Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Ulloa
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I spent over ten years as a teacher in a variety of school settings, public, charter, and private. My last teaching position was as lead teacher in the Bay Area at a specialized school serving Dyslexic and twice exceptional children. A core component of our teaching was around building self awareness, self confidence, and effective tools to help our students navigate whatever social-emotional and learning needs they had to help them as learners. Most of them came to us having developed specific behavioral and emotional habits to help them cope with the learning challenges they faced in school prior to enrolling in our school. As an educator I learned that in order to be able to teach them, I would first need to address those issues.
I took a break from teaching to raise my two boys, and along that journey I have found that again, as a parent, in order to do my part to raise happy healthy kids, I needed to model and explicitly teach them similar skills of self awareness and emotional intelligence.
As an educator and parent in today’s world, I see all of the challenges parents and kids face because I’m right there in it with them. My practice is one that is grounded in meeting kids where they are at, and building their tool kit through lessons around how to build self awareness, how to identify emotions in the body, how to respond in healthy ways, how to set boundaries and communicate positively, how to set goals, and to love themselves exactly as they are. My hope is that each individual I work with has a variety of learned skills for what to do when they encounter the challenges that come in life.
In my own life, I have walked this path as I navigated a divorce and the implications of that for myself and my children. I pursued the support of a coach and found it to be quite helpful. I also found that by engaging the creative side of my personality through painting, sketching, yoga, all of the swirling thoughts and worries tended to subside and I felt more ready to tackle the challenges facing me. As a coach, my special niche is in to help the kids I work with in finding their own outlets that will ground them so they can rely on them in times of need. We devote time in each session to identifying and then practicing together some of their hobbies and passions and then reflect on them. This is my favorite part of our sessions as it builds a strong relationship and reveals to them all the gifts that they hold.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the greatest challenges I face is in getting kids onboard and willing to trust me. While I can give parents suggestions on how to address that issue, I only work with kids that are willing. And our initial meetings are all based on building trust and rapport with them. If it’s not working, I let the parents know.
Another challenge is just communicating the value of a coach. Coaches for sports or business seem to make sense for people. Though as a society we are becoming so much more aware of the importance of mental health, I do encounter people thinking that a social emotional coach is too “woo woo.” And, the industry is definitely saturated with coaches, some of which are making big and unrealistic promises. I address that by using a curriculum that is intentionally grounded. It’s my goal to teach kids about their brains, their emotions, etc, and then based on their age and need, to give them skills. This allows me to set measurable goals that parents can see.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Centered Kids Coaching?
I am a social-emotional learning coach, providing small group and 1:1 coaching sessions for children and adolescents aged 8-12. I work with kids along a variety of topics: building self awareness, attention and time management, communication, friendship and peer pressure, understanding and regulating emotions, growth mindset, navigating big life changes like a move or divorce.
I am not a therapist. I don’t diagnose or treat mental health challenges. Rather, as a coach, I help kids identify, problem solve, and set goals around challenges in their lives. We work to learn and practice skills to help them in those sticky moments of life.
A core component of my program is the grounding techniques I practice with my students at the beginning of each session. It looks different for each individual. For some kids, we paint or sketch. With others, we pass a football, or I might teach them to crochet, or we will play a simple game. The idea is to shake off the remnants of the day that they might bring with them and to get them grounded in the present moment. I then provide them with simple challenges that they can tackle in a safe, fun, nurturing environment that allows them to practice whatever goals we are working towards; things like positive self talk, resilience, perseverance in the face of challenge, etc.
I truly believe that children are capable of learning and understanding big life ideas. The lessons we use are fun, light-hearted and kid friendly. My goal with every individual I work with is to help them access and practice tools so they can navigate the waves of life.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think the field will continue to grow, especially in addressing kids’ needs. My hope is that the stigma around giving and asking for help with mindset and mental health lessens and that it is valued just as much as taking care of physical health.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.centeredkidscoaching.com
- Instagram: centered.kids.coaching
- LinkedIn: Rachel Ulloa
Image Credits
Image credit, Melyssa Gonzalez, thesacredwildphotography
