Meet the Coach: Neil Lawrence
Neil Lawrence is a coach in South East London and online
What attracted you to become a coach?
Before coaching much of my working life centred around being told what to know or telling others what to do. I wanted to be of service and liked the idea that we already know most of what we need to know, but we don’t necessarily find it easy to access the information within ourselves – that’s what coaches help people do.
Where did you train?
Wonderful provider: Catalyst 14. The course was the Transformational Coaching Diploma.
What kind of coaching do you offer?
- Working with chronic conditions including fibromyalgia
- Recovery from burnout including living with PTSD
- Expressing neurodiversity including ASD
- Wellness
- Core values and purpose
- Redundancy coaching
- Stress identification and reduction
- Work/life balance
How does coaching help?
- When I coach those with chronic conditions, people can maximise their participation in day-to-day activities and extend their range
- When I coach those with PTSD or burnout, people find the right tools to discover their next steps
- When I coach those who identify as neurodiverse, people’s confidence strengthens, their skillset can be maximised, and they develop deeper communication networks
- When I coach for wellness, people become self-aware and develop the right tools to help them thrive
- When I coach for core values and purpose, people make decisions for the best version of themselves
- When I offer redundancy coaching, people’s resilience strengthens, they connect with their core values and find the right tools for developing their next steps
- When I coach for stress, people discover their triggers, develop tools that calm down their physical symptoms and then create an action plan that increases the amount of time they spend in positive environments
- When I offer coaching for work/life balance, I use mindfulness and core value tools to help people plan for their best lives
What sort of coaching clients do you usually see?
I have worked with a wide range of ages and backgrounds, but typically my clients are looking for something that will increase their sense of happiness and purpose.
Do you ever suggest books or other materials to clients?
Yes! All the time. Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield are Buddhist teachers and psychologists who create podcasts and wonderful books. Other favourites include Rick Hanson, Hardwiring Happiness, Barbara Markway and Celia Ampel The Self-Confidence Workbook, Paul Gilbert The Compassionate Mind, and Nancy Kline Time to Think.
What do you like about being a coach?
I get to work with people who find out they already have most of the skills they will ever need. How empowering is that!
What is less pleasant?
When people find it hard to believe in their journey.
What is one life lesson you try to live by?
Compassion to self and others – everything else should follow.
What do you wish people knew about coaching?
Coaches are guides, the clients are stars!!!
Do you have a favourite client testimonial or particular success story?
One client I worked with struggled integrating his neurodiversity into everyday situations and he often felt frustrated or angry and not understood. By the end of our coaching sessions, he said “...you can welcome the challenges because you know how you can learn from them...”
I have written an article about the experience with him, and his identity is anonymised. You can access it with this link.
