If you want to create lasting changes in the way you think, feel, and behave, that needs to come from within you. Much of your personal and professional development to date might have come from skills development, and much of that learning will have been via a professional or an expert teaching you what to do. That is change from the 'outside in'. And so, when you feel out of your depth, your first thought is probably "what should I do?"

When you keep trying to do something differently using the skills and techniques you have learnt, or by continuously adding new skills to your kitbag, but feel that you are never quite achieving the results you want, then perhaps skills are not the answer.

What is happening within you?

Learning and changing from the 'inside out' is a very different kind of self-development and this is where my unique blend of skills can help you. When we work together we will be exploring your emotional and behavioural responses to situations at work, looking closely at what is specifically difficult for you. And if you want, we can also examine where in your life this might be rooted.

This kind of coaching is a very personal type of learning and there is no one size fits all. You won't be given answers. Instead, this work involves exploring your way of being in the world and finding out what it is about your way of feeling, thinking and behaving that can cause you difficulty at work.

What is happening within your environment?

Importantly, we also examine your environment. Sometimes, we are in the wrong environment for us. Some environments are toxic, discriminatory or hostile, or they encourage/dictate working practices that are unhealthy. You might be coping with an environment that is subtly or overtly un-inclusive, prejudiced, homophobic, ageist, sexist, or racist. You may not have even noticed it, because it is hidden within a polite culture, and/or is ignored. Some working environments promote unhealthy working practices under the guise of 'client first', 'striving for excellence', or 'only hiring the best and most capable'. Burnout can become an accepted part of a culture of 'achievement and excellence'. Sometimes the environment we are in just doesn't suit us, our skills, or our working style.

Coaching can help to identify when something intolerable is being tolerated and our conversations can highlight what change might be needed and what is within your control.

On the other hand, your environment may be setting off certain emotional responses that have been embedded in your mind and body for a long time. Your environment may be triggering something in you. This could be the case if you have experienced chronic social traumas throughout your life, like constant rejection, ostracization or -isms. Or if you grew up in a harsh environment or were bullied at school.

Working with deeply embedded negative self-beliefs

Sometimes, the experiences we have had in life have affected us deeply. You may be very aware of the root of your problems, or you might have no awareness of where it all comes from and struggle to understand yourself.

Perhaps you

• hold deeply embedded negative self-beliefs
• experience emotional highs and lows frequently
• find yourself 'acting out' or being triggered by events, environments or people
• struggle to understand yourself
• wonder why you can't get on with life with ease, the way other people seem to

We know from neuro-scientific research that sometimes our body/brain does not process difficult experiences fully. If you have experienced something that hasn't fully resolved, you might find yourself living in a state of too much emotion (hyper-arousal) or too little emotion (hypo-arousal) even though the difficult stuff happened a long time ago. These emotional states can be accompanied by high levels of negative self-beliefs. Or you might be swinging between states of high and low emotion on a regular basis. Living this way is exhausting. These states can also manifest as anxiety or depression.

If this sounds like you, you might find yourself feeling angry, fearful or anxious in situations when others don't seem to. Or you might find yourself feeling very low and detached from life, feeling that it's hard to motivate or feel good about yourself at all. Consequently, you might also be trying to numb yourself through drinking, drug taking or other behaviour that disconnects you from your overwhelming emotions and other people.

EMDR, which I am also trained in, can help you with these deeply embedded states, so that you feel more positive and peaceful. EMDR is a scientifically proven way of working with the brain and body to resolve old, embedded feelings, emotions, experiences and memories.

Through skilful and intuitive coaching, and by taking an integrated neuro-psychotherapeutic approach to our work, I will help you to explore and understand your issues from your unique vantage point so that you can find not only ways forward, but also a better and more peaceful sense of yourself. Because I am both a coach and a psychotherapist, I have in-depth knowledge of how people change and grow. Change is possible!