What can I expect before the coaching session?

Before coaching, you’ve probably reached out to me via email or message. We’ll have a chat via email, text or phone to confirm a time for a zoom call and why you've reached out. We'll briefly discuss challenge you would like to change. I’ll then send you an email confirmation of the coaching date and time with a zoom link. There will also be some resources and a task for you to have a look over before the coaching session.

What is the purpose of coaching?

The word coach comes from the word coche, which means wagon or carriage - a vehicle that takes a person from A to B. Coaches appear in many areas of life. Their role is to help their clients get from A to B in their lives. Therefore, coaching is a methodology to help you achieve the result you want in your life quickly and successfully. We have personal trainers for our bodies, why not a coach for our minds?

What can I expect during the coaching session?

We’ll talk about the problem you want to change. I’ll ask you questions to help me understand how I can help you. The questions are a part of the coaching methodology I use and are an important part of the process. Within the coaching session, I may ask you to close your eyes, stand up, move around or visualise.

What if I can’t visualise or find the answer to what you are asking me?

During the coaching conversation, I will ask you thought provoking questions and to do tasks, such as visualising. You may never have had to do this before - that’s okay! If you don’t understand a question or don’t feel like you can do a task, just let me know and I’ll adjust my approach. We’ll still get to same destination, but via an alternative route that feels easier for you.

What sort of things do you work with?

I work with anything you would call a ‘problem’ in your life. This can be a simple as habit change, such as stopping snacking or stopping picking. It may be starting a new habit, such as working out more - often people will say, “can you help me get more motivation?”. Well yes I can! What about the things in your life like long lasting patterns of behaviour? A few examples are, yo-yo dieting, or stopping a project when things get tough by changing direction, ending up attracting the 'wrong' partner. This are sorts of patterns run over longer periods of time. You may start to notice the impact this has on your life because it stops you being happy or achieving the results you want. A coach can help you overcome these patterns of behaviour. How about feeling stressed and worried? Presentation skills, social anxiety and lacking confidence? These are more ‘problems’ coaching can help you overcome.

Do I need to do anything during the coaching session?

You need to be okay with getting a little bit uncomfortable. Sometimes I may say, “the coaching technique we are about to do may be a little uncomfortable, but if we move through this discomfort, you’ll experience something new. It’s a short bit of discomfort now, to get closer to your results. Are you okay with this?” Getting a little uncomfortable is an essential part of the change process and I’m trained to manage this and move you towards your goals. But remember, this is your coaching session and you are free to say no. Honesty and openness are also necessary in coaching. This enables me to do my job better and help you get you to where you want to be quicker.

Can I talk confidentially with you?

Yes - the coaching sessions we have are confidential. I will take notes during the coaching session, for my use as a part of the coaching process. I will keep those notes in a locked cabinet and when we have concluded the coaching sessions, they will be disposed of as sensitive waste via shredding. If I consider you a harm to yourself or others, I have a duty of care to inform the authorities in order to keep you and others safe. If you share details of someone who poses harm to you I will also be obligated to share this with the authorities in order to protect your best interests. For more information on this please refer to this website: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/confidentiality-in-health-and-social-care/

When will I start noticing results?

You’ll notice a change during the coaching session. I won’t guarantee what that change will be because I don’t know your situation or your problem yet. However, a change that is different to what you have been experiencing, is a step away from your problem and a step forwards towards your goals. After the coaching session, you will experience situations in your life differently. For example, you may feel more relaxed or have a different perspective on a problem. You will likely notice positive changes in areas of your life which don’t seem related to the situation we discussed. This all a part of the magic of coaching with me.

How do I choose a coach?

The coaching industry is currently unregulated. This means that anyone can set themselves up as a ‘coach’ or ‘life coach’. For you, this means that you have to identify who you want to trust to help you overcome your problems. Having observed coaches who don’t deliver results and paid money for these poor coaches, I take this very seriously. I know how important it is to provide an excellent services and results to my clients. I regularly participate in continued professional development, practice my skills and read up to date research to support my practice. On the website below you will find a long list of questions you may want to consider before you choose a coach. Feel free to ask me any of these questions, and any others you may have. https://anlp.org/knowledge-base/questions-to-ask-an-nlp-professional Most importantly the coach you choose has to be right for you – if I am not that coach, I hope you find the right one!

What sort of coaching do you do?

I use a coaching methodology called Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). I also use projective coaching techniques that use art and creative process to facilitate choice and change in your life.

What is NLP?

NLP is a practical therapy model that was developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. These two men recognised that a group of psychotherapists were consistently getting great results for their clients. Through careful observation, Bandler and Grinder identified the critical patterns thetherapists were using that led to their success. These patterns formulated the basis of NLP, and the techniques NLP practitioners now use to facilitate change for their clients. Neuro – relates to the brain and the neurological processes that happen in the brain when sensory information is processed and produces a motor output in the nervous system. Linguistic – refers to the language we use to communicate and how langaue formulates our experience of the word that drives the neurological processes in our brain and body. Programming – this refers to how the language and sensory information we receive from the world is given meaning to create the experience of our life. You may like to think about NLP as combining thinking, seeing and deciding in a methodology that addresses these three elements to facilitate change in your life.

What are your qualifications?

• Fitness Instructor and Group Exercise Instructor Level 2 (2013)
• NLP Practitioner ITANLP (2013)
• BSc Sport and Materials Science (2015)
• Personal Trainer Level 3 (2016)
• NLP Master Practitioner ITANLP (2016)
• Sports Massage Level 3 (2017)
• MSc Injury Rehabilitation Sciences (2018)
• NLP Trainer’s Training (in progress with Peter Freeth IBNLP 2020)

How can you help me if you haven't experienced the problem that I have?

The coaching methodology I use, and the results you get, do not rely on my life experience or advice. I use techniques that facilitate choice, learning and neuronal changes in the brain. This enables you to change your perspective and experience different results in your life. I can’t say what those results will be because this process is generative. This means that the changes and results you experience are created by you - you find your own solutions to your own problems during coaching. This is different from advice giving or coaching from life experience - advice and life experince are based on what someone has done before and not generative If you find a coach giving you advice, they are providing you their solutions to your problems – I’m sure you have friends and colleagues for that! My coaching will enable you to find your solutions to your problems.

Are coaching and counselling the same?

Counselling is a space for you to talk about your feelings, thoughts and difficulties in detail. The counsellor’s role is to listen, in order to help you reflect, and discover more choice on a conscious level. Counselling is often referred to as ‘talking therapy’ and it is a good place to verbalise your thoughts and feelings where you are listened to. Coaching is different to counselling. Yes, you will talk about your problems, and share your difficulties with me. However, there is no need to go into great detail nor seek to understand why you are experiencing what you are experiencing during coaching. Instead, I’ll ask for only enough information that will help me to facilitate change on an unconscious level so that the experience of your problem changes for good. Coaching therefore differs from counselling because it addresses the unconscious patterns that drive your problem, enabling a change in your life.

What’s included in the price of one coaching session?

You’ll get a 1 to 1 zoom coaching session (face to face will be available again in the future). You’ll also have access to my phone number and email for chat support in between coaching sessions. I will be available to answer any questions.

How long is a coaching session?

A coaching session typically lasts between 1 hour to 2 hours, although it’s not limited to this.

How regularly do you recommend I have coaching?

Typically clients will have a coaching session every 1 to 2 weeks, and may find the frequency drops off as they start building momentum towards their goals. The coaching relationship tends to continue over 6 months, as this is a good time frame to expect to see results.

How will I know when to stop having coaching?

Simply, when you’ve achieved your results! As you progress in the coaching process, you’ll discover how many solutions you can find on your own. You’ll notice choices which were previously unavailable to you and you’ll take action you in situations where previously you felt stuck. Because of the style of coaching I use, your solutions self generates, meaning you are able to overcome your problems without help. Thus, the need for a coach reduces over time. You’ll naturally reach a place where you feel like you don’t want a coach anymore and are capable of creating the results you want in your life, on your own. This typically happens over the course of 6 months which is why I will recommend committing to coaching for this length of time.