WHETHER we're willing to admit it or not, most of us are ill-equipped to get through life without a little help.

As a premise, it's one that Catherine Sousa is taking literally. A certified life coach, she helps people achieve their goals by aiding their personal and professional development.

Although a new concept in Bermuda, it's one that has been promoted by self-help gurus for more than 20 years and featured frequently on such popular programmes as .

"Coaching really came out of the business world," Mrs. Sousa explained. "It started as executive coaching, where people with MBAs and other business qualifications acted as mentors. They'd already beaten the path to success and helped lead other people through that process, coaching them in how to be successful. Since then it's just become a situation where people realise coaching can be useful in other areas as well.

"I believe there are some people on the island who do business coaching but I don't know anyone doing life coaching. It's a technique that's beneficial to any area of life.

"You want to be more successful in a relationship? You want to be more successful in your career? You can do that by talking with someone who can coach you through the process. Much of it is that same support and encouragement you can get from family and friends, but it's more focused in your relationship with a coach."

Mrs. Sousa spent nine years working in the business sector in Bermuda before she decided to attend university as a mature student. A Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Queens University was followed with a Master of Science in education and counselling from Indiana University.

She returned to Bermuda, working with the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) as a representative / counsellor between 2000 and 2004. In 2003, she was certified as an EAP professional and is now a member of the American Counselling Association, the National Association of Employment Counsellors, and the International Association of Marriage and Family Counsellors. Mrs. Sousa also maintains membership in the Society of Human Resource Management and the International Coach Federation.

In April of this year, she started her own business, Metamorphosis, offering life coaching and counselling services to those in need.

"Life coaching is all about getting people from where they are to where they want to be," she explained. "In life, it's fairly easy to know what we don't like or don't want. But it's a little more difficult for most of us to determine exactly what it is that we do want. It's even more difficult still, to figure out how we will get what we want. Life coaching will solve this dilemma.

"As a life coach, I can help you assess where you are now, determine where you would like to be, and establish how you will get there. Together, we will create an action plan to move you ? one step at a time ? toward your goal. I will guide and encourage you along the way. We can address your life generally, or specific areas of your life only."

Although many are apt to lump them together, life coaching offers different rewards than may be achieved through more traditional therapy or counselling.

"It's very future oriented," Mrs. Sousa explained. "It's very positive and proactive. It isn't therapeutic. It's not fixing anything that's broken or treating any conditions. It's simply a method of achieving goals. It's the idea that you are where you are right now, and there's somewhere else you'd like to go.

"You have goals. You have ambitions and I act as a partner to help you achieve those goals. Another thing that makes it very different from any kind of therapeutic environment, is that it's not an on-going process. It's very clear in that. Coaching is about achieving goals. Therapy is about trying to sort out the past. Coaching looks at the future. How can I get there? How can I be of assistance in that? And the client is always in charge of identifying and achieving his goals. The coach is there as someone who provides the support, encouragement and resources."

Generally a couple of hour-long sessions are all that is needed to establish a rapport with clients, Mrs. Sousa said. Goals and an action plan are established during that period. Any follow-up is usually tackled by telephone or e-mail.

"The (time we spend meeting face-to-face) could be more lengthy depending on how far-reaching your goal is, but for most people it's something pretty immediate. It might be a career change ? I really would like to be doing something different.

"How do I figure out what might be best for me? How will I get what I need to do it? ? which might mean acquiring information, skills and education. What we then have to define is where do you get (those things)? How will you get them?

"It's about identifying resources. As a life coach, you have to be aware of what's available. Coaching is a partnership. You don't have to know everything about your client's history. What you do need is some idea, in terms of resources, of the direction in which to push people. I think you'll find that is something that makes coaches unique."

Bermuda's residents have greeted the concept with a somewhat lukewarm reception, she admitted. Despite the fact that life coaching has been an accepted practice for "at least 20 years" it's better known by readers of self-help books than the average person questioning their future.

"In Bermuda, you don't hear about it and I'm not really sure why that is. Many people I come across don't know what it is, they haven't heard about it. But anybody who reads books on personal development or personal growth will have come across the concept. Oprah, for example, has had people on her show who have written books about coaching.

"I don't think that people realise the value. I think there's a problem with it being associated with counselling," she said, acknowledging that as a method of treatment with some stigma. "People think, if I need to partner with a coach about something, that means I can't do it by myself . It's hard to overcome that barrier. Anybody who wanted to become a great athlete would never even consider training by themselves. The first thing you do is get a coach. But with life issues, there's definitely a stigma about approaching someone for help.

"There's always the belief, 'I should know how to do this myself'. And, especially in a small community, nobody wants to accept that it's great to have someone to help you with whatever you want to achieve."

, she stressed, can deal with every size goal ? from organising a trip around the world to facilitating a change in career.

"I think coaching is wonderful. Most of us, at one point or another, say: 'I really wish'.....and never do it. We might take a few steps, make a few inquiries and then think this is never going to work when really, there's probably no reason you couldn't sit down right there and then and come up with a plan.

"No matter how outrageous a goal may seem, if a client is committed to that goal and can find a way to do it, I'm here to talk them through the process.

"This concept probably wouldn't work well for a small child. Basically, all that's required is that they have the cognitive ability to have goals. As a coach, I work with individuals and groups at various developmental stages from adolescence through retirement and beyond. Coaching is for anyone who is old enough to figure out what they want and determined enough to work for it."

The concept even works for those whose problem is that they have no goal, Mrs. Sousa added.

"I basically ask questions ? what's working in your life right now? What's not working? It's a good starting place. If you can identify what's working, then you can identify what you want to build on.

"Usually, by the time people (leave here) they have a clear idea about what their goal is. They'll have a clear idea about what their action plan is and they'll have established the necessary steps to get that under way."

l Mrs. Sousa offers coaching sessions to groups and individuals. She also offers several workshops and seminars on topics related to areas of personal growth and development. For more information on life coaching or Metamorphosis, visit or telephone 295-8545. Metamorphosis' offices are located in Hamilton at 66 King Street.