Stories

Before joining coach training, my career was rooted in brand, digital and commercial work. I have worked across digital marketing, brand management, strategic communications and business growth, supporting brands and businesses to find clearer positioning, stronger performance and more meaningful connection with their audiences.

Alongside that professional path, people had also naturally gravitated towards me for support, reflection and guidance. I have always been someone who listens deeply, sees patterns clearly and wants to help people move forward in a way that feels true to who they are. Over time, it became clear to me that coaching was not separate from my work. It was another expression of the same core thread: helping people find clarity, alignment and momentum. Now, I offer both, helping people navigate the overlap between who they are, how they work and how they live.

I also found that whilst on this journey, I could incorporate my absolute respect and passion for horses by bringing equine-facilitation into my practice, Crystal Clear Coaching.

I have always been deeply interested in growth, healing, identity and what helps people move from survival into a more grounded, meaningful way of living. I know what it is to navigate difficult seasons, to feel stuck between the weight of the past and the fear of the future, and to long for more clarity, peace and self-trust.

Professionally, I found myself increasingly drawn to the deeper layer beneath performance and strategy: the person. I could see that whether in business or in life, people often do not need more pressure or more advice. They need space. They need presence. They need the kind of conversation that helps them hear themselves more clearly, reconnect with what matters and move forward with intention.  Coaching felt like a natural and powerful way to do that.

Before the training, I had already been reflecting deeply on the kind of work I felt called to do. At one point, I thought I might move into therapy, as I was aiming to pursue my career in equine-assisted therapy, so I spent time researching the different modalities. While looking into the differences between therapy, counselling, psychotherapy and coaching to understand where I would be the best fit to serve people most authentically and responsibly.

That process was important for me. It helped me recognise that while I was deeply drawn to growth, healing and emotional wellbeing, coaching felt like the right path.

I began to see coaching not as giving answers, but as partnering with someone in a way that honours their own wisdom, autonomy and capacity. It echoes something I have long experienced with horses too: meaningful progress comes not through force, but through presence, partnership and responsiveness. That shift was significant for me. It moved coaching from being something useful to being something deeply meaningful.

I always respected coaching, but I do not think I had fully appreciated its depth. Like many people, I may have seen it partly as a structured conversation that helps someone set goals and move forward. What I came to understand is that true coaching is far more relational, spacious and transformational than that.

My training journey with Coaching Development was both stretching and affirming. It gave me a much deeper understanding of what it really means to coach rather than advise, fix or lead from the front.

What stood out to me most was the quality of presence the training invited from us. It was not only about models or technique. It was about how we listen, how we relate, how we hold space, and how willing we are to trust the client and stay with what is emerging rather than rushing to resolution.

I was also drawn to the collaborative and co-active spirit of the work, and to the influence of Transactional Analysis in helping make sense of patterns, relationships and ways of being. There was something both grounding and expansive about the training. It challenged me, sharpened me and also gave language and structure to strengths that had long been present in me.

One of the most valuable aspects was that the learning did not stay in the classroom. It changed how I communicate, how I lead, how I relate to others and how I understand myself.

The structural format of the training is also very supportive, you become part of a “herd” of people that want to see your success and invest in you every step of the way such as Karen Pratt, Isobel Bevan and Andrew Matthews. My peer coaches from the circle have become part of my day-to-day life and I feel honoured to know these incredible individuals.

My coaching offering today is rooted in helping people find clarity, reconnect with themselves and move forward in a way that is more conscious, courageous and aligned.

I work in a collaborative, reflective and human-centred way, drawing on co-active principles, Transactional Analysis and a strong belief in the client’s own capacity for insight and change. My work is especially resonant for people who feel stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected or caught in old patterns, whether in life, leadership or work.

Over time, my practice has also become more clearly shaped by a long-term vision I care deeply about: equine-assisted coaching. Horses have played a profound role in my own healing and growth. Their presence has a way of quieting noise, bringing people into the present moment and creating a space of honesty, calm and connection that is hard to replicate elsewhere. That is a direction I intend to continue building into my practice with great care and integrity.

So while my work includes coaching and consulting more broadly, at its heart it is about helping people come home to themselves, strengthen their inner clarity and move forward with greater steadiness and self-trust.

I would say two things.

First, choose training that does not only teach you what to do, but also shapes how you are. Good coach training develops your skills, but great coach training also deepens your self-awareness, your capacity to listen and your ability to be genuinely present with another person.

Second, do not wait until you feel perfectly ready. If coaching keeps calling you, pay attention to that. You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin. What matters is that you are willing to learn, to reflect honestly, to practise with humility and to keep growing.

Coaching is not only a profession. It is a discipline of presence, partnership and ongoing development.

Course History

• The Coach Practitioner - 2024