I have a client at present who is in the midst of a personal crisis, so the focus of our conversations have shifted from creating the ideal life to making sense out of what she is going through.

When I first heard about it I felt overwhelmed, I offered her my unconditional support and suggested that if she felt coaching was not appropriate I was okay with the idea that she may want to see a counsellor and we could continue coaching when she felt ready.
She asked for some time to think about it, and later came to me with her decision. Yes, she was going see a counsellor, however, she "wanted to run some things past me first"
We have had three conversations since. Each time, I LISTENED fully, I MIRRORED back to her what I had heard her say, I AKNOWLEDGED her for her efforts so far and for what she had achieved in her life, I created a SAFE SPACE for her to vent her feelings.
I did not use any fancy techniques, tools etc, nothing but the most basic coaching principles. I started having my doubts as to whether this was of any use to her,whether a friend would have been just as good.
Yesterday, she sat down with me and said: "I hope you realise just how good this coaching has been for me" When I asked her to tell me in what way it helped, she mentioned things like " You dO not take sides, you do not tell me what to do, you make me feel good about myself"

Thank you!! I really needed to hear this.