Please join us for lunch and a lively panel discussion about the distinctions between these fields, as well as the overlap. Learn:

• How to determine the best candidates for coaching;
• When therapy is a prerequisite to effective coaching;
• Limits and benefits of the "Medical Model";
• Inherent assumptions in coaching and therapy;
• How coaches deal with clients who have a both great coaching goals and mental health issues;
• Challenges and opportunities professionals have as they "make the switch" from therapist to coach.

In addition to coaching and speaking, members of the Pittsburgh Coaches Association conduct workshops and seminars and for several years have also conducted teleclasses on a regular basis. These teleclasses are now held monthly, and are an opportunity for Pittsburgh coaches to share some of their coaching knowledge and experience with participants, as well as their passion for helping others to move forward and reach new levels.

Teleclass topics range from sales and marketing to creating space, leadership, and finding your dreams, and can help people to make important changes and take steps to reach their potential.

This month we're featuring Bill Weil from Socius Web Marketing. What web marketing activities drive results? Do we really need a website, a blog, a Facebook page, an email newsletter? What would it take to get viral exposure? What's better, SEO or pay-per-click ads? What can we do to have our website be more effective? These, and all your questions, will be addressed in a Q&A-driven session led by 23-year marketing veteran, Bill Weil. Be sure to check out: Secrets of Internet Marketing Effectiveness; What Works and What Wastes Time and Money.

This month's teleclasses are on Nov. 19. Join us for a great learning experience with Pittsburgh coaches. Teleclasses take place throughout the day and are free to anyone who registers. Click here to register for one or all of the teleclasses. Registration takes just a few seconds and is FREE. A conference call number will be immediately sent to you via e-mail.

Bob Groman is a Coach/Therapist who specializes in working with married couples and people with AD/HD. He has operated a private practice in Cranberry Township, Pa. for twenty years, following a seven-year employment with Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Bob holds two Masters degrees and has had considerable additional training, including with the Coaches Training Institute. His transition to coaching began four years ago and he continues to offer both services. In 2009, Bob will beginning to offer full days of coaching in the outdoors (hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing) for both couples and individuals. Interested parties may contact Bob at (724) 776-1871

Use Economic Tough Times as an Opportunity: Have You Balanced Your Life Investment Portfolio?

By Dave Wheitner idealistcoach.com

I recently wrote an article on an ABC 20/20 episode that compared the happiness levels of various countries and attempted to explain why these differences might exist. Among the conclusions was that more materialistic wealth doesn't necessarily lead to more happiness. This got me thinking about how our current economic recession may-or may not-impact happiness levels. I believe that much is up to us, and that downturns can provide us with a great deal of opportunity-not just for financial investing, but also for "life investing." This requires proactive consideration of what's really important to us, combined with the courage to define our investment goals.

Economic recessions can easily trigger insecurity and fear. Robert Arkin, a psychology researcher at Ohio State, previously found that insecurity about our futures can lead us to pursue more materialism, apparently in an attempt to ease our anxieties. Tim Kasser, author of The High Price of Materialism, suggests that such pursuits have an adverse impact upon numerous areas of our lives-family well-being, general psychological health, the environment, and so on. Michael Eysenck discusses people who are trapped on a "hedonic treadmill," where we try to buy more and more to increase our happiness, but then need to work more and more to pay for our possessions. This leads to more discontent, which leads to more frivolous spending, as the treadmill spins faster and faster and faster.

The United States has some of the fastest-spinning hedonic treadmills, as previously discussed in books including Take Back Your Time and Work to Live. Labor statistics show that we are near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to vacation time and time spent with family, because we often are so busy pursuing the "American dream." (This may or may not correspond with our personal unfulfilled dreams!) Just one example of this is our ever-growing thirst for larger houses-which some would argue has been a core component of the economic downturn. U.S. Census data indicate that the amount of square footage of home space per U.S. person has nearly doubled over the several decades. This means that each of us is paying for additional building materials and labor, additional energy to maintain the living space, additional infrastructure that goes along with connecting larger houses to the sewage and energy grids, and so on. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Thus, it was with shock that I read Linda Stern's article, "A Recession Handbook," in this week's Newsweek. She outlines several topics including "Protect Your Job," "Protect Your Portfolio," "Protect Your Pocketbook," and "Protect Your Psyche." While several pieces of advice in the article seem perfectly sensible, a few of the ideas a "New York headhunter" shared with her made me cringe: "Stay visibly busy... The first employees to go during a recession are the high-maintenance slackers. Come in early, leave late, eat lunch at your desk..." In other words, turn the insecurity-driven treadmill up three or four notches!

Now if you love what you're doing, are currently in your dream job where work feels like play, and feel that your work isn't already eating into the important things in your life, there may be nothing wrong with following the above advice in moderation. However, if you're not in such a place, then you might utilize this opportunity to consider what's really important to you in your life. Otherwise, you may find yourself miserably competing with co-workers to prove who's the most devoted to the job, simply adding to the fear-driven downward spiral that perpetuates our overworked culture. Fortunately, Stern also advises getting your resume out there if you're ready for a change-of course, this is most helpful if you've already taken the time to clearly define the new life you wish to create.

These issues are nothing new; for years, thinkers in the "voluntary simplicity" movement have proposed solutions such as taking a much closer look at what we really value in life, and then getting rid of some of the unnecessary elements. We often find that we have a lot of things that cost us a great deal of our time and energy, but that add relatively little value to our lives. One option we have during a time of recession is to be proactive and consider how to remove such "clutter" from our own lives. Where do we really want to be in the future? Can we live with just a little bit less, or can we get rid of a few things that will allow us to pursue something that will really add value to our lives? (This could be time for a hobby, more weekends with family, pursuit of a childhood dream, and so on.) The other option, of course, is to be reactive from a place of fear, clinging desperately to what we have, without stepping back to consider whether it's all really that valuable to us anyway.

If the economic recession has catalyzed some serious thinking for you, one of the best investments you can make is to balance your "Life Investment Portfolio." You're likely to find it much more uplifting - and empowering - than mourning over recent retirement fund reports. As you consider the dimensions of your life in the chart below, how much are you currently investing in each? Are your time and energy investments diversified and balanced? Are any of the elements underperforming? Where would you like each dimension to be a year from now? Are you holding onto other things that are keeping you from investing in these areas? Most importantly, when do you wish to start? While the NASDAQ may remain difficult to predict, life investing allows you to determine when the upswing begins.

Check out the exciting forum offered by HR Leadership Forum and Duquesne University: Creating a Sustainable Organization: People, Planet, Profits - a full day working with local and national experts on creating sustainable strategies with special focus on HR's role. Cranberry, PA.

We invite experienced coaches, as well as those new to the profession, to join the Pittsburgh Coaches Association (PCA). This is an exciting time to be a member! We are a 501(c)6 professional organization, and an International Coach Federation (ICF) chapter.

Additional benefits for member coaches include networking opportunities with other professional coaches, a profile on PCA's 'Find a Coach' website directory, discounts for monthly luncheon meetings featuring interesting and relevant speakers, a forum to offer teleclasses on coaching-related topics of your choice, and special events to raise the profile of coaching within the community. There are many more benefits; please don't hesitate to become a part of one of Pittsburgh's best professional associations.

Effective July 1st, join for 2008 at the prorated fee of only $65 as a PCA Member, or only $55 as a PCA Associate Member. You can now register to become a member online at www.pittsburghcoaches.org. Join today.

We would love to hear from you! Just hit Reply to this newsletter with your ideas and feedback. Suggestions are very welcome, don't hesitate.

Not a Coach? Now you can join PCA as an Associate for only $55 prorated for the balance of the year. We invite all professionals in the Pittsburgh area to join us. Are you interested in meeting coaches, supporting coaches but are not a coach? Join us now as an Associate Member of the Pittsburgh Coaches Association.