Coaching Agreement
with Sarah Lyman

I’m excited that we’re going to begin coaching together! Please make note of the following policies and refer back to this page as needed. The Agreement being entered into is between yourself, the client, and myself, Sarah Lyman.

Client-Coach Integrity: By entering into a coaching relationship, we are both agreeing to rise to a high level of integrity and accountability.

Understand that we live in a culture that often tries to “wiggle out” of being in integrity or fully accountable. Because of this, people who ask others to act with integrity and be fully accountable are often portrayed as being “unfair,” as if “fairness” involves doing whatever would make someone else happy, rather than maintaining a commitment to an agreement.

Integrity and accountability are not something we are “held to,” they are something we “rise to.” No one can “pull” us along. We do the work ourselves. Thus, my clients do the work themselves. I ask you, as your coach, to rise to a high level of integrity and accountability, and I would like to promise you my commitment to that as well. 

Look for as many places as possible to have fun with this work! Joy is a choice.

Payment

Payment is due prior to the time of our scheduled session.  Payments are made via PayPal or Stripe and can be paid when you schedule a session via the scheduling link (see below) or via PayPal (PayPal.Me/SarahLymanCoaching) at any time. 

There are no refunds for sessions; they are non-transferable to others; they must be used within three months of making a payment.

Sometimes technology snafus happen; unfortunately, we cannot reschedule or extend the time of sessions in those cases when a client experiences difficulties with Zoom or their cell phone. Please be sure to have a backup method of communication.

If a client has not paid for a session, that session will not be held. NOTE: The client is still responsible for paying for that session time, since the time was reserved for them.

Clients are encouraged to carefully evaluate their finances before beginning coaching, to ensure that payment for sessions will not cause financial hardship.

Scheduling

Sessions can be scheduled here: sarahlyman.com/schedule-a-session.

Clients are responsible for scheduling their sessions in advance. Schedule your times earlier, rather than later, to get the greatest number of open session choices.

The occasional check-in email with a question is fine, however, if the email would require a longer or more involved response, it’s best to address those issues during a session, in-person, unless included in your package.

Please hold on to practices, rather than emailing them to me before a session, unless requested to do so.

Lateness & Rescheduling

If a client is late to a session, we’ll use the remaining session time available.

It’s important that whenever a client needs to reschedule or cancel, I receive an email at sarah@sarahlyman.com, a text at (207) 370-7553 or a call at that number.

If a client needs to reschedule, I need at least twenty-four hours notice, unless it’s a serious, unavoidable emergency. Serious, unavoidable emergencies include injury and sudden illness, but do not include things like (for example) having a bad week/not feeling like having a session, or an invitation to have dinner with a friend who is unexpectedly in town.

Clients are responsible for creating backup plans to avoid canceling sessions with less than 24 hours notice.

In the above non-emergency examples, please know that I will totally honor and support you in making the best choice for you–do go and have dinner, or skip a session if you wish! I won’t think poorly of you. Just please note that I will still require payment for that session time if it was not rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice; if a payment has already been made, it won’t be transferred to another session.

In cases where there is at least 24 hours notice, of course we’ll simply reschedule the session for a time that works better for you. Head to my online calendar to find available times.

For your safety, I’m not willing to conduct sessions if you are in a moving car. Please call to let me know if you’re running late, then get to a good place to hold your session, and then call me back and we’ll pick up with the remaining session time.

Again, please note that the session cannot be rescheduled, nor the session time extended, if Zoom is making it difficult to conduct the session, or if there are problems with your cell phone.

Recording Sessions

Sessions will take place via Zoom and will automatically be recorded. This can be very helpful since sessions often lead to realizations that can be hard to fully process in that moment. It is of course completely up to you to listen back to the recording, or ignore it. If you do not want your session recorded, it is your responsibility to let me know that once we are on the call and I will stop the recording at that time.

Legality

I maintain confidentiality for all of my clients, with the following exception(s): if a client shares that they are in the process of, or are planning to, hurt themselves or someone else, I break confidentiality by whatever means I can in order to ensure that no one is harmed.

It is also possible that I would need to break confidentiality if required to do so by law.

Of course, in this digital age, I cannot guarantee that correspondence sent or received to me electronically by any means, including via email, website, or phone, would not be intercepted or viewed by a third party. Those are always potential risks, though naturally I do what I can to prevent them from happening (and, of course, I am fallible).

Coaching is an unlicensed and unregulated industry. I am not a therapist, and do not diagnose or treat conditions. Coaching is to be used on an “at your own risk” basis and is not recommended as a substitute for therapy.

If you have been diagnosed or in treatment for a mental health-related condition in the past, you are advised to continue with that treatment.

By entering into a coaching relationship, you understand and acknowledge that you are solely responsible for your own choices, and that no guarantees or outcomes are being promised as a result of coaching. You are encouraged to seek the advice or second opinions of the professionals of your choosing before proceeding with any of the suggestions made during our coaching sessions.

By beginning coaching and sending in payment, you acknowledge that you have read and understand all the terms and conditions outlined in this agreement, and that you agree to abide by the terms and conditions described.

Terms subject to change

These terms are subject to change without notice. When they do change, the Client Agreement page will be updated on this page (sarahlyman.com/client-agreement).

Please visit the page at regular intervals to stay up to date on the agreement. Note that if there is a difference between what is noted elsewhere and what is on the Client Agreement page, this is unintentional and the most recent update to the Client Agreement Terms & Conditions is what will be used.