Andrea Rippon

Hello and thank you for choosing me. 

I'm Andrea, a Coach and Mentor specialising in Mindset and Relationship Skills.  I offer in-person appointments in NR2, Norwich; and online appointments using Zoom.  Currently my youngest client is 17 and my oldest is 86. 

Power Skills

Relationship Skills used to be known as 'soft skills'.  They have been renamed Power Skills (Udemy Business, 2022) and they include emotional intelligence, empathy, active listening, assertive communication, problem solving, win/win conflict resolution, and the ability to collaborate.  

I specialise in moving Power Skills to my clients, so they can find their power and use it WITH the people in their lives, rather than against them.

You know you want things to change.  

You want to be confident, motivated, resourceful and adaptable.  You want mutually considerate and respectful relationships.  You want to understand and be understood. You want to respect another person’s individuality and you want them to respect yours. You want to enjoy being different people, together.  But it's hard.

You know you’re struggling.  

You’re doing your best but your mental health and relationships are suffering. Life doesn’t feel as good as it could be.  It’s not fulfilling or fun. You know you don’t want what you have.  You know it could be different.   

It’s hard to have problems and it’s hard to sort them out.  

Maybe you are hoping that things will just change on their own.   Right now, you're probably losing time, money, energy, mental and physical health, happiness, relationships, and your oomph for life.  You may feel like you’re losing your self.   As you continue to hope that things will just get better, this loss (and the risks associated with it) will escalate.  The cost of doing nothing is simply too high.  (I think this is particularly true for parenting.  Please watch my TEDx talk on Parenting.)

It's time to invest in yourself and your family.

The only person you can control is you. "80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills. (ICF, 2009). 84% of Fortune 500 companies and 100% of Fortune 50 companies have mentoring programs (Forbes, 2022) Of those with a mentor, 97% say they are valuable (Sage.com) 

Book your free Discovery Call (via my website) to find out if I can help you.

The purpose of Coaching and Mentoring is to build self-belief and motivation

Self-belief grows through making decisions, taking action, accepting full responsibility for your successes and failures, and then repeating the cycle again. Over time, this builds competence, self-esteem and self-worth.  You will be cultivating a healthy Mind set.  

By working on yourself, you can pass it on.  

How useful would self-belief and motivation be for your kids, your family  or your colleagues?   It’s not a one-off gift; it’s a way of being, a way of life.  You’ll need some Power Skills.

Book your free Discovery Call,via my website, to find out if I can help you.

I'm an Accredited Coach, who works through a Mentoring lens. 

A Coaching and Mentoring session brings us together, so we can pool our knowledge, insight and skills and get you the best result.  Sometimes it can be difficult to see your problem clearly, but an objective, third-party perspective from an outsider who has experience and expertise can really help. We'll need to do three things:

1.  Our knowledge, insight and skills + your outcome

• As a Coach, I will provide you with a non-directive form of development. This means that I will honour your subjective experience.  I’ll come alongside you and the world you live in; and I’ll work with what you have, whilst supporting you to build what you need.  
• I will actively listen to you; encouraging you to gain a deeper sense of yourself and I'll draw together the threads and patterns which emerge. This will give you a different view of your experience (reframing).  
• I will respectfully challenge what I hear (questioning) if I think it might be relevant.
• The value of my listening is so that you can talk, and you can hear yourself talk.
• As a Mentor, I will use my 25 years’ experience as an Educator to share my knowledge with you.  Check my Training, Qualifications and Experience below.
• You can decide whether it will get you closer to your outcome (what you want).
• If you don't know what you want, my knowledge may be the starting point to help you answer that golden question: What do I want from this? 
• I will provide a safe environment where there are learning opportunities for us both.  As I learn from you, you will learn from me. 
• If you do know what you want, I will support you to get there.

2.  Your action

• Through hearing yourself talk, you will be able to understand yourself more clearly.  This self-awareness will help you to explore your attitudes and beliefs, and the default behaviours you use to manage different situations. 
• We may identify some defensive behaviours that, although important at some time in your life, may be harming your relationships and where you want to be today.
• We will work on this so you can move your attention from the past and into the present.  This will help you make different choices for yourself and the people around you now.  (It will be like re-training your brain.)
• You will look at how you can represent yourself more accurately in your life and I will help you develop the Power Skills to make this happen. 
• You will be on the way to becoming the person you really want to be.

3.  Our relationship

• The success of our work is dependent on the quality of our relationship.  
• I will provide you with a safe, confidential space, where you can share the darker emotions – anger, sadness, envy, shame, loss, depression and fear. These may be your stepping stones to moving forward. 
• I will also create an environment where we can be curious about life and how it works.  This can feel playful - and even fun. 
• If I think you need a more therapeutic environment, we will talk about the benefits that this might bring you.  If this is what you want, I can safely signpost you to a Qualified Counsellor.
• Throughout, we will keep checking that our work together is getting you where you want to go.

Book your free Discovery Call, via my website.

I'm here to support YOU

So we'll start with where you are.  Then we'll look at your Mindset and the most important relationship you have - the one you have with yourself.  When you're ready, we'll move on to the other important relationships your have in your life - it may be with your partner, children, family, friends, home life, work and career.   You may be in a place where you haven't found that important relationship yet, in which case, we'll be looking at how to make your hopes and dreams become a reality.  Or you could be someone who wants to get yourself out of a relationship,  so you can continue to be you, in a different place.  You might have children that you want to co-parent.  Whoever and however you are ...

I believe in you and your potential  

Not many people can move forward through difficult times on their own.  They need someone to support them, someone who is highly skilled and knowledgeable in personal/professional development; and, critically, someone who is unconnected to their lives, with no agenda of their own.  I've been described as 'smart, funny, direct, deft and caring'.  Can I help you get where you want to be? 

Book your free Discovery Call, via my website, to find out.

Ask yourself

• Do I want to find MY version of who I am and how I do things?
• Do I want some focus, direction, a plan, some structure?
• Do I want some time to sort my **** out?
• Have I got a big decision to make? 
• Am I struggling to adjust to something that I chose?  A new relationship, becoming a parent, a new job, empty-nest syndrome, retirement?
• Am I trying to adjust to something I didn't choose?
• Do I need to figure out how best to support my child, who currently needs more than I'm offering?
• Do I need to learn how to listen to someone with Dementia?
• Do I want to learn how to recognise and use my emotions better?  
• How’s my Executive Function?
• Am I an overthinker and procrastinator?
• Do I want to work with my brain, rather than against it?
• I'm ADHD and/or Autistic.  I want to find ways to be, that work for me. 
• I feel like an Imposter.  I want to think better, feel better, do better.
• Am I getting angry quicker?  Holding a grudge for longer?
• Am I becoming more intolerant and impatient?
• Do I need to get back to ‘adulting’?
• Am I overwhelmed with feelings?  Or maybe withdrawn and numb?
• Am I anxious?  Done in?  Tired of being everything to everybody?
• Am I nothing?  Not sure of who I am anymore? 
• I want to find my va-va voom!
• I want to find my personal power, and the skills that go with it?
• Actually, I just want some time to talk, and order my thoughts.

Call me, I can help you.

Do you want an alternative to working face-to-face?

Try 'Ask Andrea'

This is an accessible place to get practical advice and emotional support by email.   Ask me something and get a full (2 sides of A4), bespoke response, direct to your inbox.  

Email support is popular for a number of reasons.  Some prefer the privacy.   For others, the time to meet face-to-face is limited because their hours are filled with commitments at work and home.  Some clients tell me they hardly ever have a moment alone, so it's difficult to find a time or space to talk.  Other clients live overseas, and different time zones make it much harder to get appointments.  

Private support, at a time that suits you

You’ll book a slot in my calendar and get an email in your inbox at the end of that slot.  It will take me an hour to read, consider and answer your question.  

My aim is to be:

• Understanding  I will work with you and your emotions, so that you feel heard, acknowledged and validated.
• Objective  I will consider the situation from everyone’s point of view, so that my response to you is unbiased and doesn’t take sides.
• Authoritative I will offer you my expertise on Mind set and Relationship Skills so that you have alternative options to consider, and I’ll give you reasons for those options.
• Positive I will look for what works

Find the booking link for Ask Andrea via my website 

The link will give you some guidance on how to construct your question, so you get the answer you need.

Fees, in-person or online, per hour (55 mins plus 5 mins closing)

• Young Person, 25yrs and under: £55
• Adults: £75
• Couples and Families: £90 + £15 for each additional person
• Group Coaching (up to 6 people): £175

I prioritise Young People (25 and under) in my sliding scale of fees.  They represent the future of our world and are one of society’s main agents of change and progress. 

Let’s talk

I offer people who are serious about working with me a free half-hour call, either on the phone or through Zoom. 

You can access my calendar to book a mutually convenient date and time via my website www.strongerrelationships.co.uk

It will give us an opportunity to see if we ‘click’, if I’m the sort of person you want to do this important work with.    

I will call you (or invite you to a Zoom meeting) at the time you book the call, and we’ll cover 4 things:

1. First of all, I’ll introduce myself and ask you how you found me.  
2. Then I’ll ask you about what you currently feel stuck with.  This will help me get to know you, whilst finding out what you want to achieve from our work together. (You might find it useful to visit my website before calling, it gives you a lot of information about how I work and what you can expect.)
3. About 20 minutes into the call, we can decide whether we want to work together.  Please check that you can manage my Fees before you make an appointment.   
4. The last five minutes will give you time to ask questions and talk about next steps (booking an appointment, getting invoicing details, etc).  

TESTIMONIALS

I have found Andrea a voice of reason and calm throughout my sessions.  She has brought me through an on-going tough time and reminded me of what I really believe in, grounding me (sometimes with accurate 'tough love' calls). I have seen the difference she has made to my relationship with my children and when I need a reminder I will be calling on her again. I highly recommend her

Straightening my head out  Was recommended Andrea by a very close friend who had seen me lose my self esteem and confidence.  I had hit an almighty low. My marriage of 34 years had collapsed, I had various difficult relationships to deal with inside and outside of my marriage including by business. After much self analysis I was getting nowhere, an emotional wreck and dare I say it had lost the will for life. Over a period of 4 months and 10? sessions Andrea has shown me, coached me , to a state of new found confidence and ability to look positively to the future. I can't recommend her highly enough. She is kind, understanding, can't be phased (really!) and has the ability to make what seemed so complex understandable and in fact simple to navigate. I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

Excellent  Such a helpful space to figure out how I'm going to tackle some important parenting issues. Thank you

Quickly changed things for dad/daughter  I contacted Andrea and was pleased that she offered 1-2-1 coaching, which suited my work patterns. She empathised, coached and guided me through to a better relationship with my 5 year old. She didn’t change me fundamentally - instead she gave me insight and communication tools. These have helped quickly and enormously for me to avoid the punishment/reward school of negotiation. Instead I understand her needs better (and she mine.) We don't always get it right but we do take a lot of the heat out of bedtime/school time arguments. Andrea is compassionate, caring, fun and frankly underpriced for the difference she has made. And I’m very particular!

Thank you Andrea My wife and I found the three sessions with Andrea most helpful and constructive, with the opportunities given to explain and discuss our difficulties and tensions within the family. We were especially grateful for the very sympathetic approach and professional guidance offered towards the better 'management' of our three children. The coaching has certainly had a positive impact on relationships within the family and is creating a very much happier environment for all.

Stopping the battles   My family (me, husband and 2 daughters, 12 and 14) were constantly arguing. Each morning we woke with a sick feeling in our stomachs as to how the day would go. There was just no respect or love, just battles and frustration. No-one was getting what they needed from their family life. Our sessions with Andrea have started to transform us. The kids still argue but bit by bit we are showing them how to behave and opening up discussions where they feel their needs are heard and letting things go when needed. This is a gradual process and I look forward to seeing where Andrea's approach will take us. We plan to come back with the kids to have a session about family discussions and very much trust Andrea with our children. I would really recommend investing in yourself and your family by speaking with Andrea and making good use of her skills and much needed services. 

You can find reviews of my work on my website and on Linked In.