In psychiatric hospital, I asked myself: Why would anybody want to work with me – somebody who has had a breakdown?
And you might be thinking: Excellent question.
Breakdown, but also recovery
Well, the answer is implicit in the question. I did hit rock bottom, but I also recovered. (Not everybody does.) And that’s what matters.
Wanting to help others avoid the worst, I’m offering myself as a mentor to individuals going through a time of difficulty.
What you get
I’m not taking on individuals directly. I only offer this service through referrals from HR professionals. (Naturally, I promise confidentiality to the individuals involved.)
You can work me in either of these ways:
- a) on a pay-as-you-go basis, one 1hr session at a time, or
- b) on a monthly retainer.
Spaces are strictly limited, so this doesn’t take over my whole life.
Further down this page, I will list the credentials you’ll want to hear about if you are thinking of working with me.
But first…
Who can help you?
Zillions of people have had a breakdown, hit rock bottom – and recovered sufficiently to deliver a lively and moving story about it. You have probably met many of them.
Quite a large number can also provide drawings, made during in hospital, to accompany their talks. Some may have exhibited and sold their art, both originals and prints.
Not so many of these speakers have trained as an executive coach and amassed thousands of hours of one-to-one work with professionals working in the City of London.
Fewer still have trained in theatrical improvisation with Keith Johnstone (look him up, and swot up on the life-changing benefits); run workshops at companies such as Google; and delivered talks, on four continents, to as many as 5,000 people at once.
The quantity drops steeply if you are looking for somebody who – in addition to all this – has been a journalist for many years, on the Sunday Times and the Financial Times, regularly going face to face with heads of state, chief execs and oodles of celebrities.
Somebody who has studied Sufism, Buddhism, Judaism and Ignatian spirituality, and belonged to a globally renowned recovery programme.
I have done all these things.
My credentials
But my biggest credential is this: I’m not a qualified therapist.
I’m someone who knows what it’s like to go from “high flyer to rock bottom” (to use the title often given to my talks). What it’s like to go through tough times, including multiple bereavement plus loss of work – and all that entails around money and self-worth.
I’m able and willing to share my difficulties, in a way therapists are supposed not to.
And in doing this – whether in large public talks before an audience, or one-to-one – I open a space for people who may not otherwise be ready to seek help.
If you’d like to work with me, please send an email.
I leave you with this, a bio I sketched before seeing lawyers at one of the UK’s “magic circle” law firms:
PS. Please remember that spaces are limited. Send me an email to find out availability