Life Coaching Offenders
In addition to government intervention, several private companies are currently providing life coaching to ex-offenders. At the 2006 International Coach Federation European conference, Patrick Williams, MCC was the recipient of the first Global Visionary Fellowship award. As part of the reward, Williams received a small grant to pursue his dream of providing life coaching services to the prison population – he felt that everyone should have access to coaching, not just those who could afford the services. As a result, he founded Coaching the Global Village, a company that caters to serving prison inmates and ex-offenders all over the world. Coaching the Global Village has provided life coach training to leaders, change agents, organizations, and local volunteers throughout the United States, as well as international countries such as Haiti, India, Ghana, Kenya, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Nepal (Coaching the Global Village, 2014).
The importance of having a life coach is also discussed on the Drug Addiction Treatment website. The argument is made that a relationship between an inmate or drug addict and a life coach may be more beneficial and productive than a relationship with a traditional therapist. The reasons given are that the client may not feel like anything will be solved when discussing his or her past with a therapist; in addition, sharing intimate thoughts is not the way a man should communicate (Drug Addiction Treatment, 2014). “A life coach is more helpful to recovering addicts and inmates because they primarily help form positive and healthy life habits” (Drug Addiction Treatment, 2014, para.5).
Sometimes, one man can make a big difference in countless lives of others. Mark Anthony Johnson has developed a life coaching company called Life to the Brim and a program designed for inmates called Mark’s Dream Coaching Process. His passion for coaching and desire to support others stems from personal experiences while growing up. His coaching process is the first life coaching re-entry program ever started in the Florida Department of Corrections; officials refer to his system as the Betterment Program. Johnson’s hope is to replicate his system in as many institutions as possible (Life to the Brim, 2014).
Talib Mustafa Shakir is an inmate and life coach at Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) McKean in Pennsylvania. Shakir became interested in coaching after reading the book Becoming a Professional Life Coach, written by ICF Members Dr. Patrick Williams, MCC, and Diane Menendez, MCC. With the help of Assistant Warden Susan Folk, he developed the Reconstruct group coaching program designed for ten men. Ellen Ritter, owner of the Institute for Life Coach Training, was so impressed by the program that she provided a 40 hour foundation course at the prison for inmates who desired to be a coach. “With coaching as their catalyst, a group of men at Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) McKean in Pennsylvania have broken free of stereotypical divisions to form a community that offers hope and support to inmates. The goal? To instill intentional living and reduce recidivism” (Kelly, 2013, para.1).
As these examples demonstrate, life coaching in prison environments is becoming recognized in many sectors as a valid approach to prisoner reform and reducing recidivism. The positive results already seen and acknowledged by many correction administrators could have a strong impact on how reformation efforts are conducted in the future. The possibility exists that in the coming years, the use of life coaching with prisoners and ex-offenders may become the norm, not the exception.