WELLBEING & CAREER COACHING

Coaching is a process that takes place in partnership with clients to help guide them towards their inner wisdom and possibility.  A coach does not tell you what to do but instead supports the client towards internal change or transformation.  It is generative and future-focused.  Coaching works on the premise that clients are “creative, resourceful and whole” and do not need fixing or healing.  

A true coaching conversation will feel different to a conversation that you might have with a friend, colleague or even a mentor.  It is not a coaches’ role to give opinions, answers or solutions, but instead to guide the client through their own process.  

In contrast, counselling and therapy focus on healing difficulty, trauma,, and upset within an individual’s past or present.   

A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on their own experience. Mentoring may include a combination of advising, consulting and coaching. 

Consulting is the provision of expert and specialist advice in a particular field – this is different to coaching in that it usually consists of giving direct recommendations and advice.  

I’m so sorry to hear this – I hope you are getting the support that you need right now.

If your burnout is severe enough that you are currently signed off work then most likely you’ll need a) time to rest and recover b) a medical assessment by your own doctor/occupational health to exclude any co-existing mental health issues and c) counselling/psychological therapies.  It’s unlikely that you will have the physical, mental or emotional energy to get the full benefit from coaching or take action towards longer term life changes right now and therefore it wouldn’t be ethical for us to work together in this capacity at this point.

However, once you are on the road to recovery and are ready to look at taking action to break your burnout cycles and making wider changes in your life and career then this is the perfect time to explore coaching to get clear on what you want to change moving forwards and take action to make this happen – with professional support along the way.

I’m happy to work with clients who are concurrently working with a counsellor/therapist as long as your therapist is aware and feels this is appropriate. I will communicate with your therapist as appropriate(with your consent only).

If you are unsure as to whether you need a coach or a counsellor/therapist right now then feel free to get in touch and I am happy to advise.

I keep my coaching and my medical work very separate and I politely ask you to respect this boundary. Whilst my experiences across my career naturally inform each other organically,  I do NOT mix the two.

I do NOT offer any medical advice, guidance or opinion within coaching sessions, or outside of coaching sessions – e.g by email, social media or casual conversation.

I cannot work with you if you are a current or previous patient, or if a family member is a current or previous patient of mine.  I will ask you to confirm this as part of our contract of working together.

No advice on my website, blog emails or social media is intended as medical advice, opinion, guidance or recommendation and should not be taken as such. Please see my website disclaimer for more details.

Yes, confidentiality is a critical component of the coaching relationship, and I take this very seriously.    The only time that I would consider breaching confidentiality is in cases of disclosure of potentially significant risk to yourself or another person. I would usually discuss this with you in advance, should this situation arise.  

Sessions last approximately 60 minutes.  

Most clients find it helpful to allocate an additional 30-60 minutes a week to allow themselves to explore suggested resources and actions that may arise as a result of our sessions. 

Yes and no.  My coaching sessions are bespoke for your individual needs. We will probably agree to explore some particular issues or topics in advance of a session, based on your individual needs.   We will work together (co-create) the sessions so that they are both helpful for you at that moment and what is currently evolving for you, whilst also keeping your bigger goals and intentions in mind.    

My coaching days are usually Wednesdays and Fridays, although this can be variable due to other commitments.  I offer evening appointments on Wednesdays.  I aim to be flexible where possible.  

Please note that I do not work on Thursdays.  

This is a commonly asked question – but usually, in reality, the nature of the coaching container means that clients always know what they want to discuss in a session!  Even if you feel like you don’t have much to bring to a session, it is my role to support you to identify what is most helpful for you to address at that particular point.    This is where a more embodied coaching style can be beneficial. When we don’t have much to say, there is often so much going on on a deeper level that the sessions always uncover so much more than we expect or anticipate.  

You can email or send me voice notes at any time between sessions if you have questions or would find a “check-in” helpful.  I will respond within 48 hours Mon-Fri (usually sooner) by voice note via the Voxer app (a secure app for sending and receiving voice notes). 

100%!  I work with clients from a wide range of backgrounds – including solicitors, doctors, teachers, start-up founders, corporate professionals, wellbeing practitioners, as well as creative business owners.   Purpose and potential for some people means looking at alternative career options; other clients already have a career they love, but come to coaching to support them to avoid burnout and prioritise their wellbeing, so they can feel more confident in stepping up to the next level and the creating impact that they desire, without burning out.     

I also work with clients who are very happy in their professional work but want to find more wellbeing,  in the rest of their lives.   Our work together supports you to thrive by prioritising your wellbeing, avoiding burnout and identifying your unique vision and purpose  – and gives you the tools to help you in making this a reality.  

If you are looking for traditional career coaching and guidance then I’m not the coach for you.  But if you want to work out how to balance your wellbeing with your work, discover what brings you meaning and fulfilment and explore that itch for something more and start stepping up and playing bigger in your career – this is what I help you with.  My clients often find the embodiment practices I facilitate help them far more with their leadership skills, public speaking and challenging professional scenarios than traditional approaches do.  

 I work with lots of business owners to help them break their burnout cycle, prioritise their wellbeing and look after themselves as human beings so they can step up and do amazing things in their businesses.  Our coaching might also look at your strategy and business plans in terms of how it can support your wellbeing.  

We are our own best resource, so my clients have reported significant successes in their business as a secondary result of investing in coaching.

The nature of our sessions means that each session will likely result in you wanting to take some action! You will be invited to choose one or two intentions or actions you want to take before the next session to support your process.  

If appropriate, I will offer suggestions of practices, experiments and resources/worksheets.  

You will have access to pre and post-session worksheets to record key intentions and areas of exploration that arise during/from our sessions.  

Yes, I offer face-to-face walking sessions , depending on availability.  These usually take place in Chorlton or Didsbury.  

Other locations can be agreed upon for face to face sessions in or around south Manchester on an individual basis.

Yes, you are welcome to record our sessions for your own personal use.  

I recommend signing up to my weekly free email letter, where I share my writing, inspiration and resources to guide you in prioritising your wellbeing so you can embody your inner power.  

From time to time I may need to video record coaching sessions as part of my ongoing training and development.  I will offer these sessions at a significantly reduced rate in exchange for being filmed, potentially with some requirement to cover certain topics and provide feedback.  If you are interested in this, please drop me an email at rachael@purposeandpotential.co.uk and I will contact you if/when such an opportunity arises.

I also offer a small number of hours every year as “pay what you can”/ reduced rate for women from under-represented groups experiencing financial hardship.  Drop me an email if you feel this applies to you.