TED WINKWORTH

CMHC, NCC, CPCC, PCC

Email: Ted@CottonwoodCoaching.com

     People flourish when they believe in themselves and their abilities. I am trained as a mental health counselor and have done that work for many years but in all that time it never sat well with me that many modes of therapy don't seem to do much more than help people to better articulate what's wrong with them. Language creates our reality, so shouldn't we be talking about what's going well?

     I used to balk at life coaches. No way was I going to pay to get advice from someone who supposedly knew more about living than I did. I honestly imagined it as a lot of inspirational nonsense. But real coaching, I learned, has nothing to do with inspirational quotes, advice, or cheerleading.     

     The work of Co-Active Coaching is surprisingly aligned with most of the best practices I learned when I went to school for counseling. The only difference is that instead of ruminating and trying to fix problems, you focus on how you're going to make changes to live a more fulfilled life. You're going to set goals and you're going to be challenged to decide if those goals are even important to you. If they are, you'll do work to find the part of you that believes you are capable of living the life you want instead of listening to the people and the inner critics that assure you that it isn't possible. The result is truly transformative.

     For my therapy clients, I use the Acceptance & Commitment Therapy model which is radically different from most of the therapy one might see on TV and, as I said before, really aligned with coaching. When you do this work you go on a treasure hunt for what's truly beautiful in your life and take committed action toward building more of it. When difficult emotions like anxiety or depression or grief come up, we don't work to cure them or solve them. Instead, we actually lean deeper into them. That might seem like the complete opposite of what you want, but there's a growing body of research that shows that accepting difficult emotions while taking committed action toward the life you want increases a thing called Psychological Flexibility which is a pretty key component of positive mental health. 

     The hard truth is that there is no cure for the cloudy day. But when you do this work, the cloudy days become weirdly beautiful in a way that I personally never anticipated. They become opportunities to learn, to be gentle with yourself, and to sometimes even find gratitude for things that you once tried to push away. And in the process, you become something bigger than when you started which allows you to live in a way that is truly aligned with who you are. 

Daelin
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I have been trying so hard to find someone like Ted, he is one of those rare individuals that offer deep empathetic perspectives and strong life experiences all grounded by a beautifully rational perspective on the world.

Peter
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Ted is extremely empathetic, present, and genuinely cares about his clients to a deep degree. Coaching has helped me believe in myself more, figure out what I truly value in life, and has given me the tools to design my life in alignment with those values.

KM
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I have Ted to thank for my personal growth this last year. His compassion, undivided attention, and pure curiosity and frankness are just what I've needed.

Andrew
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Ted helped me identify my values, what drives me and prioritize my goals, and then come up with action items to put a plan in place towards achieving the things that matter most

Hayley
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Ted's empathy, professionalism, and knowledge of life coaching and therapy have been life changing for me. I have no doubt that he can and will help you identify what you need in order to feel more fulfilled.