Questions about coaching

Therapy tends to look back, to understand and heal what's happened. Coaching looks forward, working with where you are now to help you move toward what's next. I don't treat mental health conditions, and if something that comes up in our sessions would be better supported by a therapist, I'll say so honestly and can point you toward finding the right support.

Mostly, it's a conversation, but one with real structure behind it, and one we build together rather than me leading from the front. I ask questions rather than give advice, notice patterns you might not see from inside your own life, and work with you to find whatever kind of accountability actually helps you follow through, rather than me imposing my own. Some sessions feel like relief. Some feel uncomfortable in a useful way. Both are normal.

Sometimes, when it's useful, I'll draw on a tool, model, or framework from my training. But whether we use one, and which one, is always something we agree on together, never something I decide for you or bring in unannounced. If it's not landing, we drop it and go back to the conversation.

There might be, if you want it. I can share an exercise or a reflection prompt that could be useful to sit with between sessions, but doing it is entirely your choice, and so is whether you bring what you found back to talk about. Nothing is checked or marked, it's there to serve you, not the other way around.

There's no fixed answer, which is exactly why a single session and two package sizes exist. Some people arrive with one specific decision to work through and need one conversation. Others are moving through a longer stretch of change and find six or twelve sessions gives the work room to actually land. We can talk about what makes sense for you before you commit to anything.

The Midlife Review Session is a structured, one-off review across eight specific areas of your life, ending with three agreed priorities, three next steps, and a written summary included within two working days. Coaching, whether a Single Conversation or an ongoing package, is open and follows wherever you need it to go, without that fixed structure, and a recording or transcript is available on request instead. If you're not sure which one you need, the Review Session is the better starting point when you know something feels off but can't yet name what.

We meet somewhere outdoors, usually a park or a stretch of countryside, and we walk and talk for the full session, side by side rather than face to face. Many clients find it easier to be honest when they're not being looked at directly, and there's good evidence that movement and time outdoors support exactly the kind of thinking coaching asks of you.

It's a normal coaching session built around a shared, hands-on task instead of sitting across from each other, such as baking, gardening, a jigsaw puzzle, or Lego. It can work over a video or phone call just as well as in person, it's the busy hands that matter, not being in the same room. The task itself isn't really the point, it's just often easier to think and talk honestly when your hands are busy and you're not being looked at directly and asked questions head-on. If you think you'd do better this way, mention it when we first speak and we'll shape sessions around it.

Yes, freely. A package might be three walking sessions, two virtual ones when the weather or your diary doesn't cooperate, and one on the phone because that's what a particular week calls for. The work stays consistent even when the format changes. This applies to the Check-In and Full Season packages. The Midlife Review Session is a single session by video or phone only.

Yes. I work within the ICF Code of Ethics, which sets out clear standards on confidentiality, and nothing you share leaves the room, the call, or the walk, with the standard exceptions that apply to any coach or therapist: if I believe you or someone else is at risk of serious harm, or if I become aware of a criminal act, I have a professional duty to act on that. These situations are rare, and I'll always be open with you about confidentiality and its limits.

No. Plenty of women arrive only knowing that something feels off, without being able to name it yet. Working out what's actually going on is often the first real piece of the coaching, not a prerequisite for it.

Then I'll tell you honestly, and where I can, point you toward someone who might be a better match. The initial conversation exists precisely so we can both find that out before any package is booked, and within a package, sessions can be rescheduled with reasonable notice if life gets in the way.

I'm trained through Optimus Coaching Academy's Professional Coaching Diploma and I work within the ICF Code of Ethics. I'm currently working toward formal ICF and EMCC accreditation, and this page will be updated with both once they're awarded.

Yes. HME Online Limited maintains professional indemnity insurance appropriate to the coaching services provided. Further information is available on request.

In-person and walking sessions run across the Midlands, in England, in the UK, and I'm generally happy to travel up to about an hour for these. If you're a bit further out, mention it when you get in touch, plenty of clients meet me partway or come to the Midlands themselves, so it's often still workable. Virtual and phone sessions are available wherever you are in the world, so distance is never a reason not to get in touch.