21 Years of Coaching with Debra Maldonado: How Jungian Psychology Shapes Her Clients' Transformations

What initially drew you to coaching, and how has your own personal journey shaped your approach as a coach?

I always loved personal growth but hiring my first coach I realized that this is something I wanted to do. I used to think coaching was superficial until I discovered depth coaching.

Do you have an established coaching practice / business and what is it called? Do you have a coaching niche that you specialize in? What is your website?

I've been coaching for over 21 years. I started as a relationship coach and then partnered with my husband who is a psychologists and we developed a Jungian Coaching methodology in 2012 and started to certify Jungian Life Coaches. http://creativemindlife.com

Did you get certified /accredited by any coach training schools / institutions? If so, which one(s) and what attracted you to their program / accreditation?

My coach training was ICF-accredited but I never pursued my ICF credential. I originally trained as a clinical hypnotherapist and coach but dropped the therapy portion of the work to focus on clients' potential.

How did you set up your coaching practice and what challenges / wins have you encountered in the process? Any tips for new coaches just starting out to get their business registered?

I started in 2003 before all the social media and fancy apps were around. I networked with complimentary businesses, SEO'd my website, even yellowpages ads (i know it was a while ago) and did monthly local tv interviews which generated tons of new clients.

How do you typically acquire clients / market yourself to grow your business? What has worked best for you and what pitfalls should be avoided?

Social Media video and posts, Paid Social Ads, Podcasts, Affiliate marketing, Books, SEO and talks. Ads used to be really effective until recently when costs are really high for meta and google. The most effective is list-building, an effective sales process for outreach and follow-up by our sales team and hosting live events to introduce the work.

What's the most transformative shift you've witnessed in a client thanks to your coaching? Can you share the specific approach or tools you used? For eg, do you use any coaching models or specific techniques?

This is a tough question, mostly they realize they are not broken. They realize that they spent so much of their life trying to improve themselves when their true self was already inside. In that process of Individuation that we teach based on Jungian Psychology, the clients start with shadow work. People finally attracted the love of their life after years of loneliness, letting go of excess weight because they understand how to work with their emotions, create successful coaching business because they realize they aren't tied to the old personality structure and can become a new version of themselves. 

The method is based on Jungian Psychology, Social Neuroscience and Eastern Spirituality. We start the client with the understanding that they are consciousness itself, there is no outer world separate from their mind. They were conditioned to see a limited reality. The first step is to face what Jung called the Shadow, then we work with the emotions in our Emotional Power Integration tool for integration. There is also active imagination (advanced form of visualization) and dream interpretation to help the client access the unconscious mind to gain wisdom and hidden aspects that are keeping them stuck. Finally we teach them about archetypes starting with the Feminine & Masculine Archetypes of Anima and Animus which is the logic/reason/power and the creativity/emotions/heart respectively.

Our coaching model stands out because most are based on CBT which only addresses the client's conscious mind which is a tiny aspect of who they are. In Jungian Psychology, the client can access their personal unconscious (shadow) and the collective unconscious (vast network of knowledge throughout the history of man).

The non-dual eastern philosophy and social neuroscience helps the client understand they are seeing the world as a reflection their minds. With these tools, they can excavate the inner gold and have more access to their whole self.

Describe a moment where you encountered a coaching roadblock with a client. How did you navigate it, and what lessons did you learn for future situations?

Most roadblocks from clients are from resistance. The ego will always resist change. When I first started I used to hate it when my clients were resisting. I found out early on that this is a sign of change. If you can approach the client's resistance as an opportunity for them and move toward it instead of trying to fix it or jump over it, the client will receive so much more wisdom than if they just avoided facing what the resistance brought up from the unconscious. Conflict Creates Change.

What are some common limiting beliefs you encounter in your clients, and how do you help them overcome them?

I don't work with limiting beliefs, they are more related to the CBT model. We focus on shadow aspects (unconscious aspects of their personality that they reject). The real reason that clients don't get what they want isn't about believing something but about being unwilling to step into the traits that they reject. 

For example a coach who is struggling to get paying clients. Saying affirmations "I believe I can get paying clients" to change a belief is a temporary fix.  The real question is who do they need to BE to have a paying client that is in their shadow. For example, "a salesperson", "a business person", "someone who will let them down if they don't get a result?"

Examining deeper than beliefs is the key to transformation.

How do you maintain your own self-care and emotional well-being while supporting others through theirs?

I only take clients or teach classes Tues-Thursday. I love every aspect of the work I do so I don't feel I am burdened or stressed by it, but I do daily reading of higher knowledge, meditation and active imagination to help me continue my growth process.

Fun question… If a magic genie suddenly appeared in front of you and granted 3 wishes, what would you wish for to have a fulfilling career as a coach?

I already met my genie and got my wishes. I think the next goal is to get a NYT bestseller on my bucket list, but so far it has been an incredible ride.

This is your blank canvas for you to write about anything you want to share that’s helped you in your coaching journey, how to be a more effective coach, etc. Feel free to tell your story to inspire our coaching community!

I think the most important part about being a successful coach is having a coach yourself. So many coaches do not invest in coaching and they wonder why they struggle to get their business off the ground. Coaching gives you the greatest ROI. Your mind is the greatest asset in your business so be sure to invest and protect that asset.