Psychology and Mind: Very good morning Lydia, we are happy to greet you and ask you a few questions about interesting issues in your work as a coach. Tell us some details about your academic and professional career.

L.B.: Hi! I currently have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico and a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling Specialized in Mental Health from the University of Phoenix, being licensed by the Department of Health of Puerto Rico.

Interview with Lydia Boschetti

What does coaching consist of?

A coach is a professional who accompanies a “coachee” (client) in a process of self-discovery so that he can look for solutions and strategies to solve his conflicts or achieve his goals. The coachee is responsible for his actions and develop his own strategy according to his “world map” and his needs. The coach does not give solutions, the coach uses questions so that the coachee can discover the answers that are within him and identify resources that he will use to reach his goal. The coachee is the expert in his life, that’s why he is the one who develops this action plan together with his coach.

What are the benefits of coaching for the client who requests this type of service?

Through coaching the client can reach their goals much easier and faster than trying alone because the coach is trained to use techniques that serve to release all those talents and resources that the client has inside.

Coaching has no official regulation so anyone can be a coach. How can we differentiate a professional coach? What competences or skills does a good coach have to have?

It is true that coaching is not regulated, however there are many organizations that certify people who want to be a coach. This is a profession that is based on great moral value. Continuous education, commitment to excellence and passion for their work are indispensable elements within the qualities that every coach must have. He must develop excellent communication skills, empathy, unconditional acceptance and a positive attitude, seeing his clients with possibilities and being committed to the process generating harmony and affinity. The coach must be in harmony with his/her inner self, knowing that he/she is going to work with people who need an emotionally stable and self-motivated professional.

Which set of techniques do you usually apply for each client? Are there different techniques according to the specific concern of the client?

Yes, there are multiple techniques to be used depending on each case and each client. For example, I work with neuro-linguistic programming and use visualization, Ericksonian hypnosis, questioning, kinesiology, identify beliefs, metamodels and confront them, use the Milton model, anchors, NLP assumptions, among other powerful techniques.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the world of coaching?

To be educated with certified professionals, who belong to the associations related to coaching and to become professionals who put the name and reputation of coaching high by having an insatiable desire for education and excellence.

Another of your specialties, as you have been saying, is NLP. Tell us, what are the fundamental pillars of Neuro-Linguistic Programming?

NLP has four fundamental pillars: Compenetration or Rapport , Sensory Awareness, Thinking about results and Behavioral Flexibility.

The Rapport is that good relationship that develops with other people and with ourselves. This good relationship implies trust, understanding, security and respect. It is part of the skills that a good coach must master.

Sensory awareness is the ability to perceive, through the senses, the information that is being sent through verbal and non-verbal language. These are sensory perceptions that must be decoded and interpreted correctly.

To think about results is to execute all our actions taking into account the final product. For this it is necessary to define where we want to go, and then develop a route, a plan of action that will lead us to that final product in the most efficient and effective way possible, in the shortest time.

Behavioral flexibility can be summarized as follows: Do you want different results? You have to do different things… Through behavioural flexibility you have the freedom to do things in different ways until you get the desired result. As NLP says, there is no such thing as failure, there are only results.

NLP is becoming very fashionable. Why do you think it is becoming so popular?

Because NLP is a powerful technique for short-term results. In addition, it brings together techniques from other disciplines which makes it a complete and varied one.

Finally, lately we have seen that you spend part of your time recording videos for YouTube in which you talk about different experiences. When and why did you have the idea to record videos?

I’ve been shooting videos for over ten years. Thanks to Youtube and Facebook I have been able to reach more and more people. I understand that this medium is an easy, powerful and accessible one for many. It is an excellent way to be able to express thoughts and messages in a verbal and non-verbal way. So people who see and hear can better understand the concepts and can save them for future reference. I love what I do, I understand that it is part of my purpose in this life and the result and people’s responses fill me with much satisfaction.