Old Serving You

Make 2008 the year you invest in your continued well-being and health. If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will. I offer programs and workshops, and consult with organizations to help women produce positive, inspiring, and fulfilling behavioral changes that can be sustained overtime.

EssentialSteps^® Coaching for Women

If you are interested in learning how to prioritize your self-care and transform exercise into a positive and consistent part of your life, I can help.

Truly, one approach does not work for everyone. Through my coaching and learning the EssentialSteps program, you will discover what works for you. Our work together will enable you to become physically active in a way that nourishes your mind, body, and spirit.

I currently offer two types of EssentialSteps programs. The private and group programs I offer are described below. Please read about them to determine which one might be the best fit for you, and/or the loved one to whom you’d like to gift the EssentialSteps program.

By learning my women-specific behavior change system, you will:

• uncover your hidden personal barriers to exercising and self-care, as well as understand what has been truly getting in your way.
• transform your mindset toward exercising to enjoyment and motivation.
• balance physical activity with all of your roles and responsibilities, and expand your caretaking role to include yourself.
• discover and use specific strategies to overcome your personal challenges to sustaining a physically active and healthy life (a simple plan that will fit into your unique life context.)
• gain confidence that you have the knowledge and skills to take care of your health and sense of well-being.
• learn an adaptable system that can be used again and again as new challenges arise, including for other behavioral changes that you want to make.
• receive free on-going support after the program ends.

The EssentialSteps Process

I use a proprietary four-step women-specific process in EssentialSteps that I developed and evalulated, called MAPS™. The EssentialSteps MAPS process was developed over years of research. The workbook and the program sessions are divided up into four chapters, each one reflecting one of the four MAPS components (Meaning, Awareness, Permission, and Strategy).

Before each of the four sessions, it is important for you to read and fill out the questions for that week’s chapter. (It usually takes about 10-15 minutes.) The questions help you and I identify in what areas you are most stuck and which MAPS component can best guide you to make lasting changes.

During each phone session, we will discuss your answers to the questions and content for that week. After each session, you plan your upcoming week of physical activity and self-care using the EssentialSteps planning tools. This is an important part of the program because in the following session, together, we review what worked and what didn’t for you. This information is central to helping you identify your hidden barriers to exercising and self-care so you can develop effective strategies to overcome them.

Through MAPS and working with me you will clarify your goals and develop a personal toolkit of strategies and attitudes that will enable you continue creating a joyful mind and healthy body. After the program ends you will have continued access to my women-specific planning tools and support. You can also decide if you’d like to receive any follow-up coaching via the telephone or e-mail by discussing these options with me at the end of the program.

I offer a free initial consultation as an opportunity for you to ask questions and get more information so that you can make an informed decision about whether EssentialSteps is a good fit for you now. Please call me at (734) 277-7667 - I’m happy to speak with you about how the program works!

Once the program ends, you will receive FREE on-going support.

• The My Self-Care™ eNewsletter exclusively for EssentialSteps clients.
• Access to a monthly tele-conference call with me to assist clients with any motivational issues and/or new challenges that arise after the program ends.

The Structure of EssentialSteps Coaching

The structure of EssentialSteps private and group programs are very similar. In both the private and group EssentialSteps programs you will learn my women-specific behavior change process through the comprehensive 70-page program workbook and four coaching sessions by phone, one week apart, over three weeks. Read the chart below to compare the two programs.

	Duration of Session	Number of Sessions	With	How
Private	60 Minutes	4 sessions by phone, over 3 weeks	Michelle	Michelle calls you
Group	90 minutes	4 sessions by phone, over 3 weeks	Michelle + other women	You call into a conference line

EssentialSteps coaching with me will empower you to make the key attitudinal and behavioral changes necessary for sustaining these behaviors over time. I want it to be easy and convenient for you to do EssentialSteps. Because I work over the telephone, you can participate from your preferred location.

I want successful clients. If you are not in an optimal time to do EssentialSteps, I will tell you. (For example, if you are an accountant during tax season, we would recommend that you wait to do EssentialSteps until you are in a more “typical” period of your life.)

Private Coaching Sessions Last 60 Minutes

Private coaching sessions are for women who prefer to work individually with me. Click here for more information on the private EssentialSteps program.

Group Coaching Sessions Last 90 Minutes

Group coaching sessions are pre-scheduled “tele-classes”, facilitated by me, that occur over the telephone, using a conference call telephone line. If you’ve never done a tele-class before, you will be amazed by how easy, convenient, and well it works! Click here for more information on the group EssentialSteps program.

EssentialSteps Guarantee

I stand behind my programs and women-specific approach.
I are so sure that my evidence-based women-specific approach works that I will gladly refund your money if you participate fully in EssentialSteps but feel that it did not benefit you. Click here to read published data on the long-term effects of our women-specific method when I received funding from the National Institutes of Health to evaluat the program predecessor to EssentialSteps.