I still get overwhelmed
But it feels different now
Not going to lie, I was really successful as an academic! At the same time though, I spent much of my career in a whirlwind of procrastination and overwhelm.
It wasn't fun and it wasn't what I signed up for.
When I first found coaching, I thought I was going to "fix" myself but I learned something much more important.
My coach taught me that we don't need to fix ourselves. We're not broken.
We just need to learn to work with ourselves, instead of beating ourselves up.
I reduced my negative self-talk, improved my ability to get things done with less drama and, in many ways, changed my life.
I knew how much all of academia needs this support. It was with that realisation that I decided to train as a coach and launch the PhD Life Coach.
My academic career
My PhD and early career focused on exploring how psychological stress and exercise affect immune function and health. I loved learning about how our thoughts and feelings could influence our physiological function through neural and hormonal pathways. If you're interested in any of my research, you can find me on Google Scholar here.
As I progressed though, I became more teaching focused, specialising in helping students develop transferable skills through authentic assessments and extracurricular activities. I won a National Teaching Fellowship and was made Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I also spent a lot of time supervising PhD students, designing and running skills-training programmes, and mentoring teaching-focused staff.
It always seemed like a random assortment of interests but when I put together my "inaugural" lecture, to celebrate getting my full Professorship, I realised that they all connected together in ways that all contribute to The PhD Life Coach!
ILM Level 5
accredited coach
Professionally qualified through The Life Coach School
Associate member of the EMCC
Being a Reflective Practitioner
I wrote a chapter on Being a Reflective Practitioner for my friend Professor Gavin Brown. He wrote this amazing book and it was an honour to add some of my thoughts too! You can find out more about the book and get a free copy of my chapter by clicking below.
Free chapter!
