FULL LIFE® IN THE NEWS

As Featured in the Chicago Reader:

Chicago Antisocial

By Liz Armstrong
Featured in Chicago Reader February 3, 2006

"I figured a life coach must be a cross between a fortune-teller and a personal trainer: someone who tells you what your future holds while whipping your ass into shape so you’ll look good when you get there. But last Tuesday afternoon Dr. Joe Siegler, founder of the Full Life® coaching method, which “offers the chance of empowerment while celebrating progress as goals are achieved,” showed me that it’s so much more than that: life coaching is therapy without the crying.

I visited Siegler at his womblike office in Lincoln Park, where he practices his Spheres of Life® philosophy. The SOL therapeutic model names 11 issues—body image, money, love, etc—that must be addressed before you can lead a happy life. After one session I walked out of there with some pretty good advice: “Repackage your anxiety about wanting more out of life as bravery,” he told me. And: “It would probably do you good to take more risks.

Realistic resolve

January 2, 2006

BY TAMMY CHASE AND MAUREEN JENKINS Staff Reporters

• Feeling altruistic? "What can become your self-enhancement resolution that's also beneficial to others?" Siegler asks. It may mean volunteering at a soup kitchen or launching a nonprofit business.


• Tap into a higher power. Getting in tune with the religious or spiritual is a top priority for many, but "they haven't found a congregation they like. The 'assignment' is to go to a different weekly [worship] service until they find a place they feel is the best selection."
  
  
• Decide to become your best self. Reconnect regularly with family and friends. Make quality reading a priority, And don't forget to travel, because "playfulness has to be part of adult life."

Redefining single

December 4, 2005

BY MAUREEN JENKINS Staff Reporter

TV shows like "Sex and the City," "Friends" and "Seinfeld" -- still going full force as reruns -- have shown that "not only is it OK, but it can be a blast," says Full Life Centers' Joe Siegler. "I think the whole concept that you can have a lot of fun being single is taking a lot of the pressure off."

It's all about options, says Dr. Joe Siegler, a psychiatrist and founder of Full Life Centers, which offers personalized life coaching on everything from career management to dating strategies. "Never before have women had all these choices," he says. " 'Do I want to get married? Do I want to have a child as a single parent? Do I want to have a child biologically? Do I want to be with a younger man? Do I even want to date?' For the first time, people are free to be true to themselves."

And, with more women feeling free to shape their own realities -- choosing to stay unmarried, entering long-term relationships, deciding not to have kids -- American society is changing "in revolutionary ways," says Siegler, the psychiatrist.

FULL•LIFE® CENTERS was recently featured in an article in "Angie's List Chicago". The following is a reprint of that article:

LIFE COACHING CENTER HELPS PEOPLE SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS
by Debra Hale-Shelton

She's no Woody Allen, but this Chicago professional had gone through more than her share of traditional therapy when she decided to check out a less traditional way of improving her life. "I'd probably been going to different doctors for 15 years," says the woman, who talked with Angie's List on the condition her name not be used.

For the past three years, though, she has been a client at the less traditional Full-Life Centers, a place in Lincoln Park where people are finding not only therapy but also practical solutions to life's daily problems, from dating to working.

The woman participates in individual coaching and a women's empowerment group at Full-Life. She says she is making good progress. "I tend to put everyone else's needs before mine," says the woman, who calls herself an overachiever. Yet, Full-Life has helped her look out for herself, particularly in job situations.

No longer does she feel as though she gets the leftovers. Full-Life has helped her realize "that [she] shouldn't always be the last one on the list" and to know "that's not a selfish way to approach life."

Full-Life was founded in 1998 by Dr. Joe Siegler, a psychiatrist who previously was chairman of Humana Behavioral Health in Chicago.

The center's slogan — "Building Skills for Life" – suggests no one is born knowing all they need to know about life. As Siegler says, "There should be a place in the neighborhood to work on your life."

The facility, which specializes in life coaching and motivational seminars, has a non-medical, upbeat appearance. The walls, in a rainbow of colors, are rounded. Music plays in the background. "I wanted to take therapy out of secrecy to a neighborhood place of life and openness," says Siegler.
Full-Life has a staff of 14, including eight coaches. With about 200 clients now, Siegler says he's probably going to hire 10 more coaches soon.

Clients range in age from 16 to 90 and seek help dealing with what Siegler calls the "Spheres of Life," a trademark covering such facets of life as self, work, love, friends, family, community and fun.

With the help of a life coach, each client develops an Achilles Plan, another trademarked term referring to a customized agenda to achieve one's goals, whether it's dating more effectively, improving body image or making a scary but needed job change.

Siegler says about half of the center's clients are seeking help with "career redesign." Some people are seeking to be better leaders at work; others may have a mild form of anxiety duet to work stress. Still others may have some marital problems or low-grade alcoholism.

Full-Life seeks to combine the best of therapy with the best of life coaching. If a client needs medication, Siegler can prescribe that. The center charges on a sliding scale ranging from nothing to the patient whose health insurance covers the full tab on up to $200 an hour. But services provided by the center are often covered, Siegler says.

While a good therapist can help people deal with psychiatric symptoms, Siegler says, many therapists are not as good at helping people deal with specific problem-solving and achieving peak performance on the job. Likewise, some coaches don't offer the therapy some patients may need. For instance, a therapist might help a middle-aged woman deal with disappointment over not being married. A life-coach might teach her dating skills. Full-Life seeks to do both.

In summary, Full-Life helps people take the necessary risks to get what they really want out of life. "At different times in our lives," Siegler says, "we need to work with an expert to help us function better."



WGN Television Appearances:
Avoiding Family Conflict

See Dr. Joe Siegler's appearance on Chicago's WGN television, providing five tips on avoiding family conflict during the holidays.
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Thursday, September 11, Dr. Joe Siegler appeared on WGN television to discuss the impact 9-11 has had on society. He talked about: The Importance of Observing the Anniversary of 9-11 AND Finding Meaning In Your Life As You Remember 9-11.

To see a segment from his appearance,
click here: |

If you have problems viewing the video segment, download QuickTime at the Apple website:

NBC Television Appearance:
Dr. Joe's Rules for Dating:
Love, Sex & Everything in Between

See Dr. Joe Siegler's appearance on Chicago's NBC affiliate, WMAQ, providing details about the seminar held on November 11.
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