Everybody gets stuck at some time in their life. In the old days, we might have gone to see the tribal shaman or witch-doctor for some help. More recently, perhaps, the local priest or holy man could help us. Since Freud, of course, there has also been the psychoanalyst, psychiatrist or psychotherapist. Today, there is a new option: the Life Coach.

In contrast to the psychotherapists in general, life coaching is very much focused on getting things moving. There is much less emphasis on exploring the nature of your personal history and much more on what you can bring yourself to do right now. The emphasis is on making manageable but definite changes in the way you do things and in the way you think about things. Not on contemplation as such, but on action, including changing and challenging your thought processes when they are not helpful. My experience is that our thought processes are crucial to achieving change, in fact.

I am not qualified yet - my diploma is due to come through some time before Christmas this year. However, that does not mean that I cannot do the job: the course can only teach the formalities. The ability to do this kind of work comes from reading countless books over many years and applying their ideas to myself. Nevertheless, while I am in "pre-qualified" status, I am offering a discounted rate of £40 per consultation - a session will last from about 40 minutes to anything up to two hours, as necessary. One hour is usual.

Typical Client Concerns

• Diet and weight issues;
• Depression, unhappiness, feeling overwhelmed, worthless, unloved (for example);
• Money problems: debts, company failure, or overspending, for example;
• Feeling trapped in an unsuitable job or relationship;
• General dissatisfaction with life: not knowing what to do with it;
• Lack of relationship, e.g., persistent dating problems;
• Overwork: inadequate work-life balance;
• Relationship problems of all sorts;
• Lack of self-esteem;

How It Works

Life coaching can be done in many ways:

• In person: you visit me or vice-versa depending on where we live or work and we talk face-to-face. This can also be done at a neutral location such as a bar or a cafe if that is preferred, but the client is responsible for all bills including my travel expenses such as taxi fares. I don't charge for travelling time if it is less than an hour, otherwise you pay my hourly rate - I am based in NW London, England;
• By telephone: you call me at a pre-arranged time and we talk. Depending on available telephone tarriffs, I may be able to call you instead;
• By e-mail: each session payment you make buys you a week's worth of e-mail conversation. I aim to reply to your e-mails within two working days of receiving them, so in practice it works out at about one e-mail per day or two. Perhaps that doesn't seem like so much, but if you take it seriously we can have long and detailed conversations this way, and you have the added advantage of being able to study them at your leisure;
• By chat engine (MSN/Hotmail or Yahoo): live interactive chat sessions can work well if you can type at a reasonable speed, otherwise I would recommend one of the other methods;
• Typically a few consultations are required so you can give and receive feedback and improve your progress over time.

If you would like to book a consultation now, you may pay using the Paypal button below. The amount is GBP40.00 or your country's equivalent. Once you have paid, contact me and we can arrange the details of when and how. If you would just like to make an enquiry, e-mail me using the links on this page.

• Single Session @ £40 Sterling:
  
• Five Sessions @ £180 Sterling:
  

An Example: Diet And Weight Loss

Many people struggle incessantly to shed their excess weight and, typically, find it basically impossible to keep the weight off even if they do manage to shift some of it. You can read about how I managed it on my Diet & Fitness page, but in fact things have improved since then and for my clients it can now be done much more easily.

In fact, there is now no real need to "diet" as such at all! Yes, it is still true that you must burn more calories than you consume: the laws of physics haven't been overturned just yet... But the point is that dieting as such is not where the problem lies. It lies in the mind. Fat people and thin people think differently. Learn how to change your thinking and your body will naturally begin to shed the extra kilos because you will find that choosing and eating the right foods for you begins to come naturally and easily. You don't have to deliberately diet: your body knows what to do and what food it really needs. You just have to learn to get out of its way and let it get on with it. Guilt and depression and struggling and starvation are not part of the package. They are obsolete.

The information in the Mind section on my Diet & Fitness page is part of the story: I was moving in the right direction at that time (and indeed it was good enough for me to lose my surplus weight and keep it off). Now, though, the latest cognitive technology and scientific studies have shown how it is possible to streamline this process and make it much easier than it was back then. If you want to be coached on how to do this for yourself, the easy way, or the hard way if you prefer(!) get in touch!