Life Coaches for Parents of Gifted Kids
Lisa Lauffer, CPCC, ACC of Deep Waters Coaching
Jan 28, 2009
Parents of gifted kids, meet Lisa Lauffer, a self-designated “Chief Sanity Officer to Moms (and Dads) of Gifted Children” Lisa is a certified life coach trained through The Coaches Training as a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and International Coach Federation as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC). For the last five years, Lisa has coached parents of gifted kids.
In a January 25, 2009 email interview, Lisa discussed the concept of life coaching as applied to parenting gifted kids, common issues facing her clients, and the services provided by her business Deep Waters Coaching.
How Does One Choose a Career As Life Coach to Parents of Gifted Kids?
Lisa Lauffer has a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Communication from the University of California Berkeley. She pursued a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a focus on marriage, family, and child counseling, but left her Master’s degree program for opportunities in publishing.
Although Lisa has also been identified as gifted, her personal struggle meeting her two gifted children’s needs in the school system, journey in their identification, and eventual decision to pursue alternative school placement fueled her desire to provide other parents with support throughout the process.
Lisa stresses that gifted kids are often high need kids. Lisa is mom to a twice-exceptional gifted child with sensory processing disorder. Lisa says that finding appropriate treatment can be overwhelming, but makes a huge difference in a 2e child’s life while benefiting the whole family.
Parents of gifted kids “need support in almost everything because without asking for it, they’ve been given this wonderful, challenging role.” Parents of gifted kids often put their own needs aside while pursuing opportunities and assistance for their children.
How Can a Life Coach Help Parents of Gifted Children?
Lisa says that sometimes all a parent needs is “a sounding board to hear him/herself speak.” Talking through issues helps clarify the appropriate responses. A life coach like Lisa brings both personal and professional experience to gifted issues while offering expertise on available resources.
Lisa asks powerful questions to help clients “discover who they are at their core, then design their lives from that place.” She builds a relationship that helps a client understand what makes her come alive so that she can tap that energy and bring more satisfaction to life. A life coach helps parents process the emotions and experiences faced in the process of meeting their gifted child’s needs. Lisa helps parents discover where they are stuck with their child or in their own life and see more choices.
What Are the Fees for Retaining a Life Coach?
Lisa offers two primary fee structures: $350 a month for three 40-minute coaching sessions or $175 for two 30-minute sessions. Long-term clients who only need infrequent contact for maintenance can schedule a la carte 30-minute sessions for $90. Lisa considers her coaching role a 24/7 commitment. Clients can call or email Lisa any time. Lisa also maintains a presence on a number of social networking utilities.
Life Coaches for Parents of Gifted Kids
Lisa Lauffer discusses the most common challenges facing parents of gifted kids, the toughest part about life coaching moms of gifted children, and the basics of hiring a life coach in “Parenting Gifted Kids With Help From a Life Coach.”
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