The Seasons of Change Training for Professionals

The Seasons of Change Training
for Professionals
For Coaches, Therapists, Counselors and Other Professionals who Support Clients in Transition

Do your clients feel lost and confused about their future direction? If so, they are in transition--ending an important phase of their life or stepping into a completely new era. It's likely their friends and loved ones are giving them advice or pressuring them to take actions that are counter to your clients' inner truths.

Your job is to help them sort out their situation, find ways to make sense of their circumstances, decide what actions to take, and motivate them to continue moving through this difficult time. On a good day, you are clear, your questions are helpful, and you feel good about the outcomes of the day. At other times, you feel in over your head, not sure where to go with your clients nor how to support them in their journey.

You may wonder why other transition models don't touch clients at such a deep, soulful place. Often transition models are very conceptual--clients get the concepts mentally, but they aren't able to integrate the ideas into their lives. Although these transition models provide very useful frameworks to understand transition, they don't become an integral part of your clients' approach to life.

The model is useful whether your clients have entered their transition by choice or by force, whether the transition was anticipated or came as a complete surprise.

The Seasons of Change is a rich multi-faceted nature-based metaphor that provides you and your clients with a natural way to approach life changes. Nature has developed a wide range of responses to the ever-changing seasons. These responses provide a rich foundation of knowledge, inspiration, hope, and direction to those in transition. Each season (or phase) of the transition process has its own signs, actions, and detours. This information gives you a map you can share with your clients to show them the way through their transition. The visually memorable nature metaphors associated with each season are simple, powerful tools that give clients constant support and guidance through difficult times.

Carol McClelland, Ph.D. has put together a wonderful training program for anyone working with clients in Transition. The Seasons of Change is a metaphor based on nature's seasons and provides us with a wonderful way to talk with clients about transition. The result is an incredibly clear road map that clients 'get' instantly. The training program gets 5 stars (*****) from me!

-- Rebecca Kieler
Career and Life Transitions Consultant
Kieler Career Consulting

By using this model in your work with clients, you give them hope--helping them envision where they've been, where they are, and where they are going. A process that is full of unknowns becomes a bit more understandable. Supporting your clients in where they are is a profound experience that deepens their trust in themselves, in you and in the transition journey. It's likely no one else is honoring them for what they feel deep within.

Your class has been such an eye-opener for me personally and has also inspired creativity. I went over the recurring "false spring" with a corporate client I am working with and did we ever have a break-through. The imagery was rich! In our meeting today, we used nature as a backdrop for the client's much needed time away in order to find new and fresh ideas.

-- Ruth Ann Harris, M.Ed. MA
Life Sketches Life Coach
Wellness/Transition Coaching for
Executives, Corporate Staff and Individuals

Carol McClelland, Ph.D. birthed the Seasons of Change in 1992 and wrote the book of the same title in 1998. Having always been an avid observer of nature and wildlife, Carol turned to nature to make sense of a series of transitions that occurred in her life in 1986. Soon after she graduated with her Ph.D. from Purdue University, she moved cross-country to California to start her first full-time job. Four months later her father died. Nature provided Carol with the clues she needed to navigate and heal through her transitions. Since creating the model, Carol has not only used the Seasons of Change in her work with clients in personal and professional transitions, she has spoken about the topic extensively to helping professionals and individuals.

"The Seasons of Change is a wonderful continuation and elaboration of William Bridges' book Transitions. Carol McClelland, Ph.D. accurately and sensitively describes the emotions and process people experience when in transition. Because the Seasons of Change is based on nature, readers connect immediately to the model and have a felt sense of the process. Carol's approach, both warm and practical, is grounded, subtle, wise, and exceptionally rich.”

Anne Peek
Professor of Human Development,
Graduate Program at St. Mary's University of Minnesota

“Carol's book, The Seasons of Change is a must read for anyone experiencing a major change or transition in their life, whether chosen or not chosen. It is not only beautifully written, but creatively presented. The personal stories, the metaphors, and wisdom from nature make this a brilliant and beautiful book and one that will be useful time and again.”

Patrick Williams, MCC, President of Institute for Life Coach Training
and co-author of Therapist as Life Coach: Transforming Your Practice

In early 2004 Carol launched the Seasons of Change Training for Professionals for therapists, coaches, and other transition professionals who support individuals in transition.

In 2008, Carol’s direction changed with her launch of GreenCareerCentral.com, a virtual career center for white collar green jobs. This new passion consumed her time an energy and the Season of Change Training Program sadly fell by the wayside.

Now, in 2011, The Seasons of Change Training Program is being revitalized by Karin Marcus PCC. Karin Marcus is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation, a Coach U Certified Graduate, and a Master Certified Retreat Coach. She has also trained with Carol McClelland PhD to become a certified Season of Change and Purpose Clarity Coach. Karin’s personal coaching style combines her love of the outdoors and respect for the human spirit. Her goal is to help every one become an environmentalist of the heart. The Seasons of Change transitions module speaks directly toward this purpose and enables Karin to incorporate the wisdom of nature into her work with individual clients, as well as in outdoor retreats, support groups, and adult education classrooms. She is eager to once again make this valuable and pliable training program available to coaches, therapists, counselors and other professionals who support clients in transition.

I’m so glad The Seasons of Change training program is coming to life again Since Karin became a certified Seasons of Change coach in 2006, she has integrated the model into her retreats, her workshops, and her "walk and talk" coaching work. From our earliest interactions I could see that her connection with nature allowed her to resonate deeply to my Seasons of Change transition model. Not only is she a natural at applying the model to client transitions, she often discovers new insights and metaphors in her personal journey and in her client work. Having done the same in the eighteen years since I created the model, I know she's fully integrated the model into how she lives and works.
In the years since Karin and I have worked together on several projects. Through them all, it's been clear that Karin resonates most with The Seasons of Change. I'm thrilled to she's awakening more coaches and counselors to nature's wisdom about the transition process that continues to be so relevant and valuable.

Carol McClelland, PhD

For several years I tried unsuccessfully to shift my career priorities. I would take steps towards the change I longed to make and then stop at the same point again and again. Working through the Seasons of Change with Karin’s guidance, I was able to identify the detours and missed steps that impeded my transition. Now I am making steady progress towards meaningful work for the next stage in my life.

Mary A. Scherf, Esquire

In addition, you'll have the ability to use a collection of assessment tools to determine exactly where your client is on the Seasons of Change spiral.

To register for The Season of Change Level One and/or Two Trainings for Professional click here.

To make 2nd or 3rd payments for The Season of Change Trainings for Professional click here.

Meet Karin and Carol as they share their journey through The Season of Change on this FREE introductory recordingl. Click here to register.

During the teleclass we'll have in depth discussions about each of these tools, you'll use
these tools with your practice clients, and you'll be filling out the tools yourself.

Professionals who work with clients in transitions through individual sessions, workshops, or retreats:

Master Retreat Coaches Karin Marcus PCC and Helene Van Manen MCC have joined their talents to offer you a rich multi-faceted program. This is an opportunity to grow your skills as a life coach, therapist, and retreat leader, while immersed in the natural beauty of the Southern Colorado foothills, at a warm and welcoming eco-retreat lodge.

Mornings will be spent with Coach Karin presenting The Seasons of Change Training for Professionals - a rich multi-faceted nature-based metaphor that provides a natural way to approach life changes. Each season has its own signs, actions, and detours, providing a map to guide your clients through their transition process. You will learn first-hand how to incorporate these concepts into your own life, as well as your coaching and retreat practice.

The afternoon and evening programs will include a strong focus of retreat activities, led by Coach Helene, that are designed to grow the coach’s skills around the core competencies of ICF. Experiential hands-on classes will reinforce Creating Awareness, Listening, Questioning and other essentials that will lead the coach to mastery. Students will leave with greater understanding of how to weave the coaching competencies into the retreat leading process and thus create raving retreat fans.

The Seasons of Change Training and Wise Woman Retreat and is an ideal opportunity to rejuvenate, explore, learn, reflect, and just be with your self, with fellow professionals, and with nature.

Deveolped by Carol McClelland PhD, the Seasons of Change is a rich multi-faceted nature-based metaphor that provides you and your clients with a natural way to approach life changes. Nature has developed a wide range of responses to the ever-changing seasons. These responses provide a rich foundation of knowledge, inspiration, hope, and direction to those in transition. Each season (or phase) of the transition process has its own signs, actions, and detours. This information gives you a map you can share with your clients to show them the way through their transition. The visually memorable nature metaphors associated with each season are simple, powerful tools that give clients constant support and guidance through difficult times.

Helene Van Manen is a Master Certified Coach and a member of the International Coaching Federation. Her training began at Coach U in 1998; she graduated with the Certified Coach U Graduate status. Currently on the Faculty of Coach U, Coach Helene teaches many of the skill building courses based on the ICF competencies. Helene is a Professional Mentor Coach who works in training new coaches. She is the Founder and Director of www.RetreatCoaches.com which specializes in training coaches to lead retreats and has created a Certification Program for Retreat Coaches . Along with virtual trainings, she also leads Colorado-based In-Person Retreat Trainings for coaches several times a year.

Helene's practice is a tapestry of clients, business owners, creative entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders and coaches who wish to build strong sustainable practices. She describes her practice as creative and fun, profitable and smart! Helene leads a wide spectrum of retreats each year: for the professional woman, for executive teams, and authentic leaders. Her retreats always include making a connection to the natural world, because Helene is a lover of Nature and knows that Nature is the perfect catalyst for a successful retreat. www.coachHeleneretreats.org

Where: The setting for the entire program will be the Mountain Park Environmental Center’s newly restored Horseshoe Lodge, in Beulah Colorado. Surrounded by towering hundred-year-old pines, the historic and “green” Horseshoe Lodge is the perfect place to comfortably retreat into the beauty and simplicity of nature. Nestled in a 611-acre mountain park bordered by San Isabel National Forest, the lodge is surrounded by a rich and unique ecology of native plants, migrant and resident songbirds, wildlife, plus lots of blue skies, sunshine, and Milky Way nights. vimeo.com/15210444

Fee: For 6 days/ nights, including lodging, 15 meals and all retreat activities:

To register for The Season of Change Colorado Training and Wise Woman Retreat click here.