If you're wondering whether coaching might help with stress or anxiety, you probably have questions. What does a coach actually do? How is it different from therapy? What happens in a session? And what if you book a call and it isn't for you?
I've worked one to one with people on this for more than ten years, with more than a thousand people in that time. Here's a plain answer to each.
What a stress and anxiety coach does
I work with people who are holding it together on the outside and can't switch off on the inside. Typically that's overthinking, constant worry, replaying conversations, feeling on edge, or getting through the days without really being in them.
My job isn't to hand you a list of tips. It's to help you understand what you're experiencing, work out what you'd rather experience instead, and practice a different response until it starts to feel more natural.
How coaching and therapy differ
Coaching and therapy can sometimes explore similar experiences, but they serve different roles. Therapy is provided by qualified mental health professionals and can involve assessing and treating mental health conditions. My work is coaching. We explore what's happening for you, what you'd like to experience instead, and how you might begin developing different responses.
If you're already working with a therapist or healthcare professional, coaching may be able to complement that support. It isn't a replacement for it, and it isn't crisis support. If you need urgent help, please contact emergency services, or call or text 988 in the US.
What it can look like
It varies from person to person, so I'd rather be curious about yours than hand you a script.
Generally we begin with what actually happens for you: what you notice in your thoughts, your body and your attention. Then we work out what you'd rather experience. From there we explore a different response through guided exercises, focused attention and small things to practice between sessions. It's more than talking about the problem, and it's more than advice. If you've ever read the books, understood exactly why you do what you do, and still found yourself doing it, that's the gap this work is aimed at. I wrote about it in why you can't switch off.
I use some methods that go beyond conscious thinking, including hypnosis, because some patterns are hard to shift through effort alone. You stay in control throughout, and you can ask questions or stop any exercise at any time.
The aim isn't permanent calm. It's small changes that build: leaving the working day behind a bit more easily, being more present with people, having a little more choice about what happens next.
Practical details
Sessions are online by video and last 60 minutes, so you can do them from home. You just need somewhere quiet and private. A single session is $300. One Month of Coaching is four weekly sessions for $1,000, and it's a complete month with no commitment beyond it.
What happens on a Clarity Call
Before any of that, there's a Clarity Call. It's a free, relaxed 20-minute conversation, online. It isn't a coaching session, and it isn't an assessment you need to do well in.
You tell me what's been going on, in your own words. You don't need to explain your whole history, and you don't need to know exactly what's wrong. We talk about what you'd like to be different, and you can ask me anything: how I work, what sessions are like, what the options and costs are.
It isn't a hypnosis session, and there's no pressure to book anything. By the end we'll both have a better idea of whether working together makes sense. I'll tell you honestly if I don't think I'm the right person to help, and if that's the case, that's a perfectly good outcome.
What you share is treated privately and respectfully, subject to the confidentiality exceptions explained in my terms.
If it sounds like something you'd like to explore, the next step is a Clarity Call.