Mood Coaching for mental wellness
with Hilary Martin
Managing and overcoming stress caused by work issues or by very difficult life events is my area of expertise.
I worked for twenty years supporting people with their emotional and mental health as an accredited counsellor. I moved on to develop my work by combining talking therapy into a more coaching based approach. Some clients want to dive straight into my Mood Coaching Programme, while others don’t feel ready and want time to explore life events and the cause of their mood problems, so a flexible coaching arrangement may be more suitable. Quite often they go onto the Mood Programme – but this is not a requirement.
Managing and overcoming stress caused by work issues or very difficult life events, is my area of expertise. I have worked for many large organisations offering staff support, including the NHS. Some people report unhelpful experiences of counselling - common complaints are that they talked and were listened to, but were not supported to make practical changes in their lives. I provide a blended approach of counselling and coaching (which could be called 'couching' but sounds odd!). Bringing my years of therapeutic skills together with practical, behaviour change and future focussed coaching skills. I am both a qualified health coach and life coach.
Mood Coaching offers a space for you to explore what you are feeling and thinking and what led to the distress you find yourself in now. Being listened to with no judgement, no agenda, by an objective supporter who holds your best interests at heart can be a rare experience. Even well-intentioned friends and family tend to have their opinions and biases. Coaching is a collaboration with me where together we can find solutions and steps that will alleviate your distress, improve your mood balance and move you forward.
MOOD COACHING OR THE MOOD PROGRAMME?
The Mood Programme requires a commitment to take action over a three month period. It often (but not always) involves making dietary changes as well as other lifestyle changes. So clients need to be ready to do that. Some people aren't but want support in a more flexible way. You may be too stressed and overwhelmed to make the commitment. There may be one specific issue you want to address and move forward with. Mood Coaching may be more suitable. While I may well make recommendations about practical steps you can take to improve your wellbeing, the coaching programme offers more input, knowledge, and resources – it is designed to help you make choices that will create long term behaviour change and get you to where you want to be. The Mood Programme involves taking action, with ‘homework’ between sessions and reviewing the success of those actions and building on them.
If you are feeling overwhelmed and distressed, you may not have the mental focus to work through a plan and make immediate changes. You may need more focussed short-term support. Mood Coaching sessions are usually weekly to begin with whereas the Mood Programme sessions are every two weeks with a check-in between. If you are not sure which is right, we can discuss this at an initial Exploration Session. This is a requirement of both the Mood Programme and to start a round of Mood Coaching.