Coaching Overview.

What is Coaching?

Who is Coaching For?

Coaching Methodology

Coaching Choices

Coaching for Mental Wellbeing

Master Your Inner Critic

What is Coaching?

If you are feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed? Or relationships at work feel unfulfilling?
Or perhaps you are not leading your life, your career, your team as well as you could? Then maybe a coach can help.

Like a sports coach or a personal trainer, the benefits of having support from the sidelines can keep us on track. Such coaches can be directive in their approach, building a plan and making sure we stick to it. Coaching for personal growth and transformation is a partnership. A journey of exploration, reflection and learning through guided conversations with an ‘end state’ in mind.

Coaching can help you discover more about who you are, what really matters to you, what causes you stress and how to make the most of what you have. It helps you manage your own internal landscape, get a handle on your emotional life and change unhelpful narratives by embracing new behaviours and beliefs until they feel natural.

How many sessions will I need? 

It depends on your needs and how much practice you put in. A programme of 6 sessions over 4 months is a great place to start. Session are 60 to 90 minutes, with email or phone support in between if needed. 

Change takes time.

Deep fundamental change can only happen with patience and realistic pacing. We may experience illuminating light bulb moments and quick wins, but there are no long-term quick fixes when it comes to changing from within. I am open to an initial short-term commitment but I’ll be honest if I think we need deeper work. 

Who is Coaching For?

Do you see yourself here? Pen portraits to give you an idea of the kinds of people I’ve worked with.

Jane.

Tired, exhausted, overwhelmed. She has two jobs. During her London based office hours she runs a full-on transformation project as her team transition to become the in-house service provider for one of her company’s most important clients. The rest of the time she is chasing around trying to herd her family which consists of two teenagers, a dog and a partner. There is never enough time.

Peter.

He’s going places but he is frustrated. He’s transitioned to hybrid working - living in Surrey, and working in London all, but he’s worried about the lack of in person ‘face-time’ with key decision makers. He’s ambitious for promotion, he thinks outside the box, and has a clear vision for his division. The ‘problem’ is that his peers and stakeholders don’t buy in and he can’t work out why.

Dave.

A sophisticated thinker, and able to hold lots of complexity, Dave is also a bundle of nervous energy. Fortunately weekends spent outside in the Kent countryside help him to relax and unwind a little. He’s excellent at regulatory affairs able to grasp the bigger picture and finer detail. He’s not as competent at relating to his team. Although he’s actually quite sensitively in-tune on the inside, he just doesn’t know how to relate comfortably with people.

Beth.

Full of flair, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, in her early 30’s Beth has built and runs a Sussex based business employing 20 people with a turnover of £10m. To the onlooker it seems like she has everything going for. She’s the one who ‘knows the truth’ though. In many ways her drive is what has got her here, but inside she’s fearful that it’s all built on very unstable foundations and that one day, it’ll all come tumbling down and they will all know.

Over the years clients have worked for the following companies you might recognise and, more besides.

“I have learned a huge amount and have a new self-awareness that I make better use of. I can recommend coaching sessions with Beverley as a wholly positive and enriching experience!”

Founder and Director, Not for Profit

Coaching Methodology.

I am in integrative Master Somatic Coach. Somatics is my primary training and along the way I have discovered other approaches that all have a useful place in my work. I also offer each of these methodologies on a stand alone basis,

Somatic Coaching

This is the process of learning through the body. We cannot take action or exist without our living breathing, moving, sensing, energetic body. Our body responds to and creates thoughts, moods, emotions, tone, sensation and narrative. To invite new possibility and ways of being in a durable embodied way we take it to the body. A somatic coach works with you to discover what’s happening in your body through standing or movement practices, revealing unseen booby traps and wonderful hidden nuggets. “Wow - how did that happen?” is music to every coach’s ear!
Find out more

Somatic Bodywork

Muscles and pulsating organs hold tension. Highly visible examples such as tight shoulders, pursed lips, furrowed brow and stiff back can be the result of long-held patterns of contraction. Imagine being shouted at regularly as a child, or by an insensitive boss - the body tenses in a protective response. Bodywork helps release these patterns, creating the space for a more energetic and compassionate self. The coach gently guides you through breathwork patterns, voice, light touch and movement until your body begins to re-set and find sustainable change.
Find out more

Ontological Coaching

The ‘study of our being human’ is a practical and powerful approach to exploring our interpretations of our world. Exploring through with a closer look at narrative and language, moods and emotions and the body, we can start to make sense of things. When we learn to observe ourselves this way, we discover what has been unseen and how we can create new choices. We change our interpretation and new things become possible, in relationships, at work and within ourselves.
Find out more

EMDR 

Originally successful in treating PTSD, this method reveals blockages through all of our bodily intelligences (head, heart, gut and movement). It delves deep unwinding old stuck patterns enabling us to install new, positive beliefs.  EMDR is particularly effective for shifting unwanted persistent behaviour, building confidence and clearing self-doubt and anxiety. It can also be helpful in treating a specific somatic symptom, like eczema or an allergy, or a pain that won’t move yet doesn’t have an obvious physical explanation.
Find out more

Focusing

Bringing our attention to the internal landscape of our body is an effective way of overcoming challenges. Most challenges are accompanied by feelings or sensations that we are unaware of because, we live so cognitively.   Think of someone you love. How do you know you love them? Because there are sensations or feelings in your body that tell you so. When we pay attention to the sensations we learn more about the challenge or problem, and, with a gentle pace, no pushing or forcing, the deeper body wisdom encoded within us brings change and transformation.  
Find out more

Coaching Choices.

Client work typically orients itself around one of the three programmes below. Do these resonate with you? They are intended to give a flavour of the kind of work we might engage in together.

Confidence unleashed.   

• Do people see you as confident, capable, strong and focused?

• Are you thriving on the outside but struggling on the inside?

• Is it affecting your wellbeing and holding you back?

• Are you a high performer who finds it hard to accept positive feedback?

• Do you undermine yourself and only see what is lacking?

The disparity between outward and inner realities can manifest as anxiety, stress, insomnia, over-thinking and workaholism amongst endless other symptoms. Unless we explore what is keeping us ‘stuck’ it will keep holding us back.

Somatic Coaching is highly effective in unlocking confidence. From the Greek word ‘soma’ meaning the body in its wholeness, this transformative technique allows you to connect with the entirety of your being, from the head into the body and from your thoughts to your feelings, actions and spirit. It is a set of principles that helps you find the key to resolving, releasing and healing the thing that is holding you back.

Become more present without compromising on your self-worth, dignity, value and confidence. Therapeutic in nature, Somatic Coaching is gentle yet powerful, removing obstacles and building an inner world that matches outer perceptions.  

Contact me for a free initial chat to find out how you can reclaim your value, self-worth and confidence, at work and at home. 

Leading on purpose.

We are entering a new age of leadership, where creating shareholder value is no longer the primary aim. ‘The bottom line’ is a meaningless and uninspiring goal for a majority of the workforce and offers little value to society or the state of the world. We are learning that if we do the right thing, shareholder value will come naturally and to get there we must focus on what really matters.

So, what does really matter? What do you want to commit to?

Leading on Purpose brings the right values into focus. Authenticity, empathy, fulfilment and meaning. It offers an anchor in the storm, by spelling out priorities, holding us steady through turbulent waters and guiding us home. It leads us onto the path of effective and successful leadership.

Leading on Purpose helps answer these critical questions:

• What is my commitment?

• To what purpose will I lead?

• How can I re-shape my thinking and practices to cultivate my commitment to that purpose?

• How do I make this commitment part of who I am?

• What conversations, actions and practices do I need to engage with to become the living embodiment of the purpose?

Contact me for a free initial chat to find out how Leading on Purpose can help you become the very best leader you can be.

Keep calm and carry on.

If only it were that easy! 

Anxiety, stress and feeling overwhelmed are pervasive and inescapable in our fast-paced world. You are not alone. Pre-Covid statistics heralded an increase in poor mental health with 64% of people in leadership positions suffering from repeated anxiety, stress and depression. That figure has grown aggressively.

We can all make changes to improve our wellbeing, from exercise, nutrition and good sleep to spending time in nature and with friends. Sometimes this is enough and sometimes these things don’t help.

If you can’t escape the worry loops you find yourself in; if you can’t unwind the gripping anxiety and turbulence that sits in your body, it can feel as though nothing works. I help you meet the anxiety and stress where it is with calm, reassuring coaching.  

For many years I have been working with the ‘whole’ of a person’s body and mind, helping them unwind stuck behaviour patterns. I can help you begin to move forwards with confidence. 

Contact me for a free initial conversation to find out how this programme can help you feel more calm, capable, less stressed and able to lead and live according to what matters most to you.

Coaching for Mental Wellbeing

Something isn’t quite right. You don’t feel fully confident or inspired in your professional or personal life but you can’t put your finger on what’s holding you back. You’re not ready to explore therapy or counselling but you know you need guidance. Or maybe your team needs some direction? This is where coaching can play an empowering role.

Is coaching right for you or your teams?

Coaching bridges the gap between professional guidance and support and a space for considering our mental health and wellbeing. It offers an opportunity to offload, explore, process, consider and observe. It allows us to discover fresh perspectives and put new strategies into practice.

One of my earliest clients wanted to spend the whole session processing events in her life. I felt guilty that we weren’t focusing on the coaching goals we’d agreed on, and I felt I wasn’t doing the job her employer was paying me to do.

I discussed the situation with a more experienced colleague. Was I delivering what I’d been contracted to do? My colleague opened my eyes to the wonderful fact that her employer had in effect given her the space to process what she needed to process.  Maybe this was meant to happen.

So when I reflect on coaching for mental health and wellbeing I look deeply into what companies and individuals really need. I support them to make sense of what is happening, to recover equilibrium and to work out what’s next. 

Coaching cannot replace the therapy required to support mental illness. However, it allows you to pause, reflect and process life. It helps you observe clearly, see what you haven’t seen, and work out how to move forward - if you want to.  

Master Your Inner Critic.

Learn how to work with your Inner Critic without muscling it away, banishing or ignoring it. Ready to come face to face with your Inner Critic?