Brenda Mehl, CARC, CPC, is a Life Coach, Addiction Recovery Coach, NLP Master Practitioner and Trainer, Certified Hypnotist and a valued member of the RCNY team. For our first coach spotlight, we talked with Brenda about her remote practice.

RCNY: Let’s talk about your practice

BM: The centerpiece of my practice is to create and hold a space of safety and trust – safety and trust are key. It is in that setting that a person can begin to feel safe within themselves and really get honest. When I add the belief that my clients have all the inner resources they need to meet their next developmental challenge, it simply becomes about helping them recognize and access them. It’s like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, they have them with them all the time.

RCNY: What kinds of clients do you work with?

BM: I work with a wide range of clients, whether it’s helping someone go from dysfunctional to functional or functional to optimal, I am happy to be of service. There are those with clear focused objectives – like smoking cessation, addiction and phobias – there are those who are looking to change how they process life’s experiences – dealing with anxiety and stress – and folks who simply want a sounding board, a safe outlet to help them organize their goals and objectives.

RCNY: What are some of your strategies and techniques?

BM: I’m a bit of a training junky, totally committed to continued learning. I try to stay abreast of the latest neuroscience and am open to exploring new modalities. I find it helpful to share the science with clients, to help them recognize how their brain works. It lessens judgement and allows them to have a better understanding of their own process. That said, the foundational core of my work is NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming. In a nutshell it’s the science of the subjective experience, that everything has a structure. I help clients recognize the structure of their problem – how they do what they’re doing, not necessarily why they’re doing it. NLP is a compilation of techniques to help get there and move from there.

RCNY: What else influences your work?

BM: Me! I guess I take all the learnings and “Brendarize” them through the filters of my own journey of experiences. I operate on some specific beliefs and encourage clients to try on new beliefs and see how they feel. Beliefs underlie a lot of the challenges people are living with. Beliefs are constructs, not facts. Most of us are operating on beliefs that we actually don’t buy into – but they’re under the radar consciousness. I help people get in touch with the belief system they’re operating on and encourage them to try on new ones.  Getting clients to try on new beliefs is one of my super powers!

RCNY: Can you give me an example?

BM: I have dealt with many clients who beat themselves up on a regular basis when they fail to make or maintain the changes they’d like. They operate on the belief that they’re “bad” or “deserve to be punished” or “have to learn a lesson”. I prompt them to try on the belief that, “There is no failure – only feedback.” When we operate on this belief, we can stay curious. The feedback becomes information we can learn from.

Another belief I often introduce is that, “Every behavior is motivated by a positive intention.” Even a behavior that has harmful consequences has (or has had) a positive intention. Consider the smoker trying to stop smoking; holding this belief can motivate them to get curious about the positive intention of the behavior. They may start to recognize and admit that it gives them a few minutes of peace and calm, or relaxes them – those are very positive intentions! Once we determine the intentions, we can explore new and healthier behaviors to satisfy them.

RCNY: Do you have any other super powers you’d like to share?

BM: Lol! I find tremendous power in metaphor and little sound bites to help the unconscious mind open to new ideas.

RCNY: What’s one of your favorites?

BM: It’s hard to pick just one – but I do love, “Thoughts and feelings are like children; we don’t let them drive, but we don’t shove them in the trunk either!”

RCNY: I love that!  What else would you like people to know about your practice?

BM: Well, I guess I might add that I am also a trained mediator. I was attracted to mediation because when I work with an individual, I believe I am really working with many parts of a person. Through the portal of safety and trust, I help people navigate their inner landscape and open lines of communication within themselves. It’s through inner-personal communication where so much of the work is done.

RCNY: Thank you so much for speaking with us and sharing your insights!

If you would like more information about Brenda or any of our coaches, you can reach out to Cindy Feinberg, President of The Recovery Coach NY:

Phone or text: 631-921-4085

Email: recoverycoachcindy@gmail.com

Through her website: www.therecoverycoachny.com