FAQs
What’s the difference between coaching and counselling?
| Coaching | Counselling | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Present to future | Past to present |
| Purpose | Clarify direction, set goals, take action | Understand, heal, process emotions |
| Style | Collaborative, forward-moving | Supportive, reflective |
| Topics | Values, motivation, decision-making, change | Mental health challenges affecting quality of life |
| Assumptions | Client is resourceful and capable | Client may be in distress or need emotional support |
| Common Questions | “What’s next?” “What matters now?” | “What happened?” “How did that affect you?” |
What does neurodiversity-affirming mean?
For me, it means I have a neuro-divergent mind (ADHD) and I like neurodivergent minds.
I work from the understanding that neurodivergence is a natural variation —not a flaw to be fixed.
You’ve been navigating a world not designed with you in mind and I want to offer a space where you can unmask— just work on whatever feels real. No need to translate, perform, or self-edit..
What is Developmental Coaching?
Developmental coaching focuses on what’s known as vertical growth: expanding your perspective, increasing your self-awareness, and shifting the way you make sense of things.
Most coaching helps you set goals, stay accountable and learn new skills (horizontal growth). I chose developmental coaching because it looks at what drives our choices - instead of “what should I do?”, it explores “how am I making sense of this?” and “what assumptions or patterns are shaping my thinking?”
I find it especially useful in midlife when so many roles and identities are shifting - that uncomfortable edge when old ways of thinking and being don’t fit, but new ones haven’t fully formed.
It’s also a great fit with narrative practice because it focuses on how a person’s meaning-making changes over time, and centres the client’s own wisdom.
What tools do you use?
I’m not big on diagnostics and surveys – their design tends to be neuro-typical and mono-cultural, which ends up dropping people into broad categories.
Life is more interesting and infinitely more complex than that.
I use adult development frameworks that focus on meaning and purpose, guided by what’s important and relevant to you. These include the DECIIDED model and Four Territories of Experience in developmental coaching, and double listening and re-authoring conversations in narrative therapy.
How do I know you’re the right coach for me?
Finding the right coach is about two broad things - skills and fit.
You might find the most qualified person, but it just feels … meh! Similarly, you might feel great rapport, but don’t like the style of coaching.
Most coaches offer a free discovery call, so it makes sense to make a list of questions that feel important to you and have a few conversations.
if you’d like to meet with me, you can book here.
Do I have to commit to a program?
No. While it’s useful to invest in more than one session, you’re the best judge of what you need and what you can afford.
In general, if you come with a specific issue, we can work it through in a couple of sessions. If it’s deeper transitional work, it will need longer.
We can start with what’s useful to you right now, and then adjust as we go along.