Why I Call Myself a Guide, Not a Coach

Divorce coach or therapist? If neither feels quite right, there's a reason, and it isn't you. Here's why I call myself a guide. ▶ Work with Leslie: https://theloomlife.com ▶ Still deciding whether to stay or go? Start with Mending or Moving On: https://theloomlife.com/op/mending-or-moving-on When a marriage or long-term partnership ends, therapy can feel like it's for something broken. Coaching can feel too "let's make a plan" while the ground is still shifting under your feet. So capable, high-functioning women white-knuckle it alone, or settle for support that's close but not quite right, and wonder why something essential still feels missing. In this solo episode of Pulling Threads, Leslie Mathews (trauma-informed therapist, former attorney, and a woman who has walked through her own divorce) names the difference between coaching, therapy, and guidance. She explains why divorce isn't a problem to be solved. It's a passage to be moved through, and passages need guides. In this episode: • Divorce coaching vs. therapy: what each one does well, and where each one falls short • Why you're not stuck between options. You're in fog. • What a guide actually does (the mountain-in-the-fog metaphor) • The four dimensions Leslie holds with every woman: emotional, nervous system, practical/legal, and transformational • Why cortisol, hypervigilance, and numbness are your body trying to keep you safe • Why highly capable women often find divorce the hardest thing they can't "figure out" • The LooM Life: unraveling as the beginning of a new weaving CHAPTERS 00:00 Why I call myself a guide 01:00 When therapy and coaching don't quite fit 02:25 What was missing in my own divorce 03:10 What a coach does, and when you can't do coaching 04:20 What a therapist does 05:05 What a guide does: the mountain in the fog 06:45 The four dimensions I hold with every woman 09:00 Unraveling as the beginning of a new weaving 09:20 Who this work is for 10:10 A passage, not a problem to solve 11:20 How to work with me WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE PASSAGE → Deciding whether to stay or go: Mending or Moving On https://theloomlife.com/op/mending-or- moving-on → In the thick of divorce: THROUGH https://theloomlife.com/sp/through-divorce-program → On the other side and ready to land: Mindful Untangling community https://theloomlife.com/membership → Work with Leslie as your guide: https://theloomlife.com If this episode landed for you, share it with a woman in your world who's in the fog right now. It might be what gives her the words for what she needs. CONNECT Instagram: @the.loom.life TikTok: @leslieellenmathews Website: https://theloomlife.com Pulling Threads: Weaving Authenticity is a podcast for women about the hidden patterns and truths ofmajor life transitions: divorce, the end of long-term partnerships, identity, and becoming who you are on the other side. Not the sanitized version. The real one. Guidance and coaching through The LooM Life are not therapy or legal advice. For therapy with Leslie (Florida residents), visit https://loomlifetherapy.com. #DivorceRecovery #DivorceSupport #LifeAfterDivorce #WomenInTransition #PullingThreads