“Philosophers often speak of ‘boundary experiences’ – urgent experiences that jolt us out of ‘everydayness’ and rivet our attention on ‘being’ itself.”

Irvin D Yalom, The Gift of Therapy

I set up Lifespan Coaching after completing post-graduate training in Counselling Psychology at City, University of London. As an already qualified and experienced coach, I was increasingly aware of the grey area in which some coaches were working with clients, crossing over boundaries into counselling territory and often without specialist training. I was also surprised by the many similarities between non-directive coaching and Person-Centred Therapy, where the emphasis is on helping clients to create their own solutions. This led me to explore current research on this topic as part of my Counselling Psychology training, which in turn influenced my Lifespan Coaching offer.

Another key influence was the application of psychological development theory to understanding the influence of major events and changes that we experience at specific times in our lives (e.g. adolescence, bereavement, divorce, parenthood), as well as how our lives unfold generally and links between the two. It seemed to me that to be a great coach I both needed to learn about these theories and to incorporate that knowledge appropriately in my coaching practice. In addition, as a lifelong student of applied philosophy – and moral philosophy in particular – it felt natural and appropriate to offer clients the opportunity to explore deeper thinking around values and meaning within the coaching context.

Read how Lifespan Coaching differs from therapy.