Meet the Therapist: Jayne Morris
Jayne Morris is a burnout coach in Clevedon and online
What attracted you to become a therapist?
During my late twenties I experienced burnout and was bedridden for six months. After I recovered I felt very passionately about raising awareness around burnout and helping other people learn to better listen to their bodies.
I was attracted to therapeutic trainings because I wanted to provide burnout prevention and recovery coaching that offered depth and academic rigour.
Where did you train?
Over 15 years ago, I completed post graduate courses in integrative art psychotherapy via the IATE accredited by the London Metropolitan University and coaching with Barefoot Coaching Ltd, accredited by the University of Chester. I have been a member of the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists since that time. I am an MCC level accredited member of the ICF, Master Level Coach member of the EMCC and Fellow Member of the AC. I specialised in burnout and my first book, Burnout to Brilliance: Strategies for Sustainable Success, was published by Changemaker Books, an imprint of Watkins in 2015.
I have completed multiple additional trainings over the years and most recently have trained to become a Coach Supervisor (also with Barefoot and accredited by the University of Chester) and PCC Assessor with the ICF. I am an Associate Tutor delivering Barefoot’s flagship post-graduate training and I also run my own Burnout Coach CPD courses for coaches.
Can you tell us about the type of therapy you practise?
My coaching approach is very somatically led and always co-created with my clients to encourage full partnering. Depending on how my clients want to work, I am able to incorporate multiple integrative art modalities in addition to aspects of gestalt, constellation work and transactional analysis.
How does burnout coaching help with symptoms of exhaustion, fatigue and overwhelm?
I support my clients in surfacing the root cause beliefs and conditioned behaviours that have contributed towards their experience of burnout in addition to recognising the external stressors that are present in their lives.
I facilitate the evoking of deep awareness and together we explore how old thinking habits and patterns can be reframed, what choices they can make differently, so that new ways forward can be identified, that are better aligned with internal values, passions and healthier ways of relating to self and other, in all aspects of life.
As a result, people recover their energy, enthusiasm, clarity of thought and sense of purpose.
What sort of people do you usually see?
My clients are adults of all ages, predominantly executives, health care professionals, coaches and therapists with the experience of burnout.
Have you noticed any recent mental health trends or wider changes in attitude?
I have noticed in recent years that there is much more widespread awareness of burnout, which is great because the stigma around it is shifting, however as yet, there is still little understanding about how to address the issue at a systemic level and it is a more prevalent issue than ever before.
What do you like about being a therapist/coach?
Through my work as a coach I get to experience people embarking on a journey of profound personal and professional transformation and that is incredibly humbling and fulfilling. I feel as though I am making a meaningful difference to the lives of others and that is incredibly important to me.
What is less pleasant?
As part of the coaching process I often learn about the huge amount of pressure so many people have experienced as a result of operating in toxic work cultures. Whilst there is an increasing uptake in the number of organisations adopting a coaching approach, there are still so many businesses taking advantage of their employees.
Sadly it seems that we still have a long way to go before genuine care for people and planet is placed above profit in the majority of corporate environments.
How long have you been with Welldoing and what you think of us?
I am fairly new to Welldoing and look forward to learning more about the positive impact that is being made through all that is offered here.
What books have been important to you in terms of your professional and personal development? Do you ever recommend books to clients?
Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy (Zinker, 1978) remains one of my most recommended reads for coaches and therapists who want to bring more of a creative approach to their work with clients.
In terms books to suggest for clients, I often share This is Me! Becoming Who You Are Using Transactional Analysis by Lieuwe Koopmans, because it is a very accessible introduction to many fabulous TA models.
What you do for your own mental health?
I am fortunate to live by the sea in Clevedon, near Bristol, where I offer burnout coaching retreats. In the same way that I encourage my clients to reconnect to themselves by being in nature, I too enjoy the same for my own mental health. I love wild swimming and walks in the woods with our family dog, Blade – a black Labrador.
You are a therapist in Clevedon, Bristol. What can you share with us about seeing clients in this area?
People come from far and wide to work with me by the sea, so that they can experience the benefits of coaching in a setting that serves as a metaphorical blank canvas for them. I don’t actually promote my work locally. Often my clients choose to work with me due to my location because it provides a change from the more urban environment that they live and work in. Following their retreat experience, we then have follow-up sessions via Zoom.
What’s your consultation room like?
We have a spacious setting with a comfortable consultation room, however when clients come to work with me we spend most of our time outdoors.
What do you wish people knew about therapy/coaching?
It is a precious gift to press pause on the busyness of life and sit with someone who brings genuine care, empathy, deep listening and a quality of presence that will allow you to simply ‘be’. A good coach/therapist understands that beyond any tools, techniques or trainings, a well-held space is the most important aspect of therapy that enables a trusting relationship to form between the client and practitioner, within which all the answers a client is searching for can emerge, through the internal wisdom of the client themselves.
What did you learn about yourself in therapy/coaching?
An image I drew of myself as a tree has stayed with me, since one of my earliest explorations in integrative art psychotherapy. Through the self-reflections I took from this image, I learned to honour myself as part of nature, as one with nature. I learned to honour my own internal cycles. I learned to honour my need to rest, to restore, to recharge, to nurture and be nurtured. I learned how interconnected everything and everyone is.
I come back to this regularly and it provides anchoring and grounding whenever I get side-tracked by the fast pace of modern life and forget to honour the wisdom within.
