It was in the wee hours of the evening that Spirit spoke to Sarah Senst. “I was unable to sleep one night feeling depressed and anxious about my future. A late night TV commercial for the Life Coaching program at SWIHA was shown! The commercial, the program and the school immediately spoke to me!”
What fueled Sarah’s passion and consuming interest in the Life Coaching program, stemmed from her position as the ultimate life coach – parenting! “I've always enjoyed engaging with people and learning their 'stories.’ This strength has allowed me to connect with many different people from many different backgrounds. People really do care that you care – they don’t care as much about what you know. I think people can feel that I care when they are around me. My passion became more focused after my own personal experience of raising three children in a one-adult home; I realized others could also benefit from support, non-judgement and acceptance in their own parenting experiences. I came to understand that society can be very critical of parents and it is not an area we are highly trained in or prepared for, yet it is perhaps one of the most important jobs in existence. I wanted to create a place where people could talk about the fears, resentments, anxieties, hopes, dreams, frustrations and blessings that accompany raising healthy children. Hence my coaching business, No Perfect Parents, was born in 2005.”
Sarah’s passion has evolved and has spread to many different venues for her to help others while using her gifts and graces. “I work as part of a small private group practice seeing individual clients. In addition to that, I am an independent contractor facilitating parenting classes, coaching juvenile offenders, and providing individual coaching for parents, teens and mature women.”
Sessions with Sarah are as unique as her clients and their circumstances. “Each session is focused on the client. It's for and about them! We work on getting them from ‘A to Z at a comfortable pace remaining focused on their goals. I work to uncover fears and passions, and support them in directions perhaps they have never considered before.”
Though Sarah is able to help many people with her Life Coaching skills, she finds that having a niche audience really helps with maintaining the most of her efforts in research, tools and techniques. “My clients are parents and often times women dealing with parenting issues such as relationship conflict with their children, behavioral issues, depression and anxiety. Many of my mature female clients are in a transitional phase in their life -- whether they are divorcing, re-careering, retiring, becoming an empty nester, and/or discovering new passions. For many, this can be scary and I work to help them understand it can also be an exciting and fulfilling time! My clients come to me for a safe place to be heard and supported. My work is about them, not about me. I am simply a mirror to help them learn from their own reflections. My goal is to help heal the wounds of the past while supporting clients to live inspired futures!”
When asked how she applies her SWIHA knowledge in a session or client interaction, Sarah states, “SWIHA gave me the foundational knowledge, skills and hands-on tools to begin coaching immediately. Even though some years have passed since I was at SWIHA, I still use and apply what I learned and experienced in the Life Coaching program. This includes the values assessments tools, vision boards and reframing techniques that I learned as powerful tools to support my clients.”
As a successful and thriving graduate, Sarah shares a message to other aspiring and soon-to-be SWIHA graduates: “Be open to possibilities. Be vulnerable and honor all parts of yourself through the process. Be willing to discover things you may not have previously thought possible. One example I can remember is the unit on Vision Boards. I thought it was silly at first. ‘I don't do art projects’ I proclaimed. I surrendered to the process and found great joy and value in it as a goal setting and manifestation tool. I'm looking at my own current 2015 vision board at the time of this interview and use it often in my practice with clients!”
Sarah believes continuing education is important as well, not just for her clients, for herself as well. “I have returned to audit the Life Coaching Program again and I attended another powerful elective class called ‘Sacred Contracts’. Both were beneficial in my ongoing professional growth and personal development. I have moved to Colorado since my time in Arizona and I dearly miss being in the healthy and rich spiritual environment of SWIHA. Fortunately, Facebook has kept me connected with fellow classmates and the founder, KC Miller, who I call ‘Friend’ on and off Facebook.”
“SWIHA opened my eyes to what's possible. It helped me tap into and utilize my talents and teach me new ways of thinking and being. I've learned success is defined differently by everyone. It can occur in any and all areas of life, big or small, slow or fast and we can constantly redefine our success. I think generally speaking the greatest success I see time and time again is when my clients simply show up for themselves.”
The most valuable advice I can share that I received from SWIHA is to be your authentic self. We are all ‘perfectly imperfect’ just as we are and have rich and valuable gifts to offer the world.
Sarah considers herself blessed to run a referral based business so her previously thrilled clients refer others to her! She can be reached at 720.445.6775 , No-Perfect-Parents Facbook or NoPerfectParents@gmail.com
About the Author, StevieAnne Petitt
Guest Blogger
A current SWIHA student, StevieAnne is a published author and public speaker who uses comedic workshops to “Lighten up Enlightenment” – helping others find humor in their human experience and to allow us to relate with one another through laughter. Her love of humor and authentic dialogue is what earned her the position as Branding Strategist at Social Ally. There, she creates social media content that entertains, educates and engages audiences while displaying an authentic brand voice and presence for each of her clients. More of her professional blogs can be found at SocialAlly Blog
