What to expect from a session
Clarifying your goal
We explore what you would like to get out of coaching - how you would like to feel, what you would like to have or be. We spend time exploring what has been happening for you, allowing you to fully express your thoughts, concerns and feelings. We look at why you want things to change, your motivation, what you would like to move towards and what you would like to move away from. This not only brings a lot of clarity around moving forward but it also helps your mind to start believing that it's possible.
Unpicking the blocks
We experience life through our perception of it. Very often, we have stories or scripts in our minds that have been formed since childhood. Some of these are very helpful but others not so much. Coaching helps us look at our stories, our thoughts and the beliefs that influence how we react to our circumstances. We spend time unpicking these, evaluating if they are still valuable and finding different perspectives if not.
Connecting you to your inner wise person
By nature, we are intelligent and intuitive beings, but very often we become disconnected from this innate wisdom and we get 'stuck in our heads'. We can call this the 'Monkey Mind', rumination, overthinking or anxiety. In a session, we work on creating balance so that you are not only listening to your head but you are listening to your 'inner radar' which encompasses your heart and your gut. These inner guidance systems offer a wealth of wisdom to help navigate life's journey.
Models, tools and techniques
Our minds tend to remember experiences in imagery and therefore it is really helpful to use visualisation to bring about lighter states of being. I also use energy techniques like EFT (Tapping) to help diffuse difficult emotions. We might look at psychological models to help us identify when we are falling into ways of thinking and behaving that feel dis-empowering. I value both science orientated and energetic based models in my work and my intention is to empower you with knowledge and tools so that you can take them away and use them in a wide range of situations.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an increasingly popular technique for managing mental health. As a trained Mindfulness teacher, I integrate mindfulness into coaching sessions to help calm anxiety, ease emotional discomfort and manage negative thoughts. I record personalised guided meditations when I think it will be beneficial and enjoyable for the client.
Maintaining progress
If appropriate, together, we define key actions to progress for the next session so that each session moves you towards your goal. Coaching is all about movement - moving forwards and onwards. It is a very interesting and exciting process; it can release a lot of emotional blocks and I see people feeling lighter and energised as a result.
A blend of Coaching and Counselling skills
As someone who has undergone coaching training, along with counselling skills training and having experienced both Services as a client, I can say that they are different approaches however they can be integrated and blended. I use counselling skills within every session so that you are able to express and release thoughts, issues and concerns and feel truly heard and understood. Coaching will remain the key focus - because it will help you find answers and movement at a more dynamic pace. However this depends on where you are in your journey and I will advise you if I believe you need to see a therapist as an alternative.