Chances are you know a friend who's in desperate need of daily therapy but hates the idea of it because he flunked an intro psychology class in high school. Smearing every licensed therapist with the same Freudian brush, he doesn't want to lie on a couch. You give him a phone number. You know absolutely nothing about the person you're recommending but that doesn't stop you from suggesting this individual could be voted Time Magazine's Person of the Year. You've heard from another good friend, who's had his share of rollercoaster rides and seems to be adjusting, that Lily Garabuchi is an excellent life coach. With that flimsy endorsement in mind (and knowing that Brad has been known to cycle wildly between his stable periods), you command your friend to pick up the phone and dial.

Dale is on it simply because he can't afford to alienate another friend and because he knows he needs help. Within a week he logs in five hours with Ms. Garabuchi who offers him the first hour for free. Struck by what he describes as her "calming voice of reason", he becomes accustomed to his newfound therapist.

Indeed the sessions are a huge blessing. Dale starts to do some critical thinking about his life. He gets a new haircut, sells his VW and reads a biography of George Soros from cover to cover. The pitch of his voice goes from gruesomely flat to markedly more positive.

All is well until you get a random phone call from Brad. He's curious to know how things worked out with the recommendation and if your friend is doing any better. The question seems innocent enough but you've already detected a slightly imploring tone in his voice that makes it sound as though he's heavily invested. You're reluctant to talk any further. The pregnant pause goes on for about thirty seconds until Brad blows. He wants an answer. Are things working about with the life coach or not?

OK. Although you thank him for his help and let him know that everything is on the up and up, you want a full disclosure. What's it to him? And that's when you learn that Ms. Garabuchi is just turning her life around after a year-long Vicodin addiction that left her broke and put her in the middle of a custody battle. When she ended up losing her daughter and her apartment, Francine opened her doors and let her sleep on the couch. For six months. Francine, Brad goes on to explain, is the woman he met online in a chat room. They got involved but it got rough, especially with Lily on the couch.

To motivate her and to give her prospects for a new beginning, Francine encouraged her to follow her pursuits as a life coach because that was what she felt drawn to do. Her first client was Brad. He let her counsel him reluctantly, for obvious reasons, but as the weeks wore on, he came to value her skills, her insights and her perseverance. He also fell in love with her.

You think about putting the phone down. Before you're given ample time to hang up or attack your friend for engaging in one too many conflicts of interest, he tells you to judge Lily based on the results. Based on everything you know, Lily is doing an excellent job. Even though she's still getting her life in order, he reminds you that there are plenty of hairdressers out there who are either bald or wear weaves. Shrinks, he tells you, go to therapists. His point: you can have the golden touch without wearing the golden robe.

It's not the neatest package and you're tempted to call Dale to tell him to bail-out immediately. But even you have to recognize that your friend has taken a quantum leap forward.

Eventually, after another month passes with what appears to be an ongoing client-life coach relationship between your friend and Lily, you tell all. With the passage of that cool-off period, you feel less anxious about shutting down a relationship you helped create. As your friend takes in the meaty revelations, he mentions that he can understand, to some degree, why you felt the need to get it off your chest. What he does now, the two of you know, is up to him. But what has already happened, he tells you, is definitely for the better. He thanks you for that and an hour later he puts in a call to Lily. NewsSip

Photo Credits: Manu Rivas