I was having  a serious stress-related burnout reaction triggered by family problems ( a son dropping out of university ) and work pressures which I felt impotent to modulate. I had become depressed and  had a very low self esteem, I was feeling lonely and isolated and starting to lose hope. I was dithering around trying to make a decision as to whether I should return to my home country or continue to work in the UK within what I felt was a system toxic to spirit.  I was grossly out of balance and was living life out of  alignment with my core values.

You listened attentively and sensitively; you offered a gentle guiding presence to me at the end of the telephone; your voice was soft and soothed me ;  you offered other perspectives , you attempted to get me to see things in different ways; you gave me tools such as the NLP logical levels to approach my difficulties in terms of need hierarchies; you helped me to see my journey as a stage in spiritual growth as a heroes journey , you gently pushed me when I encountered impasses  and picked me up when I stumbled. You helped me become clear on my decision to stay or go; you offered a counterpoint via the NLP tool of talking to each hand which was a middle way to my either or approach; you helped me start to really visualise just how I would like my life to be and how that might align with my higher purpose. I have more clearly identified my Higher Purpose and the rest flows from that more effortlessly.

I am calmer mostly; I am a little bit more accepting of the way things are ; I am no longer depressed; I have made the decision to quit my job and go back to my homeland; but even more than this I have re-awakened from being asleep to my True Self; the coaching was not entirely responsible for this but it ignited a flame within me  which will never be extinguished as long as I live.

 SUZANNE  GP

The issue: Making a decision on my future career, specifically which of three different jobs to choose.

How coaching helped:  Assessment of the situation in a structured way, and having some external motivation to keep on working on the situation and thereby allocating time to thinking about it in a busy life. After three sessions I made a decision which job to apply for and am still happy with this decision now. Dr Birgit Völlm, Clinical lecturer and SpR in forensic psychiatry 

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Dear Susan,
Thank you so much for all your help over the last month and even for the help before the first coaching session as a result of your advice and reading suggestions.
When I saw your articles about life coaching in the BMJ, I thought that the malaise your articles described could have been written about me but I confess I had my doubts that turning one's life around would be possible just by talking on the phone.
One day I decided that something would have to be done as the pressures of General Practice and its effect on my family were beginning to become unmanageable.
To my enormous surprise and relief I am already feeling a far greater sense of proportion and feeling of control over life and events and I think am probably easier to live with and work with and that is after 1 month!
Who knows what another month will bring? Thank you for giving me back my sense of optimism

All best wishes J.C General Practitioner

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How coaching helped

In the summer of this year things were not going well for me; I was struggling to function at home and at work due to issues that had crept up over preceding months and taken hold of me. I was unable to see the wood for the trees, felt miserable most of the time, and was no longer enjoying those things that I choose to do for my own well being.

I was fortunate to pick up a copy of the BMJ on my return from holiday and to read an article by Susan Kersley entitled “ How will you respond to your wake up call?”

Reading this I became aware that I did have choices about the future, and that I alone was responsible for improving my situation.

I rang Susan that week, and the process of change began. Three months later I am back in control of my life. My problems are not fully resolved, but I approach them in a more positive way. The initial process of completing forms for Susan enabled me to look at where I was, and where I wanted to be. I set goals for coaching that at the time I felt were over-optimistic, but have now been achieved and for this I am deeply grateful.

I am better able to care for my needs and to balance these with the needs of those around me. In accepting that we all have choices in the way that we lead our lives, and no longer feeling responsible for influencing the choices that others make, I feel a sense of liberation.

Susan’s article asked the question;“ whose life are you living?” The answer is now a definite “MINE”! Caroline ( general practitioner)

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I more than happy to recommend life coaching from yourself. Before using your service I felt my career and personal life was stuck in a rut. Because of circumstances I was doing a job I liked but did not feel fulfilled in, and felt a sensible balance between my work and social life did not exist.

I must also admit that I considered life coaching to be a bit of a cop out, and not really the sort of thing doctors should get involved in. Because we deal with sorting out other people's problems we should be able to sort out our own, or at least convince ourselves that we are not badly off compared to other people.

Coaching changed that. I was made to find answers to my own questions having first of all been encouraged to determine what the questions were concerning work and social life. no subject was considered too trivial to talk about, and it was quite clear to me that simply talking through things, once I had the courage to admit them, made them easier to deal with and also provided a plan for action. Some critics of coaching have suggested you get no more from it than you would from talking over problems with friends. I disagree, as your friends are sometimes the worst people to seek help, from as they have their own agendas for you, and can lack impartiality. From working with you I gained neutral encouraging advice and support. You also helped me develop plans of action for projects I wanted to undertake. I gained great satisfaction from seeing projects and plans through to completion.

Initially I completed what we had discussed so as to present a tick box of things done for the next coaching session. Eventually, I realised I was enjoying achieving and ordering my life in a way I had not done before, especially as the results, at all levels, seemed to occur more easily than I had imagined once I worked out how to approach them.

The technique you adopt of challenging people's assumptions without being confrontational is excellent. The fact you re medically qualified also made it easier to explain problems that are unique to doctors.

Working with you has been great. I started coaching on the basis that you could find and suggest answers to my problems. What happened was you made me find my own solutions and helped me put what I thought were major problems in perspective. I now have a better career and social life than before, and have learned methods of analysis of situations that allow me to deal with problems rather than be overwhelmed by them.

I can honestly say that life coaching, of the type you use, would be of benefit to any doctor with a problem. I wish I'd heard of you years ago! R. N. Consultant Haematologist