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Coaching guide

Individuals and groups

Individual programmes, coaching for women and group work

A choice or a change can be addressed in an individual setting or within a group.

The format changes the pace, the amount of time devoted to each person and the role of discussion and other people’s experiences.

The choice depends on the topic, your current life stage and the setting in which you can work most freely.

At a glance

INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMME

The focus belongs to the individual, and sessions, exercises and reviews are adapted to their situation.

COACHING FOR WOMEN

An individual specialisation for women who want to work on change, roles, boundaries and personal space.

GROUP WORK

The programme follows a shared structure: each participant retains their own topic and can also learn through listening and discussion.

Responsibility, focus and respect for boundaries remain necessary in every format.

The format shapes how you participate.

The choice concerns the setting in which you can work most usefully and freely.

The individual programme

A space centred on your situation

In individual coaching, the whole session is devoted to the topic you bring: a decision, a change, priorities to redefine, a project, a conversation to prepare or a situation that is still unclear.

The programme follows your pace, allows relevant aspects to be explored and can adjust the focus as your situation develops.

It is particularly helpful when you want privacy, your topic involves specific variables, you need time to articulate what you are experiencing or you want to design a tailored experiment.

Discussion takes place with the coach and remains entirely focused on your situation.

Coaching for women

A specialisation centred on women’s experiences

This individual programme welcomes topics that may intersect with identity, family roles, motherhood, work, personal space, boundaries, priorities and independence.

It does not assume that all women have the same needs or propose a model of femininity to attain.

A woman can be strong, capable and independent while recognising that her own needs have remained in the background for a long time.

The work starts with what you want today and the balance you wish to build in everyday life.

Group work

Discussion becomes part of the programme

The group follows a common theme, a structure, shared timing, participation rules and facilitation.

Each person brings their own situation while encountering different questions and experiences. Something said by another participant may clarify what you could not yet name, or show how differently two similar situations can be experienced.

Its value comes from encountering these differences without losing your own focus.

What the group can offer

Discussion brings perspectives and questions that rarely emerge in quite the same way in an individual setting. It also helps you express your thoughts more precisely and observe different ways of navigating a transition.

The shared pace creates continuity between sessions and mutual responsibility for timing, rules and confidentiality.

This requires an understandable programme, attentive facilitation and a shared agreement: bringing people into the same room alone is insufficient.

What the group requires

Participation means listening, respecting time, avoiding unsolicited advice, distinguishing your experience from others’ experiences and protecting what is shared.

There must be room to express a limit or signal that something is unclear or makes you uncomfortable.

The facilitator protects the structure and rules; each participant retains responsibility towards the shared setting.

You can choose how much to share.

Respect for what others tell the group concerns everyone.

The right not to share

You can listen without speaking immediately, decline to answer a question, keep certain details private, take part in an exercise without recounting every step or ask for a break.

This right allows you to respect your own timing and boundaries while remaining meaningfully involved in the programme.

Responsible facilitation does not use pressure, guilt or persistence to obtain personal disclosure.

Confidentiality in the group

Before beginning, each participant undertakes not to disclose stories, names, identifying details, session content or information shared by others.

Sessions are not recorded by default; photographs and filming require separate consent and are not a condition of participation.

In a group, confidentiality also depends on participants’ behaviour. The facilitator can establish rules, remind people of them and intervene when they are breached, but does not have the same control as in a one-to-one relationship.

This difference must be understood before joining.

When an individual programme may be more suitable

The individual setting better protects the work when the topic is very personal, you want greater privacy, the situation contains specific variables or you need a different pace from the group.

It may also be preferable when you do not feel ready to share, other people’s experiences distract from your focus or the decision requires sustained, personalised attention.

Choosing this format means recognising the most suitable setting for the work, rather than a lesser ability to be with others.

When a group may be more suitable

A group may help when you recognise the common theme, want to encounter different perspectives, can attend consistently and also find value in listening.

It requires willingness to share time and attention, respect rules and confidentiality, and accept that each session is not built solely around your situation.

It offers a different experience from individual work, without automatically replacing it.

Individual and group work can coexist

This can happen when they serve distinct goals and the overall demands remain manageable.

Someone may start individually and later choose a group, or recognise during group work a topic to address in a personal setting. In other cases, one format is already sufficient.

Each new phase requires an identifiable need, a focus, an agreement and a review of suitability. Adding programmes alone does not improve the result.

Group coaching has boundaries distinct from therapy

It works on goals, choices, actions, changes, learning and responsibility.

It does not diagnose or treat psychological or medical conditions, and does not use the group for clinical processing of trauma, addictions or distress requiring psychotherapy.

Emotions and personal experiences may enter the programme, but the boundary depends on its purpose, the expertise required and the individual’s needs.

When different work is needed, the appropriate professional must be consulted.

The three formats I offer

INDIVIDUAL COACHING

Open to anyone facing a change or a choice who wants to work one to one, with a focus, pace and reviews built around their own situation.

COACHING FOR WOMEN

An individual specialisation for women who want to review priorities, personal space and roles during a change.

LA FENICE

A group programme devoted to a transition and built around a shared theme.

Before beginning, I clarify the programme, pace, rules, confidentiality, right not to share and responsibilities of both facilitator and participants.

The introductory conversation helps choose the most relevant format. Individual and group work are different possibilities, rather than compulsory stages of the same programme.

Frequently asked questions

Does group coaching offer less attention?

Group time is shared, but it brings perspectives, questions and learning that rarely emerge in the same way in an individual programme.

The choice depends on the kind of work you wish to do.

Do I have to tell my story in front of everyone?

You can choose what to tell and how deeply to explore it. The participatory nature of the programme still requires listening and respect for shared rules.

Is a group suitable for a private person?

A private person may find the group helpful when the format accommodates different ways of participating and does not require personal disclosure.

Listening, reflection and contribution do not require the same degree of sharing from everyone.

Is coaching for women a group programme?

In Izamara’s approach, coaching for women is an individual specialisation; La Fenice is the group programme.

Can I join La Fenice without having done individual coaching?

You can join when the topic, timing and expectations are compatible with group work. The preliminary conversation also checks this.

Is confidentiality guaranteed?

There are rules and a shared commitment.

In a group, however, confidentiality also depends on participants’ behaviour. This difference must be understood before beginning.

Can I do individual and group coaching at the same time?

It may be possible, but it is not automatically helpful.

The goals must be distinguished, the demands reviewed and whether the two formats support each other or create distraction assessed.

Is La Fenice group therapy?

La Fenice is a group coaching programme; it does not replace psychotherapy or healthcare support.

Further reading

How a coaching programme works

From the introductory conversation and defining the focus to sessions, checkpoints and completion.

The coaching relationship

Trust, empathy, compatibility, responsibility and freedom of judgement before and during the programme.

When coaching can help — and when it cannot

A closer look at suitability criteria and situations requiring different support.

The most suitable format respects how you want to work and participate.

It may be an individual setting, a programme dedicated to women’s experiences or discussion within a group.

The introductory conversation helps identify the most useful setting for your current situation.