"You can do this! No Excuses!"
The motivational speeches given to clients sound harmless enough. Under the right conditions they even feel inspiring. Rarely if ever do they create true behavior change. Especially if someone has a hidden trauma history.
When someone has trauma in their history even the most well meaning advice, simple meditation, or empathetic reaction can land flat or even cause re-traumatization.
The client thinks... "I'm not working hard enough," "I'm not smart enough," "I don't get it," or "I'm lazy." They start thinking something is wrong with them and begin to subtly (or not so subtly) retreat from meeting their goals.
The coach starts to think... "they just don't want it bad enough."
Even great coaches, millionaire coaches, successful coaches do unintentional harm every day. This leaves clients worse-off rather than better. With some simple modifications to the coaching approach, the client could have had a successful outcome and the coach could have had a great testimonial or case study for their work (and even repeat business!)