My approach
Hello, I’m Nathan.
My approach to therapy and coaching is empathetic and non-judgmental, putting respect and confidentiality at the forefront of my practice. I believe that both therapy and coaching should provide a safe space for clients to explore themselves and their goals in a way that supports greater self-understanding, personal growth and meaningful change.
I aim to create a calm environment in which my clients can discuss their deepest hopes and ambitions, as well as their deepest fears and anxieties. I support my clients to work at their own pace, ensuring they feel seen and heard and, most importantly, never shaming them for their thoughts, feelings or behaviour.
My background
I first started working as a coach in 2017, and I immediately enjoyed having conversations with people that helped them to find new strategies for dealing with their professional challenges.
I then received therapy myself in 2018 and found it to be hugely beneficial in helping me to understand the reasons for recurring patterns in my life. It helped me to change my life for the better.
These two experiences were what drove me to train as a therapist myself. I already knew that I enjoyed deeper conversations focused on helping people to make positive changes, but I felt that there was a way to do this more profoundly than coaching alone allowed. By then experiencing the positive impact of therapy myself, I knew that therapy was the way to do that even more meaningful work.
My values
There are four key values that underpin my practice: empathy, authenticity, curiosity and presence.
Empathy allows me to value you unconditionally and ensure that you feel cared about, and it encompasses non-judgment and compassion. By putting myself in your shoes, I can understand you better as I seek to help you do the same. Most importantly, I can creative an environment where you do not feel shamed for how you think, feel or behave.
Authenticity means being honest and genuine with you at all times. This is important because trust is the single most important thing that will determine if our relationship is productive or not. It’s also important for me to set an example. You will often seek to be vulnerable in our sessions, to honestly share things with me that may be difficult. How can I expect you to do that if I’m not willing to be honest with you in return?
Curiosity means that I will ask you lots of questions, and hopefully you can see why that’s important for the work we’ll do together. I can only understand you if I can communicate with you in a curious way, and curiosity also helps me avoid the pitfall of making assumptions.
Finally, presence in many ways runs through all of those other values, but it’s important to me in its own right. Presence means that during our sessions, I will be fully engaged in our conversation. For those 50 minutes, your thoughts and feelings are the most important thing to me.
How I work
I primarily utilise the theory and models of Transactional Analysis. If you want to learn more about the key concepts in Transactional Analysis, I periodically add content to the Videos section of this site which talk about some of the big ones, and you can find the rest on my YouTube channel.
A key principle of Transactional Analysis is that there should be no mystique around therapy. The therapist shouldn’t have some kind of secret knowledge that they keep away from their clients. Therefore, if you want to discuss the theory in our sessions, you are welcome to do so. I may also introduce activities to our sessions based on some of the key theories.
However, theory is not for everyone. Although you’re welcome to learn more about it, you don’t need to. The most important factor in whether our relationship works or not is the trust we build through open and honest communication. You don’t need to learn anything about Transactional Analysis at all for us to do that.
My training
I am currently in advanced clinical training as a UKCP-registered psychotherapist. This means I work under regular clinical supervision, in line with professional and ethical standards. I am fully insured and a registered member of the UKCP and the Manchester Institute for Psychotherapy, where I am completing a Diploma in Transactional Analysis from an Integrative Perspective.
As a coach, I have an ILM postgraduate level qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring, and I am an accredited Life and Group Styles Inventory practitioner through Human Synergistics International.
Ready to talk?
Send me a quick message, and I’ll reach out within one working day to set up your free consultation.