By: Logan Cohen, Professional Therapist & Online Life Coach
I have always known that I wanted to be a professional therapist ever since I was a small child. Since this is the case, I have made decisions consistently along my Life’s Path to slowly but surely get me to that professional position. In fact, I remember many hard times along the way as a less established professional when almost every part of me wanted to quit and find a job in sales - but “NO!” - I couldn’t - or wouldn’t...
While I always knew I would be a professional therapist in concept, I didn’t have a chance to fall in love with the work until I had the pleasure of living and working in the Appalachian Mountains with at-risk Youth. (Feel free to read more about that period of Life specifically in this blog article) It was with those rough and tumble Kiddos that I learned how beautiful and sacred this work can be - and that it was an honor to be invited into spaces of personal growth with other Human Beings who were pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone to do it.
It was in those moments where my group and I hadn’t eaten or slept, was covered in sweat and grime, and more physically uncomfortable than I could remember being that I truly LOVED what I did - and still do.
I lose time (literal" time slowing down” in the moment for me to think/react) in the same way as that of a premier chess player or professional athlete makes a high stakes maneuver through tension look smooth. If it were not for the timer that goes off in my head to let me know that it’s time to summarize an hour long session and begin wrapping up, I could just - keep - working...
I ended up finishing my graduate studies at Lewis and Clark College and eventually completed my practicum and internship - and those first few hungry years out in the field of community mental health. After throwing myself into community mental health for several more years, I started my own group counseling practice called New Leaf Counseling Group in Charlotte, NC and became a Clinical Supervisor with the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy.
SO why after all of this study - all of this dedication to attaining formal academic and clinical training in the provision of therapy and counseling psychology services - have I been so committed to creating The Balanced Man Plan as an online life coaching system for men? I pursued a field with more intensive requirements for academic studies and therapeutic rigor that goes beyond that of a certified life coach without additional clinical training. So why am I creating a space that doesn't meet Western Medicine's “criteria”, but can be accessed safely to help on your time - and on your terms??
And why online life coaching for men you might also ask? I will go into this further but to be brief for the purpose of this explanation - the World is moving faster than it ever has before. The stakes are now higher than they have ever been - socially - politically - YOU NAME IT!
As all of this chaos whips around faster and faster as technology progresses. Information is shared faster than EVER and with it, the toxicity grows - when out of Balance. How will we maintain our integrity in the face of this while keeping Self & Loved Ones safe??
One of the cornerstones of traditional manhood that we are taught from Boyhood is that for better or for worse - we are responsible for protecting our Loved Ones at the end of the day. We as Men are traditionally seen as “the end of the line” - whether this is in reality or just a perception.
Now don’t get me wrong...I LOVE this part of being a Man - until my Brothers and I cannot sustain Balance in our own Lives anymore...What happens when we have PROTECTED and PROVIDED our ASSES off, but it’s still doesn’t seem to be enough? Well I will tell you as a professional therapist who has spent thousands of clinical hours with Men & Boys before creating online life coaching for Men...We eventually lose our own asses - so to speak…
We as Men are facing a mental and behavioral health epidemic of our own that is taking us out in EPIDEMIC proportions. This socialization of Us Men are in trouble some trouble of our own out there. If we are going to be part of the solutions for helping keep our Loved Ones safe, then we have to be able to keep ourselves safe enough to do so! We are actually just getting worse at this though...
Feel free to read a lot more here about the current health epidemic us Men are facing - of course including the skyrocketing rates of “death by despair”. Death by despair is one of the fastest growing fatality groups currently is composed of death by suicide and drug/alcohol misuse. Scarily enough, is statistically composed of young Men under 50 years old who are dying in such numbers that it has actually decreased the life expectancy of Men in recent years - even as our medical community progresses. You got that? Go on ahead and read that last sentence again...
Suicide and deaths related so substance misuse - called “deaths of despair” - are killing so many Men under 50 years old that the Life Expectancy has FALLEN.
Let’s also sync this up to where I found myself as a professional therapist - before I ventured into online life coaching for men with the Balanced Man Plan.
Through several years in the field as a professional therapist, I worked diligently and developed a few niches or “areas of expertise”. I was originally trained as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and as a result, have always been sought out to work with Relationship difficulties, but I found that most of my Male clients were being drawn to me as a professional therapist because they were having specific issues that were kept stuck by their own ideas about Manhood.
One aspect of academic training as a Marriage & Family Therapist involves the application of what is called “Systems Theory”. This is a foundation of scientific knowledge that primarily observes and intervenes in the laws that govern how parties in a system interact with each other. These are the frameworks that literally explain (in over 10 separate “schools of thought”) how Human Beings grow and develop through relationships in context with each other.
It is a Science of almost infinite variables because I have been trained to always take a step back to take the meta-data into consideration. I am always looking for the arsonist - rather than worrying about putting out fires - so to speak.
It can be a tricky thing working with gender as a professional therapist, however I found over the years in my clinical work that this was incredibly helpful for both Men & Women alike. There are so many options for Living a more happy, healthy, and Balanced Life when we learn to take a step back to consider why things are happening the way they have been. There are so many more directions for change and growth provided to my clients because I have been trained to always take into account the contextual and relational impact. I believe that since human beings are such social creatures - this is just what works with our natural programming most efficiently and productively.
This time in the field as a professional therapist allowed me to see that there are really pervasive barriers to Men engaging in their own processes of personal healing and growth - and even our own needed healthcare until we risk ourselves becoming out of control
I have dedicated my Life - professional and otherwise - to supporting my community’s well-being through increasing access to mental health care and even so - after all of this diligent and consistent hard work through my Life...I am realizing that it is just not enough.
There are so many Men who feel blocked from accessing healthy and needed spaces for their healing and recovery. Us Men are told in so many different ways that taking space to focus on our own Health - our own Happiness - is somehow the wrong thing to do. I created the Balanced Man Plan so that anyone can access online life coaching for Men, even if they fall into one of the following common barriers that are faced by us Men on a daily basis:
Online Life Coaching For Men - 9 Reasons it is a Part of the Solution
#1 Reason Online Life Coaching For Men Works: Don't have to openly ask for help
Our online life coaching for men is designed with self guided coaching plans so that you don't actually have to interact with a person and ask for help. There is no awkward phone tag at the beginning to schedule an initial session. You just open you browser and start clicking, watching the videos, and interacting with our engaging curriculum.
#2 Reason Online Life Coaching For Men Works: There doesn't actually have to be "a problem"
Balanced Man Plan's online life coaching for men isn't focused as much on doing things RIGHT or WRONG - it is more about keeping things in Balance so anyone can stay safe and healthy from the comfort & privacy of home. Our Online life coaching for men certainly includes a lot of helpful information and suggestions about what makes sense, with a broad range of acceptable behavior provided. This is not about becoming dependent - quite the opposite. This is about keeping things in Balance yourself so that when things require depth - you can dig deep.
#3 Reason Online Life Coaching For Men Works: You can keep it "in house".
We all value our privacy and these days, that just seems more and more important. Balanced Man Plan is a curriculum of online life coaching for men that you can access from the privacy of your Home. It is designed by a professional therapist to target key contexts of Life that men are most likely to access so you can get a more natural - sustainable, and synergistic effect - and again all from the privacy of your Home, or even bedroom.
#4 Reason Online Life Coaching For Men Works: Keep Loved Ones safe
One of the most important and sacred jobs us Men have in this World is to keep our Loved Ones safe. While we are certainly socialized to do so, it can also be argued that evolution has put men in this more dangerous position because we are not the gender who can create LIFE - makes sense. Our online life coaching for men can be accessed from wherever you are needed - day OR night.
#5 Reason Online Life Coaching For Men Works: Its Inexpensive
Our online life coaching for men is built into a curriculum of self guided coaching plans that can all be purchased together to be worked through in the comfort and privacy of your Home at one low cost of ONE cup of coffee a week. For $19/month, users get access to the whole curriculum of self guided coaching plans, in addition to virtual group coaching live with Logan Cohen and a slew of prizes and goodies offered by the Balanced Man Plan.
Balanced Man Plan is designed to support men in privately taking preventative and maintenance measures to protect their own Mental & Physical Health. According to the CDC, chronic diseases that are avoidable through preventive care services account for 75 percent of the nation's healthcare spending and lower economic output in the US by $260 billion dollars a year.
#6 Reason Online Life Coaching For Men Works: It's straight-forward & practical
Us men tend to hold our problem solving abilities so dear, that we oftentimes have to wait until we get good and turned around before we ask for help. By this time, it can be hard to know where to begin - or what to say - or how to start...You don't have to worry about any of that with the Balanced Man Plan. Our online life coaching for men is designed so that you can follow the curriculum as designed, or jump in and out as you go - whatever works for you!
We want to be part of the solution for men who are going through a hard time and just need a place to begin - somewhere - where they can save face and just START.
My name is Logan Cohen and I am a Professional Therapist & Life Coach with over 10 years in the field of Counseling Psychology. I am a Clinical Supervisor for the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy, as well as the founder of New Leaf Counseling Group, LLC in Charlotte, NC. After spending tens of thousands of clinical hours with my own clients, starting a successful group practice, as well as a beautiful Family, I “picked my head up from the grindstone” to check in on childhood Friends & Loved Ones.
I painfully discovered that more than a few of my childhood Friends passed away at a young age from preventable health conditions and decided that as a Man, Husband, Father, and Friend, I could no longer stand by as People suffered in silence and self-destructed rather than ask for help. It doesn’t have to be like that and the holistic healing methods offered by the Balanced Man Plan is designed to help People “get unstuck” and break free from old patterns that are the barriers between Self & quality of Life.
The Balanced Man Plan is a therapeutic digital experience delivered through Self-Guided Coaching Plans created by a Male Therapist with the common barriers & strengths of Men in mind. The Balanced Man Plan has the goal of introducing a natural Balance back to Life so it is sustainable for the optimal Health & Well-Being of Self and Loved Ones - and ALL from the privacy and comfort of Home. If you have enjoyed what you see so far, check out our Self Guided Coaching Plans!