About

Gabriela Doicaru – Spencer

Wellbeing Life Coach, Trainer & Facilitator based in Brussels

I am a certified life coach, a laughter yoga facilitator, a wellbeing trainer passionate about about serious games and active pedagogy, an occasional artist (creative writing/intuitive painting) and an expat mother.

As a coach, I support my clients to balance their overall wellbeing, be it physical, emotional, relational or work related. I am intuitive, curious, creative, empathetic, playful and non-judgemental, and at the same time I am concerned for the psychological safety of my clients. In the coaching conversation, I propose and use not only mind related coaching tools, but also somatic approaches, in order to integrate both the mind and body’s intelligence.

Commitment to Coaching Ethics and Standards

Coaching Ethics and Standards are very important to me, especially that the coaching profession is not reglemented. Anyone with catchy marketing communications skills, intense presence on social media and personal charisma can self-proclaim a coach, with or without having the slightest training.

I pusued my coaching training at NovaTerra, a training institution based in Brussels, which is accredited by the International Coaching Federation. Whilst in the coach role, I do not give advice and I do not proclaim myself an expert. In exchange, I support the client to find her own way towards the goal that she aims for, to define her own vision of wellbeing and make the decisions that are right for her. I work mainly with expat women and occasionally with Belgian French speakers, men or women.

I am a member of the International Coaching Federation and I am dedicated to continuous coach training. Therefore, I extend my coaching skills and knowledge, by participating to coach masterclasses, coaching related conferences and workshops, and by enrolling in coach supervision and coach mentoring programs.

I am a big fan of psychology literature (positive psychology, cognitive-behavioral, Gestalt) and I am continously exploring stress management techniques, the connection between body and mind, embodiment and somatic practices, both for the every day life and also for better results in the coaching process.

Why Coaching Ethics and Coaching Standards are so important for me?

My very first experience of life coaching was not that fortunate. It ended up in anger, deception and regret. But this experience taught me the importance of acquiring a solid coaching training, having a proper coaching posture, following coach supervision programs and commitment for coach continous training and development.

A personal story

Whilst navigating a very challenging burn-out a few years ago, I decided to invest in life coaching and bought a very expensive coaching pack. The very first two sessions went more or less well, but afterwards, I started to experience difficult emotions such as intense irritation and anger during the sessions. I could feel that something was not right in the relationship and dynamic with my coach, but I simply couldn’t put my finger on what was going on, especially that my cognitive abilities were still very blurred by burn-out. I could also feel pushed and pressured by the coach to make some decisions and take some actions that didn’t seem right for me.

Months later following my first experience of a ‘so-called life-coaching’, I took part to a 6-day coaching attitude course, trained by an amazing trainer-coach to whom I will be forever grateful. In this basic introductory training, I discovered what coaching was and what coaching wasn’t. And then I understood.

I understood

I understood that the coaching pack that I had bought had been anything else but coaching.

I understood that the person I had chosen as a coach, despite being very supportive, had lacked solid coaching skills, coaching ethics and coaching supervision. In the sessions, whether unconsciusly or not, she was positioning herself as an expert, as a mentor and a consultant eager to give advice and transfer knowledge, which were obviously benefiting her ego, at the cost of her client’s empowerment and trust.

Therefore, the sessions were not empowering, nor professional from coaching perspective.

The collaboration ended up in a who-has-the-power and “I want to save you” dynamic, as the sessions felt more like lectures and loby on what the coach thought I should do (instead of exploring what I could do or what I was ready to do). The whole experience ended in a lot of anger, dissapointment and regret.

However, this unfortunate first experience taught me several things, such as:

• the importance of having solid coaching skills as a coach,
• maintaining a coaching posture, therefore, being humble and curious, empathetic, positioning at the same level as the client, thus being equals, and believing that the client has the answers in herself
• the importance of pursuing continous coaching learning
• self-questioning and reflecting on own coaching practice.

This first unfortunate experience shaped me as a coach by strengthening my commitment to ongoing coach training and coaching ethics. Basically, I want to be able to support you as best as possible.

How many times have you laughed today?

This is a question that I usually ask in the laughter yoga sessions. And participants and sometimes, even myself included, acknowledge that not that much. However, laughter is an important resource for our overall wellbeing. Therefore, we need to laugh a bit more.

I trained as a LAUGHTER yoga facilitator after noticing the benefits of intentional laughter practice on my physical and emotional wellbeing, whilst I was recovering from a serious burn-out. During the pandemic, I facilitated online laughter yoga sessions on a weekly basis, in order to support mental health.

When I’m not reading books about coaching and psychology, I play with colors whilst painting intuitively or I explore my literary pen (either on the blog or by publishing in various magazines).

Amateur writer, I write either in Romanian or English to find myself or to transmit what I have learned. Sometimes it’s just about my life stories and sometimes it’s just reflection. Or both. I outline what amazed me and I express what my mind keeps telling me. And sometimes, I just have fun, because what is life without a bit of laughter?