Services & Offerings
Coaching Services:
I get asked these questions all the time … “Why would a family want a coach? What benefit is there to having a family coach?”
Most families that call Motherland Travel are simply calling us to help them plan a trip. When we begin talking, we delve deeply into the family’s dynamics. I want to explore the issues and needs of each family member so I understand the impact these issues and needs will have on the family’s trip. But as I have also learned, these issues and needs affect lives in general. Having a multi-cultural family can be complicated – I get it. As a Certified Professional Coach, the Founder and CEO of Motherland Travel AND the mother of two internationally adopted children, I have been researching (and living) the issues and needs of adoptive families for many years.
Travel can be a wonderful tool for personal growth and family development, as is family coaching. They go hand in hand nicely. A coach’s job is to help individuals define themselves in relationship to others in their families so they understand how their behaviors impact other family members and visa versa. Change takes place when we own our emotional reactions to triggers and interactions. Coaching offers individuals a process for making change in their relationships. As a coach I listen, I reflect and I help my clients plan and strategize. If you want to make a shift in your family dynamics, coaching and travel can be very valuable tools.
Adoptive parents are often dealing with issues of grief, loss, fear, guilt and shame. Adoptive children are also dealing with grief, loss, fear, guilt, shame, as well as low self-esteem, self-identity issues and potentially issues related to attachment and bonding. As a coach or a travel consultant, I cannot help families with deep emotional attachment issues. I can however, offer activities and mentoring that will help families identify and own their challenges, unite under common goals and in turn feel connected by supporting each other. That is a huge first step in building deeper connections, self-esteem and a positive self-identity.
Coaching Packages:
4 One Hour Bi-Weekly Phone or Skype Sessions = $350
Includes: An in-depth exploration of your family dynamics, discussions about what brought you here, what goals you have for your family, and writing a vision statement (a family’s vision of what they want to become and what it will look like when it is achieved).
Benefits: Help families identify and develop their potentials, act as a sounding board in order to affect positive communication and motivation within the family structure, identify goals and establish a vision of their achievement.
6 One Hour Bi-Weekly Phone or Skype Sessions = $500
Includes: An in-depth exploration of your family dynamics, establishing goals and a writing vision statement. We will also create a Family Mission Statement (a description of a family’s reason for existing — a statement of your family’s purpose, goals, and standards).
Benefits: Includes all of the benefits of the 3-session package as well as creating a unified expression of your family’s purpose, goals and standards by articulating and drafting a Family Mission Statement that reflects how your family chooses to live.
8 One Hour Bi-Weekly Phone or Skype Sessions = $650
Includes: An in-depth exploration of your family dynamics, establishing goals and a writing vision plan. We will also create a Family Mission Statement and develop and Strategic Action-Plan (developing practical ways to enact the change a family wants to see).
Benefits: Includes all of the benefits of the 6-session package as well as developing a plan to make it happen. Once we have identified your goals, vision and mission we will be able to put an action plan in place that will help your family to meet their objectives.
Independent Family-Centered Travel:
We realize that having a company orchestrate a trip solely for your family can be a bit more expensive. Some travel companies offer group trips in lieu of fully customized birth country trips – which is an alternative that can sometimes be less expensive.
Our philosophy is that every family is on their own journey, has unique issues and needs, and requires unique services to meet those needs. Our solution to running group trips is to offer services that enable families to plan their own independent journey with the help of a professional coach and professional travel consultant.
You have our knowledge and expertise at your fingertips! We will walk you through the same process we would a family’s that we customize a trip for, but you book it on your own. If you are travel savvy and skilled in booking your own trips, this might be a great option for you.
We can help you identify the issues and needs of each traveler and how they will affect your trip. We will help you understand how adventure activities can be transformative, how bonding can occur, and how to use this Heritage Journey as a tool for self-growth and connecting more deeply with your family. We can even design an itinerary especially for your family and provide links to our favorite hotels and activities so you can book everything on your own. Let us walk you through the nuances of this particular trip; it’s what we do!
Heritage Journey Consultations:
Consultation and Itinerary Creation Package = $599
You book all your own travel arrangements but we will guide you through every detail.
Includes:
- Intake phone session (1.5 hours)
- Pre-departure phone session (1.5 hours)
- Post-travel phone session (1.5 hours)
- Create a Heritage Journey itinerary for your family
- Provide links to preferred hotels and in-country contacts
- Heritage Journey Workbook
Benefits: The assistance of a travel professional and certified coach to help you with every aspect of the trip planning process; assess the needs of your family; identify triggers and stressors and come up with a plan to alleviate their impact; design an itinerary that fits the needs of your family; and help you develop a strategic plan for continuing the transformation you began while traveling.
Heritage Journey Workbook = $15 (downloadable pdf file)
Benefits:
- Daily guidance and inspiration
- Functional ideas to help you achieve your goals
- Fun activities and ideas to engage your children
- Strategies for de-escalating traumatic situations
BUY THE WORKBOOK HERE
Fully Customized Heritage Journey Services
A Heritage Journey is your child’s first trip back to connect with their homeland. We believe that this trip should be a purposeful, intentional and well-thought out journey of exploration and transformation with his or her adoptive family. Our goal is to customize EVERY trip to meet the needs of EVERY family member while on that journey.
Our trips are designed to:
- Foster family bonding
- Build self-esteem and a positive self-identity
- Cultivate pride in a family’s multi-cultural heritage
Research indicates that internationally adopted children score lower on measures of self-esteem, struggle with attachment and identity issues and often feel disconnected from their family and community due to a lack of cultural integration. Research also indicates that specific types of travel can be used for self-growth, transformation and building self-esteem! All our itineraries are designed to accomplish specific goals, taking into consideration the budget of every family as well as the potential emotional triggers, desires and activity level of every family member.
Please see the list of destinations we offer for our Fully Customized Heritage Journeys below. When you are ready, we’d love to help you create, design and book a Heritage Journey that meets the needs of your family.
