Welcome to my coaching practice. This document and attachments constitute a contract between us (the "AGREEMENT") and you should read it carefully and raise any questions and concerns that you have before you sign it. 

The services to be provided by SHERRY BISHOP are tele-coaching as designed jointly with the client. The fee for the initial 2-hour assessment and “jump start” goal setting session is $200.00 and once a plan is agreed upon, coaching sessions will be charged at the total rate of $1400 for a series of three 2-hour sessions. The full program, therefore, involves 8 hours of coaching in total and also includes a 15-minute weekly progress check-in. Fees for coaching sessions must be paid a day in advance of the session by credit card unless an alternative arrangement is agreed to in writing. Services not paid for in advance will not be provided. You are required to give [24] hours notice if you need to cancel or change the time of an appointment. Otherwise, you will be charged for the session in full. Sherry Bishop agrees that every effort will be made to reschedule sessions that are cancelled in a timely manner. 

The coaching program described above is based on material provided in the book The Co-Narcissist Handbook: How to Stay True to Yourself and Find Serenity in any Narcissistic Environment, by Sherry Bishop. The expectation is that you will ideally have read the book PRIOR TO our first meeting, to gain the very most from the program. Although this material will act as the basis for the coaching work we do, the coaching goals will be tailored to meet your own specific needs, values, and situation. 

Coaching & Psychotherapy 

In addition to being a coach, I have a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Washington state with training and experience in diagnosing and treating emotional problems. While there are some similarities between coaching and psychotherapy, they are very different activities and it is important that you understand the differences between them. Psychotherapy is a health care service and is usually reimbursable through health insurance policies. This is not true for coaching. Both coaching and psychotherapy utilize knowledge of human behavior, motivation and behavioral change, and interactive counseling techniques. The major differences are in the goals, focus, and level of professional responsibility. 

The focus of coaching is the development and implementation of strategies to reach client-identified goals of enhanced performance and personal satisfaction. Coaching may address specific personal projects, life balance, job performance and satisfaction, or general conditions in the client's life, business, or profession. Coaching utilizes personal strategic planning, values clarification, brainstorming, motivational work, and other coaching techniques. 

The primary foci of psychotherapy are the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of mental and nervous disorders. The goals of psychotherapy include alleviating symptoms, understanding the underlying dynamics that create symptoms, changing dysfunctional behaviors that are the result of these disorders, and developing new strategies for successfully coping with the psychological challenges that we all face. Most research on psychotherapy outcomes indicates that the quality of the relationship is most closely correlated with therapeutic progress. Psychotherapy patients are often emotionally vulnerable. This vulnerability is increased by the expectation that they will discuss very intimate personal data and expose feelings about themselves, about which they are

understandably sensitive. The past life experiences of psychotherapy patients have often made trust difficult to achieve. These factors give psychotherapists greatly disproportionate power that creates a fiduciary responsibility to protect the safety of their clients and to "above all else, do no harm." 

The relationship between the coach and client is specifically designed to avoid the power differentials that occur in the psychotherapy relationship. The client sets the agenda and the success of the enterprise depends on the client's willingness to take risks and try new approaches. The relationship is designed to be more direct and challenging. You can count on your coach to be honest and straightforward, asking powerful questions and using challenging techniques to move you forward. You are expected to evaluate progress and when coaching is not working as you wish, you should immediately inform me so we can both take steps to correct the problem. 

Because of these differences, the roles of coach and psychotherapist are often in potential conflict and I believe that, under most circumstances, it is ethically inappropriate for one to play both roles with a client, whether concurrently or sequentially. Positive change is difficult enough without having to worry about role confusion. This means that if either of us recognizes that you have a problem that would benefit from psychotherapeutic intervention during the course of your coaching work with me, I will refer you to appropriate resources. In some situations, I may insist that you initiate psychotherapy and that I have access to your psychotherapist as a condition of my continuing as your coach. 

It is also important to understand that coaching is a professional relationship. While it may often feel like a close personal relationship, it is not one that can extend beyond professional boundaries both during and after our work together. Considerable experience shows that when boundaries blur, the hard-won benefits gained from the coaching relationship are endangered. 

Confidentiality 

I will only release information about our work to others with your written permission or in response to a court order. These situations are quite rare in coaching practices. If such a situation occurs in our relationship, I will make every effort to discuss it with 

you before taking any action. There are, however, limits to confidentiality, and I will report to authorities if you indicate you have abused a child or vulnerable adult or become a danger to yourself or to others. I will also disclose my notes pursuant to a subpoena or court order. 

As you are no doubt aware, it is impossible to protect the confidentiality of information that is transmitted electronically. This is particularly true of e-mail and information stored on computers that are connected to the internet, which do not utilize encryption and other forms of security protection.

I affirm that I have read and understand the information provided above and am willing to adhere to the financial agreement and cancellation policy in place and understand that Sherry Bishop will agree to honor the elements described above pertaining to her responsibilities as a life coach.