythm, and many managers and entrepreneurs prefer online sessions because they fit more easily into a busy schedule.
What happens to what we discuss?
Everything we discuss stays confidential, under the same professional ethics I follow as a psychologist.
How long does a coaching process last?
Usually between six and twelve sessions, one or two weeks apart. We agree on the number at the start and adjust it along the way.
What is the difference between coaching and personal development counselling?
Coaching starts from a goal and moves towards action. Personal development counselling places more emphasis on self-knowledge, values and recurring patterns. In practice the two often intertwine in the same process.
Sources
- Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1–18.
- Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277.
- Grant, A. M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. Social Behavior and Personality, 31(3), 253–264.
Ileana Vlad · chartered clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, neurofeedback specialist, EMDR practitioner, coach and personal development counsellor
Aleea Brândușei nr. 15, Complex Paradisul Verde, Corbeanca, Ilfov · contact@ileanavlad.com