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We are
proud to focus our October Member of the Month on Jonathan B. Weiss, Ph.D., and Laurie Weiss, Ph.D., MCC, who are partners in life and work. They are
both coaches and psychotherapists and are pioneers in the developmental approach to psychotherapy. They have presented their work throughout the US and
in ten other countries. The Weiss’ have been married since 1960 (to each other), and have worked together as psychotherapists, coaches, marriage counselors,
and management consultants since 1972.
They both have been active members since the DCF organization was first formed and were involved in some early coaching programs with
Thomas Leonard back in the early days of coaching’s infancy. In 1998, they attended a year-long program given by the Institute For Corporate Therapy in
Philadelphia, aimed at helping clinicians use their skills to serve corporate clients.
They have been in private practice as Transactional Analysts since 1972. Transactional Analysis is a theory and practice of
human communication that has always focused on definable outcomes and individual responsibility for the client to produce the results he/she wants and comes
very close to the coaching objective of helping clients grow to their fullest potential.
Laurie’s first coaching engagement took place in 1969 when three of her eighth-grade students asked for help in convincing another teacher to
give them less homework. Using the powerful tools of TA, she helped them execute a strategy that achieved their objective and continues to focus on helping
her clients build wonderful relationships.
Laurie was one of the visionary pioneers who recognized how the therapy tools developed in TA could be used to assist people in their
relationships in organizations and groups throughout the world. When she first heard the word "coaching" applied to this kind of work in 1993, she immediately
started studying the work of the few existing coaching programs. She was involved with Thomas Leonard and Coachville as well as participating in a corporate
therapy training program to help therapists become corporate coaches. The International Coach Federation acknowledged this experience by "grandfathering"
her Master Certified Coach credential in 2000.
Jon’s business focuses on the practice of individual coaching. As a Transactional Analyst, he is a generalist and works with whatever
communication and relationship issues are getting in the way of his clients identifying and achieving their goals. Currently, he and Laurie are focusing on creating
and marketing information products in relationships and communication, via the Internet.
Jon regularly attends monthly meetings and the Executive Coaching SIG and has presented several times to the groups and helped redesign the
DCF website along with being an active volunteer in the Coaching Pool.
His coaching philosophy….is believing that people usually have most of the resources they need to produce the results they want. He brings a
mirror, a perspective, and a systematic model to his clients for making sense of their behavior and their choices. He believes that most of us operate most of the
time on automatic, and sees his skill as helping people recognize and, if necessary, rework their automatic patterns.
His favorite quotes regarding The Value of Coaching are:
"You don't have to be sick to get better."
"The Truth will set you free, but first it will p*** you off."
Laurie has been involved with the Denver coach Federation since the very earliest meetings. She has served on conference steering and
program committees, presented several programs, co-chaired a SIG marketing group, started the tape library and helped redesign the current
website.
Laurie is author or co-author of five different books about personal and business relationships, as well as several booklets and dozens of
articles about coaching. She believes that coaching can take place in a variety of different ways and may or may not require the actual presence of a coach.
Her doctoral work was creating a coaching program to be used in self-study groups. She now focuses on writing, and making coaching resources she has
developed available on the Internet.
Laurie says, "I strongly believe that once people remove the barriers to loving themselves and each other they easily access or acquire the skills
and resources they need to take them where ever they want to go in their lives. Coaching is one of the most important tools I use to help my clients do just
that."
Currently Laurie's favorite kind of coaching is working with people who are in challenging business and personal relationships. She also enjoys
coaching professionals in the fields of coaching, law, accounting and psychotherapy.
A favorite quote is, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." Sheldon Kopp
Jon and Laurie see the value of being a DCF member by using the Transactional Analysis model; DCF provides Parental guidance and values,
Adult information and skills development, and Child fun, recognition and connection. They both enjoy attending DCF meetings, both for the professional
stimulation and personal support they find there.
To learn more about Jon and Laurie:
Website - www.EmpowermentSystems.com,
Blogs - www.DareToSayIt.com/blog; www.RelationshipHQ.com/blog; www.IdontNeedTherapy.com/blog
Email - weiss@empowermentsystems.com or laurieweiss@empowermentsystems.com
Call 303-794-5379
by
Carol Hewett
DCF Marketing
Committee
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