This article is a transcription of the following video from our YouTube channel:
The golden rule for when you should refer out…
When in doubt, refer out.
I’ll say it again, when in doubt, refer out. If you need to go to your NLP trainer to ask if you should work with this client or not, or to ask what you should do, and there’s no “this is something I could do,” like some specifics then you’re asking me to design your coaching session because you won’t know what to do, right? There’s doubt there. That means that you’re out of your league. You need to work on smaller things first.
I find it mindboggling, people right away want to work on something as big as post-traumatic stress disorder, or post-traumatic growth. There are plenty of clients out there, plenty of people that need to understand how to goal-set or overcome a smaller fear, stepping into confidence, or having a conversation where the unconscious can become conscious. Please work with the “smaller clients” first, they’re not small clients, they’re just not presenting huge problems. So, when you feel that sense of doubt, then refer out.
However, doubt is something different than insecurity and self-esteem issues. So, you need to understand where the doubt comes from. If the doubt comes from if you shouldn’t be working with a client, or if that you should have more practice, then that’s a great reason to refer out. If it’s self-doubt because of self-esteem issues, then work on yourself and take the client anyway. Everybody has to jump into the deep end at some point, so just go do it. If the doubt of “this is my first client” comes, then you take the client because if you never have your first person to work with, you’re going to keep referring out because you keep having doubt.
