Do any of these questions chime with you...

• Are you seeking clarity and direction?

• Do you need a good ear to really hear you?

• Are you looking for insights?

• Someone who gets where you are coming from and can help you move forward?

• Would it be useful to have an independent person to talk to in confidence? A trusted non-judgemental sounding board? Someone supportive to bounce thoughts and ideas around with who has no preconceptions?

• Do you feel people think you are doing really well, but inside there is a different story?

• Are you seeking transformation in aspects of your personal and professional life?

• Do you feel a little lost, stuck, confused, dissatisfied?

• Are you struggling with an issue that you need help with?

• Do you feel unsure about your direction?

• Do you feel that you are caught in a loop? That there is more to life than this?

• Are you questioning yourself? Your choices? Your behaviours and actions? Your relationships?

• Are you wondering what this living your best possible life thing is all about?

• Are you ready to make some changes? Then coaching is for you!

The only time I would say coaching is not right, is if you don’t really want to change, develop or improve, and you are not ready to be reflective and honest with yourself. But I doubt you’d have made it to reading this if that was you. The coaching industry is currently in a phase of significant growth, as we humans start to focus on inner growth and the impact it can have on an individual level, but also more broadly on those around us, society, corporations, organisations and how we spend our time and resources on this planet... Give it a go and discover how truly transformational and rewarding it can be!

Start with booking your free 30 minute consultation call with me.

We walk and talk, using the time to explore your goals or outcomes for the session. They are not fitness hikes. They are thoughtful wanders in nature.

See the section on walking coaching lower down the FAQ page for more details.

Nope. Despite being highly creative I’m fundamentally a very pragmatic individual. I’m the daughter of an engineer, who is the son of an engineer, I spent a lot of my childhood hanging out with my logical Dad and his systems based scientific approach to all situations is deeply embedded in my psyche. I like logic, show me the workings and evidence in a convincing way or I’m not going to move past sceptical. I come at coaching and NLP through an interest in Neuroscience, the human brain and how it works, not woowoo. I fully acknowledge that we still have a lot to learn about neuroscience, there is much unchartered territory. Sometimes we need science to catch up an explain something we can see or experience, but that is as near as you’ll get me to woowoo!

No. In general the focus of coaching sessions is the present and the future. It is about goal setting and future actions. We may sometimes need to reference the past to help understand the current situation, but the goal is to move forward and change. We don’t spend significant time on what has been.

Therapy is working with a specialist healthcare professional on past experiences and traumas and significant time may be spent on processing and coping with these historical experiences. It may be that during our coaching conversation past experiences or traumas arise that you would benefit from working with a therapist on. If that happens we can talk about this and you might go on to seek support through therapy. However, as coaching is forward facing and change focused, it might be that you don’t feel you need to seek therapeutic support if you are happy with how your life is going right now.

No. Coaching is a collaborative relationship. Goals, targets, actions all come from you. The coach doesn’t tell you what to do. Sometimes you might set yourself tough stuff to think about or do. I will guide you to trust your gut or instincts on this, make sure you keep checking in with yourself and that these are the right things for you to get the growth you seek. If you set yourself tough stuff to do, but there is resistance and you don’t do it, then this is an interesting discovery. We look into why this occurred and we use the insights this has given us to set new actions.

Yes. We need what we talk about to be confidential to help us build up a positive rapport and trust.

There are two situations where I cannot keep confidentially 1) you have lead me to believe you are at risk of significant self harm e.g. suicidal. In this situation I will seek your permission to access professional help. 2) in relation to the law.

Straight talking, pragmatic, warm, patient, honest, caring, focused and understanding. I like to bring in as much humor as we can to sessions, a little laugher can go a long way. Don’t think this means I don’t take the process exceptionally seriously, I really do, but a personal life philosophy is if we can travel some of the way a little more lightly, then let’s do that!

Want to know more? Check my about page here.

Yes, we sometimes agree on homework outside of the session. It’s ok, I don’t mark it and it doesn’t get a grade! Sometimes some of the most useful work happens outside of our sessions, when you have had time to reflect and digest, or do further thinking. Any homework will be around exercises or actions that support progress with your goals and should be the kind of homework that makes you go ah-ha! Not oh-no!

Life coaching is where you work with a coach over a series of sessions, either face to face or over a call. You talk about any aspect of your life that you are seeking change and development in. The coach asks questions and uses their coaching tool kit, which may include actions and exercises to help you gain clarity on your goals and direction of travel. They then work with you on achievable steps to meet your goals and keep you accountable to them.

Life coaching is set in the belief that the client has the right answers, but might need help with finding them. It might be that you also discuss aspects of your career or business life when looking more broadly at topics in a life coaching discussion.

More details of my life coaching packages can be found here.

Business coaching is similar in format to life or career coaching. There are usually a series of sessions used to ask questions, set goals and achieve change. It uses the same principles of coaching through questioning to discover the right answers for the client and the business they work in, with the assumption that the client holds the knowledge. It can be done face to face or via a call. It is often done at the place of business, particularly when contracted through the business.

Business coaching is normally used by those with management responsibilities for example business owners, senior managers, directors, CEOs and organisational leaders. It is helpful when these individuals seek an independent ear outside of the business, someone who can reflect, question and help them with discovering alternatives and solutions to move forward, but who is not a business mentor.

Business coaching can cover all aspects of business including developing vision and values, strategic direction, managing growth and change, leadership, managing teams, accountability, social responsibility, authenticity, development, productivity, planning, enrichment, resources, motivation and goal setting. It can be used in all sizes of business from start ups to large organisations. It can be for individuals in the business or for leadership groups. It might incorporate workshops and team experiences.

My business coaching tends to be bespoke, but general details of my coaching packages for individuals can be found here.

If you are looking to discuss bespoke business coaching packages, for example for teams or corporate packages, drop me a line and we can discuss your needs and put together something that works for you and your business.

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming , it can be thought of as programming or behaviour changing for the brain (your neurology) using words and sometimes actions.

NLP is a framework to understand why people act and behave in the way they do and through understanding this, support change. It takes into account how we process information through our senses and how different people have different preferences for processing information. It also recognises the role of the conscious and subconscious in habits and behaviours and provides a range of strategies for behavioural change.

It is a tool used in various scenarios including coaching and personal development. I trained as an NLP practitioner initially from a business perspective, to use in a challenging leadership role I was in, and it really helped! It gave me a whole new tool kit to work with and instigated a shift in my consciousness about how I could change my thinking and behaviours to achieve my goals. My NLP practitioner training was the beginning of me becoming much more conscious of how much coaching I already did and how it was one of the most rewarding parts of my life. I have since used the principles of NLP across all aspects of my life from my own personal and professional development, to helping achieve positive change in coaching scenarios.

I am a member of the ICF (International Coaching Federation) and hold an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation with them.

The ICF say: An ICF Credential is a professional certification indicating that you have met specific standards and requirements designed to develop and refine your coaching skills. It is an indication that you are dedicated to upholding strong principles of ethical behavior in coaching. An ICF Credential shows your clients and peers that you are committed to the coaching industry and to developing yourself as a coaching professional.

I am a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner (2012). I trained with The NLP School, London who are aligned, recognised and accredited by NLP University in Santa Cruz, California. They also are accredited by ANLP, the leading UK NLP body and by The Professional Guild of NLP. The Institute of Leadership and Management has certified The NLP School as a recognised provider for the NLP Practitioner course.

I have an Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management (2012).

I have a Diploma in Transformational Coaching with Animas Coaching. Animas are an accredited training school with both the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the Association for Coaching (the UK’s largest professional coaching body). (2020).

I’m trained as a Mental Health Coach by Lyra Health (2022) which is an ICF CCE certified training programme. Proud to be one of their first ever coaches selected to be on the global team.

We walk and talk. At the end and sometimes during the session I encourage you to capture some of the ‘take aways’ by pausing and making a note. They are not fitness hikes. They are thoughtful wanders in nature. Through forests, across beaches, on paths and tracks, passing fields, along quiet country lanes, up and down small hills and through little villages. Sometimes we might pause and just stand in nature, look out at a view, sit down on a log, or a bench.

The distance is adapted to the clients needs and ability, but usually between 3 and 5 kilometres and they take somewhere between an hour to an hour and 20 minutes. We walk outside in all weathers, so you will need stout waterproof footwear for much of the year and a waterproof jacket. I personally walk with a stick, if you like to use one too, bring yours or I can lend you one. The terrain is not difficult, but it can get muddy and I have knee damage that the stick is helpful for.

I love coaching people through transformation in whatever shape or form the process takes, but coaching walks are a personal favourite. As soon as I put my boots on and step out into nature, I feel my worries dissolve. There is something about the rhythm of walking that calms. Something about being in open spaces and amongst trees and plants that is scientifically proven to be good for us humans. We breathe deeper, feel a sense of space and proportion return, start to get our thoughts in order and come up with solutions. I’m fairly sure evolution has something to do with this sense of feeling right when moving through natural spaces by walking. We have only really existed in built environments and spent our time in seated situations for a blink of an eye in the history of our development. So it makes sense that we’ve not adapted to feel right in these situations yet. We are hardwired to feel at home walking through natural spaces and I have found that integration of this into the coaching experience really works.

More details of my walking coaching package can be found here.

Not particularly. We walk at a gentle pace, this is not a fitness hike. I can design a route that fits with your fitness and mobility, we don’t need to go far if that is not right for you. We can discuss in advance your experience of walking and any health or mobility issues. I have damage in a knee and walk with a stick on more difficult terrain. For people with moderate fitness we will usually walk somewhere between 3 and 5k. I try to pick easier routes, where we can concentrate on our conversation more than every step of the way. I also avoid routes with lots of big ups and downs (but there might be the occasional short hill). I want us to be able to talk properly, not to be too puffed out to get out more than the odd word!

Well behaved dogs are very welcome on the walking coaching sessions. Please let me know in advance if you want to bring one along.

Yes. I offer bespoke coaching packages for organisations including business coaching, talks and workshops. Drop me a line and we can arrange to talk about your needs.

Yes. I offer a number of tailor-made talks and group workshops. Contact me for a chat about your organisation or business’ needs. I can run sessions on lots of coaching related themes including on authenticity, values, purpose, creativity, thinking traps, mindfulness, intuition, write your next chapter, using coaching in the workplace, walking and talking, time management, health and wellbeing in the workplace and listening to yourself.

Yes, if they want to be active participants in personal development and change. They need to be as ready and willing as my more long-in-the-tooth clients, this can’t be something they have been told they are doing like it or not by a well meaning adult. Meeting me will be very important for them to decide whether or not I’m someone they can work with. I get that they won’t know if they want to work with me specifically until we’ve had a chat, but the basic drive to enter into a coaching relationship with the right coach needs to be there.

I think it can be tough being a teenager, I remember it well! I have many years experience coaching teenagers from an educational context and I offer life coaching to all over the age of 14. I have always enjoyed the energy, honesty and fresh perspective teenagers bring to situations.

When coaching young adults under the age of 16 I have a different confidentiality agreement than the one for over 16s. It is the same as the duty of care role of a teacher. I have DBS / PVG clearance.

Yes, talk to me about what you need and we can negotiate a plan that works for you.

If you have worked with me and found it beneficial and gone on to refer my coaching to someone else, that is really fantastic! It is some of the best feedback I get and makes me super happy to have had that impact. Ask the person you have recommended me to, to mention the referral when they book their first session and I’ll be in touch with a little thank you offer for you.