Your Questions, Answered
If you're considering coaching and have questions — about what it is, whether it's right for you, or what to actually expect — you're in the right place. Honest answers, no marketing fluff.
About life coaching
What is life coaching and what does it actually do?
Life coaching is a structured, forward-focused partnership between a trained coach and a client. The goal isn't to tell you what to do — it's to help you think more clearly about your life, understand what's been getting in your way, and make more intentional choices about where you're heading.
In practice, this means working on things like: clarifying your values and direction, breaking patterns of self-doubt or overthinking, building confidence and self-trust, improving how you make decisions, and developing habits that actually support the life you're trying to build.
What coaching isn't: a quick-fix, generic advice, or a substitute for therapy. It's a sustained, evidence-based process that works best when you're ready to be honest with yourself and committed to the process.
How is life coaching different from therapy?
Therapy focuses primarily on healing — exploring past experiences, processing trauma, and addressing clinical mental health conditions. Coaching is future-focused: we work from where you are now, toward where you want to be.
That said, the line isn't always sharp. I bring a postgraduate psychology background to coaching, so sessions are psychologically informed and go deeper than surface-level goal-setting. But coaching is not a replacement for therapy if you're dealing with a clinical mental health concern — and I'll always say so directly if I think that's the case.
Unsure which is right for you? This post on what life coaching actually involves might help clarify.
Who is life coaching right for?
Coaching tends to be most useful for people who are functioning in their lives but feel stuck, misaligned, or unsure of their direction. You don't need to be in crisis — but you do need to be genuinely ready to examine your thinking and try something different.
Common reasons people come to coaching:
Feeling lost or uncertain about direction or purpose
Struggling with confidence, self-doubt, or overthinking
Repeating patterns they can't seem to break — in relationships, work, or habits
Feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or emotionally drained
Wanting to become more intentional about how they live and who they're becoming
If none of those fit but something still drew you here — that's often enough. Curiosity is a perfectly reasonable starting point.
What are the benefits of working with a life coach?
The most consistent benefits clients experience are: greater clarity about what they actually want (rather than what they think they should want), stronger self-trust and confidence, progress on goals that have stalled for months or years, and a different relationship with the patterns — perfectionism, people-pleasing, procrastination — that have been getting in the way.
Beyond the practical, many clients say the most valuable thing is simply having a dedicated space to think clearly about their own life — with someone who is both fully supportive and genuinely willing to challenge the narratives that keep them stuck.
Working with Elise at Soulful Strides
What does Soulful Strides offer?
Soulful Strides offers several levels of coaching support depending on what you need:
1:1 life coaching — personalised monthly sessions with full individual attention. The most tailored option. Learn more →
Group coaching programme — an 8-week structured programme combining coaching tools with peer community. Learn more →
Soulful Growth Circle — a monthly membership with themed workbooks, live coaching calls, and community support. Learn more →
Workbooks & self-guided resources — psychology-informed resources for independent learners. Visit the store →
Speaking engagements & workshops — for organisations, teams, and events. Learn more →
Not sure which is right for you? Get in touch and we can talk it through.
What makes Soulful Strides' approach distinctive?
The core difference is psychology. I completed a Master's in Psychology before becoming a coach — which means I understand, at a deeper level than most coaches, how patterns form, why they persist, and what it actually takes to change them. Sessions are evidence-based, not generic.
The other thing that distinguishes this practice is that we work on both the practical and the psychological. Not just "what are your goals?" but "what's been quietly running in the background that keeps pulling you away from them?" That combination — grounded in research, but delivered with genuine warmth and without jargon — is what creates durable change rather than temporary motivation.
Sessions, format & logistics
How do coaching sessions work?
Sessions are 50 minutes, structured as collaborative conversations. There's no fixed script — we start from where you are and work toward what matters most for you right now. That might mean unpacking a specific situation, examining a recurring pattern, setting goals and breaking them into steps, or simply thinking out loud with someone who won't just agree with everything you say.
Between sessions, you have access to me via email or text for questions or reflections. Most clients find the integration that happens between sessions — applying what we've worked on to real life — is where a lot of the change actually takes hold.
Are sessions in-person, online, or both?
Both. I work with clients in-person in Palmerston North and via Google Meet with clients across New Zealand and internationally. The format is yours to choose — and most clients find online sessions just as effective as in-person, with the added convenience of no travel or scheduling friction.
If you're local to Palmerston North and would prefer to meet in person, just mention that when you book your first session.
Is online coaching as effective as in-person?
Yes — the research consistently supports this, and my experience with clients confirms it. The heart of coaching is the quality of the conversation and the relationship, not the room. Online sessions remove the logistics (travel, timing, parking) that often make it harder to show up consistently — and consistency is one of the strongest predictors of coaching outcomes.
Many clients find it easier to open up in a familiar environment. If you're working through something that feels vulnerable or emotionally complex, being in your own space can actually help rather than hinder.
How much does life coaching cost at Soulful Strides?
Pricing varies depending on the level of support you're looking for. The Working with Me page has current details on 1:1 coaching sessions and packages. The group programme and Soulful Circle membership have their own pricing available in the store.
The free introductory session is exactly that — free, with no obligation. It's the best way to explore whether coaching feels like the right fit before committing to anything.
How many coaching sessions will I need?
It depends on your goals and how quickly you want to move. For most people, three to six months of consistent work is where the most significant shifts tend to happen — enough time to build new patterns, not just new intentions. Some clients continue beyond that; others complete their goals in fewer sessions.
We don't lock you into a fixed package from the start. After the introductory session, we'll talk about what makes sense for your situation and what level of commitment feels realistic for where you are right now.
Readiness & Fit
Do I need to have clear goals before starting?
No — and this is one of the most common misconceptions that stops people from starting. Clarifying what you actually want is often the first and most valuable work we do together. Many people arrive at coaching knowing something feels off, but without a clear picture of what they're working toward. That's a completely valid — and actually quite common — starting point.
You don't need a five-year plan. You need a willingness to be honest and a readiness to explore. The direction becomes clearer through the process, not before it.
How do I know if Elise is the right coach for me?
The free introductory session is how you find out. It's a genuine conversation — not a sales call — where we both get to see whether the fit feels right. You'll leave with some clarity about whether coaching is the right support for you right now, and whether this feels like a relationship you'd want to continue. There's no obligation either way.
If you want a sense of how I think and communicate before booking, the blog is a good place to start — it's written entirely in my own voice and covers the kinds of topics we'd work on together.
Still have a question that isn't answered here? Get in touch directly →
Ready to find out if coaching is right for you? Book your free introductory session →