Module 6
Coaching Agreements, Session Notes, and Accountability
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9–10
Lesson
What You Will Learn
- Write a simple coaching agreement
- Explain confidentiality and its limits clearly to a client
- Keep brief, respectful, secure session notes on paper
- Use follow-up and accountability that encourage rather than shame
Lesson Notes
The Coaching Agreement
A coaching agreement sets clear expectations before coaching begins. A simple one includes:
- What coaching is and is not (not counseling, therapy, or legal, medical, or financial advice)
- How often and how long you will meet, and for how many sessions
- That the client chooses the topics and decides her own actions
- Confidentiality and its limits
- That the coach will pause and refer if safety, trauma, mental-health, or addiction concerns come up
- That either person may end coaching at any time
- No fee (this is a lay ministry), and signatures or initials with a date
Confidentiality and Its Limits
Keep what a client shares private. Do not repeat it to friends, other residents, or family. “He that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter” (Proverbs 11:13).
But tell the client up front that confidentiality has limits. A lay coach will share information with the right staff, chaplain, or emergency help when someone may be in danger (including risk of suicide or self-harm, harm to others, or abuse of a child or vulnerable adult) or when facility rules require it. Lay coaching is not a licensed profession, so do not promise more privacy than you can give. Follow your program's and facility's written policies.
Session Notes
Brief notes help you follow up. Keep them short and respectful. Use the Session Notes form: date; client's initials; the client's focus; key options she named; her chosen action steps and due dates; her commitment rating; follow-up date; and any referral made.
Inside a facility, papers may be seen or searched. Never write details about crimes, legal cases, other residents, health conditions, or family secrets. Use initials only, store notes as your program directs, and destroy practice notes when the course is done, as instructed.
Accountability and Follow-Up
Accountability means the client chooses to report on her progress, and the coach follows up with care. Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go again and visit our brethren … and see how they do” (Acts 15:36).
Begin each later session with: “What went well since we last met?” “What did you learn?” “What got in the way?” Celebrate progress. If a step was missed, get curious, not critical, and adjust the plan. The client is responsible for her choices; the coach is responsible for showing up, listening, and following up.
Key Terms
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Coaching agreement | A written understanding of how coaching will work |
| Limits of confidentiality | Situations where safety or policy requires sharing information |
| Session notes | Brief written records of focus, steps, and follow-up |
| Accountability | A client's chosen commitment to report progress |
In-Class Activities
Draft an Agreement
Using the checklist in the lesson, write a one-page coaching agreement in plain, friendly language. Include a confidentiality paragraph that names its limits.
Good Notes, Risky Notes
Read the two sample session notes your instructor provides. Circle anything that should not be written down and rewrite the risky note so it is brief, respectful, and secure.
Assignment: Agreement and Follow-Up Session
- Finalize your coaching agreement for the final project.
- Role-play a follow-up session with a classmate (low-risk topic), using the three follow-up questions.
- Complete one Session Notes form (initials only).
- Write three sentences on how you would respond if a client missed every step she chose.
Graded with the Module Assignment Rubric.
Reflection Journal
Ecclesiastes 4 says two are better than one, because when one falls the other lifts her up. Who has lifted you up when you fell short? How can you offer accountability that feels like lifting rather than judging?
Prayer focus: Ask God to make you trustworthy with what others share and faithful to follow up with grace.
Weekly Reading & Devotions
Trustworthy and Faithful
Trust is the foundation of coaching. A woman will only share her real hopes if she believes you will keep her confidence and follow through on what you promise.
That is why honesty about confidentiality matters so much. Proverbs 11:13 says, “he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.” But a faithful coach does not promise total secrecy. She explains up front that if someone may be in danger, or if facility rules require it, she will get the right people involved. That honesty protects everyone.
Session notes help you remember and follow up. Keep them short: initials, focus, action steps, dates. Never write about crimes, cases, health conditions, or other residents. In a facility, papers can be seen by others. Protect your client by protecting what you write.
Accountability works best when it feels like lifting someone up. “What went well? What did you learn? What got in the way?” Ecclesiastes says, “if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.” Follow-up done with grace says: I believe in you, and I'm still here.
Think About It
- What makes you trust someone with your goals? ______________________
- Why is it important to explain the limits of confidentiality? ______________________
- How do you want to respond when someone falls short? ______________________
Daily Devotions for Week 6
Two Are Better
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.— Ecclesiastes 4:9 (KJV)
Partnership makes goals easier to reach.
Reflect: Who is your accountability partner?
Pray: Lord, thank You for people who walk with me.
Do: Check in with someone about a goal she is working on.
A Faithful Spirit
A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.— Proverbs 11:13 (KJV)
Keeping confidences builds trust.
Reflect: Are you known as someone who keeps confidences?
Pray: Lord, give me a faithful spirit.
Do: Refuse to pass on one piece of gossip today.
Yea and Nay
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.— Matthew 5:37 (KJV)
Clear, honest agreements prevent confusion and hurt.
Reflect: Where do you need to be clearer about what you will and will not do?
Pray: Lord, make my words honest and clear.
Do: Keep one promise exactly as you made it.
See How They Do
Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the LORD, and see how they do.— Acts 15:36 (KJV)
Paul followed up. Caring includes coming back to see how someone is doing.
Reflect: Who needs a follow-up from you?
Pray: Lord, make me faithful to follow up.
Do: Ask someone how a goal she mentioned is going.
A Threefold Cord
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.— Ecclesiastes 4:12 (KJV)
With God as the third strand, coaching partnerships grow strong.
Reflect: How is God part of your relationships?
Pray: Lord, be the third strand in my friendships.
Do: Pray with someone for her goals.
Module Quiz
- 1.
Which belongs in a coaching agreement?
- 2.
Session notes inside a facility should:
- 3.
A client missed her action steps. A good first question is:
- 4.
A lay coach should tell clients up front when she would need to share information for safety.
- 5.
Name three things that belong on a Session Notes form.