Louise Wheeler

MY IDEAL CLIENTS: Are you just starting out in the job market, unhappy in your job, feeling stuck, looking for a more fulfilling career, facing redundancy,  experiencing self-doubt / low confidence / anxiety or struggling with work-life balance?  If so, I can help you to:

• Clarify and achieve your career and life objectives
• Identify your strengths, motivators and top priorities for action
• Improve your self confidence and self belief
• Reduce anxiety
• Overcome emotional obstacles and make confident career decisions
• Tackle negative thinking and become positively assertive

CREDENTIALS OVERVIEW: I have over 18 years’ coaching experience, an MA in Coaching and Mentoring Practice, a Certificate in Therapeutic Coaching, a Certificate in Awareness of Mental Health Problems and am a Mental Health First Aider. I’m trained in Nancy Kline’s Thinking Partnership approach and a member of the Association for Coaching. I have regular professional supervision.  When not coaching I support charities, member organisations and social enterprises with their research and evaluation.  This brings a 'real world' quality to my coaching as well as a useful professional network.

MY APPROACH: Coaching can help you to identify where you want to go and helps you do this quicker and more easily than is possible when working alone.  It can also enable you to develop a more resilient mindset, freeing you up to make active decisions and positive change. I use a person-centred approach which means that the person being coached is firmly in control of the agenda for each session. This relies on mutual honesty, non-judgmental acceptance and empathy. It is, of course, completely confidential.

Coaching is a temporary process that normally begins and ends within six months, sometimes much less. However, it is possible to extend the support if you wish to work towards new goals or to have a periodic 'check-in' to keep you on track.

It is often particular experiences or self-perceptions that block our awareness of what we are capable of, or the choices we have. Stress can be a key factor in preventing us from stepping back to think clearly about what we really want. Sometimes we find ourselves heading in a direction that we haven't actively chosen. It is at these points that coaching can provide some new perspectives on your 'now' in order to take control of your future.

As a coach I can help you consider how satisfied you are with various aspects of your life, working in a 'safe space'. You can choose to work on one or more area that you would like to explore or change. Rather than offer advice, I will provide 'sign-posting' and sometimes challenge your assumptions to help you identify your goals, consider all your options and build an action plan.

THE COACHING PROCESS: I tend to virtually (phone or video) but face-to-face is a possibility.. The coaching begins with a session of 30-45 mins which is free of charge. This allows us to discuss how the coaching may be of use to you and for me to explain a bit more about how I work. Prospective clients normally have quite a few questions at this stage and I welcome the opportunity to answer these in full. It is at this point that we will agree, or not, for the coaching relationship to go ahead.

I use email to follow up on sessions and to check in between meeting, when appropriate and short phone 'check ins' are included in the fees. Some clients like to have tasks or actions to work on between session. Others prefer a less structured approach. You can decide what works best for you.

You don't have to commit to a definite number of sessions but I advise that up to six sessions is a good number to budget for.  Sessions are  normally 90 mins but shorter, 60 min sessions are possible and will be charged pro-rata. Coaching, by its very nature, aims to develop self-sufficiency in the client and, for this reason, it does not promote dependency on the coach long-term. You can cease the coaching at any point if you do not feel it is helping or if you feel you have achieved what you need to, so the process is flexibility.

• Confidence
• Self esteem
• Self belief
• Negative thinking
• Over thinking
• Goal setting

Negotiated on an individual basis, flexible around income and coaching needs.
Please contact Louise for more details. The initial 'no strings' 30-45 minute session is free of charge.

Here are a few examples of what some clients have achieved:

• Moved from a job with limited career progression opportunities to one that provides training and development and a clear career path
• Became more self-confident when presenting and contributing to meetings
• Confidently stepped up from management to leadership role 
• Reached the next step on the career ladder
• Gained funding for a PhD
• Secured a place to study medicine having been in an administrative role for 2 years
• Made transition from being employed to setting up own, successful consultancy business
• Re-located to follow a chosen career path
• Increased self-belief in order to make a new career move
• Addressed issues around work / life balance - more life, less work!
• Overcame difficult issues with staff / colleagues
• Moved forward positively from redundancy
• Moved from senior public sector role to senior third sector role