Coaching

Strengths coaching

Are you making good use of your inner resources? Strengths profile coaching may bring valuable energy, direction and authentic confidence into your life. You can have a one-off session or use this enriching activity as part of ongoing counselling and/or stress management support.

I sometimes hear people say that counsellors work with a deficit model of the human condition i.e. we focus on pain and what's not there instead of positive emotions and what we do have. The Gestalt approach to counselling I use explores both strengths and weaknesses because:

• It's a holistic approach which invites us to get to know all the different aspects of who we are.

• We need our positive qualities to work creatively with our painful experiences.

• Befriending what scares and weakens us can often be a key part of the healing process.

I like the holistic approach of Strengths Profile coaching which invites us to become aware of our realised and unrealised strengths, learned behaviours and weaknesses. This article describes these ideas in more detail and how they relate to our skills.

Careers guidance

Does your career need some TLC? As well as offering counselling, I've worked as a careers adviser for over 20 years. So if you’re stuck in a rut, we can work together to explore more meaningful options and ways for you to move forwards in your professional life.

If your struggle is more about who you’re working with rather than what you’re doing, or if career issues are seriously impacting all areas of your life, it could be that counselling is what you need. This happiful article explores when career counselling or career coaching may be most helpful.

Here are some useful careers resources:

• National Careers Service: For everyone.

• Prospects: For university students and graduates.

• Psychology Today: Careers advice articles.