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I am a qualified Coach (since 2014) with over 2,000 hours of coaching experience. I have regular supervision to oversee my practice and am fully insured. I'm an associate member of the Association for Coaching. 

 

What is Coaching?

Coaching is a process for enabling people to make positive change.  The aim of coaching is to provide a safe, supportive and challenging space where individuals can explore issues, and their own personal and professional development. Coaching helps people understand and dismantle the barriers to get them to where they want to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is Coaching for?

Coaching is for anyone who wants to make a positive change, gain clarity, explore options, grow their confidence or tackle barriers.

I aim to create a coaching space which is as inclusive, welcoming and safe as possible, and will check with you about any access needs or adjustments you might want.

 

What will we talk about?

The content of our coaching conversations is up to you. You might like to read some of the testimonials on the right to get a feel for what people bring, and what they take away. 

Some common themes include: 

  • wanting to gain more confidence or assertiveness; dealing with limiting beliefs or 'imposter phenomenon' (it's not a syndrome!)

  • balancing multiple commitments and/or feeling overloaded

  • feeling stuck - professionally, personally or creatively

  • making a difficult decision; feeling confused about options or 'at a crossroads'

  • developing leadership skills such as authenticity, self-awareness and advocacy

  • going through a major change, such as coming out of a job or relationship; changing career; moving to a new area; becoming a parent.

 

How is coaching different from mentoring?

Mentoring is usually done by someone who is an expert in the field you want to explore - they have already undertaken the journey you want to go on. A mentor will offer stories and advice based on their own experience. A coach is focussed completely on you and your needs, and wouldn't normally bring their own experiences to the conversation. A coach will help you work out what is right for you, rather than give advice about what has worked for them.

 

Where does it happen?

Most of my coaching is on Zoom or over the phone, as I work with people from all over the UK, and internationally. Some people like to see each other while we are talking, and others like the sense of freedom they get from voice-only coaching.

I also offer face-to-face coaching outdoors in Hove (including coaching walks).  

 

How much does it cost?

I’m always happy to have a conversation first to talk about how coaching works and make sure we both think it could be useful, and there is no charge for this. 

If you then decide to go ahead, I operate a sliding scale of charges depending on whether you are an individual, a not-for-profit organisation or a company. 

I want coaching to be available to those who really need it, so I do have a few lower-cost spaces available for people on a low income - please ask for more details.

How many sessions will I need, and how often?

Every individual and every situation is different. Committing to six sessions provides a good framework for making a long-term sustainable change.

Frequency of sessions also depends on you and your situation. Some people use coaching as a regular space for thinking, at a frequency that suits them (e.g. monthly). Some people like to work quite intensively to turn a situation around - perhaps having coaching weekly at first, and then spacing the sessions out as time goes on. Others want to work more gradually right from the start

If you want coaching for something very specific (to prepare for an interview, meeting or performance perhaps), then I offer longer, one-off sessions.

 

How long does it last?

In terms of the time-frame you want to work with, we can talk about that, and design the sessions to fit in at useful points along the way. A lot of the change will take place between coaching sessions!

Sessions usually last 60 or 90 minutes. One-off sessions can be longer. 

I'm interested in coaching - what happens next?

Please contact me via this website, or by email, phone or text. If you let me know your number, and suggest a good time to catch you, I will give you a call. We can then have an initial conversation to explore whether coaching might be useful for you, and there is no charge for this. 

 
Coaching

FAQs

 

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Coaching testimonials

"After a period away from working, Charlotte’s coaching helped me come back to myself as a dynamic leader with plenty still to explore in my career as well as my broader life."

Senior manager in heritage sector, female, 59

 

"Charlotte offered a gentle, yet consistent and firm coaching style which I found enormously helpful in clarifying and moving beyond my limiting beliefs. The sessions have strengthened my confidence and belief in myself, an independent in the arts, as I embark on new projects and 'catch-up' after becoming a mother."

Katriona Holmes

 

"Charlotte is so easy to work with. She's enabled me to focus on myself, enabling me to understand myself a lot more: my motivations, needs and achievements. She's great at guiding me through the session, making me see connections." 

Hannah Bevan

"Thank you so much for today. It really enabled me to tune back into my 'life strategy' and build positivity for the coming weeks."

Sabrina Carter

 

"Charlotte has been an absolute joy to work with. She is one of the warmest and most calming individuals I have ever met. Our sessions were always focussed and productive, whilst remaining informal and flexible to my own needs. Charlotte has significantly altered how I think about myself, and I couldn’t recommend her more."

Tom, Musician

"Charlotte is a fantastic coach and from our first phone call, I knew we would be able to work together. She is friendly, a great listener, and has a cracking sense of humour - but also I found the calls were constructive and had a beginning, middle and end. After every call I had things to reflect on, but mostly I always felt like a weight had been lifted. Charlotte helped me listen to the voice inside of me I had buried away and I feel stronger for her help."

Coaching participant

"Charlotte is an excellent listener and has a wonderfully calm presence."

Suzy

"Charlotte has really helped me through this year, to not only help to keep focussing around my goals but also to remind me of what I have achieved and what’s on the rise - now I have structure around this. Highly recommend if you're looking to improve your life and try something different!"

Alex Over, Podcaster and Musician

alexover.com

"Charlotte's listening skills and clear mind have supported me in looking beyond the drama attributed to specific situations and find specific goals which supported me in developing my career and strengthening my position in the arts industry."

Dance Practitioner, Lecturer and Arts Manager

 

"These sessions have been markers in the sand that have helped me through a process of self searching and understanding and I am very grateful for them. Charlotte is a wonderful coach, she is attentive, thought provoking and really helps guide the sessions to support your needs. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. What you allow people to access is very special.

Zoie Golding

Artistic Director, ZoieLogic Dance Theatre 

zoielogic.co.uk

"I believe this coaching was an invaluable part of my Embedded experience, and highly commend Sound and Music for their holistic approach to the artistic process."

Patricia Alessandrini, Composer/Sound Artist 

patriciaalessandrini.com

"Returning to work after maternity leave is hugely unsettling and an emotional roller-coaster; you have helped support me through this rocky transition. These sessions have definitely helped me to consider this next chapter in my life with a more open attitude. I hope that many other women in my position returning to their work are lucky enough to have your support during this tricky time. Your guided support has allowed me to unlock many answers and come to many realisations on my own which is a hugely empowering experienceThank you for your kindness, professionalism and care."      

Emily

 

"I do genuinely feel cleansed, even if parts of the process felt unfamiliar and out of my comfort zone. With your patient prompting you unlocked parts of my brain I wasn't consciously aware of and it's almost mystical, the effect it had on me. You have helped make me feel renewed with hope, confidence and strength, and considerably more mentally prepared for the storm. Thank you so much."

Coaching participant

 

"I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to talk about, and didn’t know how much I’d get out of the session. But I was amazed at how deep we went and how easy that was. Charlotte helped me to feel safe and comfortable throughout, so I could talk about my fears, aspirations and frustrations... I came away with a better understanding of what I was trying to achieve in a particular transition in my life, and the ways I could support myself to make that transition easier.

Charlotte is a very warm and sensitive person, and skilled at maintaining a light and playful feel to the session, even as we dealt with serious matters."  

Rebecca Ann Smith, Author

rebeccaannsmith.co.uk

"Your listening and questions created a supportive and constructive space for me to reflect on my challenges and clarify actions I would take next. I found the coaching extremely supportive. It helped me to hold myself and my actions more compassionately. It helped me to practice and feel more comfortable asking for support even when I feel vulnerable. 

I found the process validating. I often feel confused and doubtful about how I work. The coaching helped me to value my way of doing things."

EH

"Charlotte helped me find practical solutions to use in situations that provoked anxiety - e.g. an appraisal with my boss and a job interview. Talking through these situations in advance helped to reduce the anxiety in itself, and helped me approach these tasks with more clarity and focus."

Coaching participant

"Charlotte was excellent at listening closely to me and making me feel at ease in our conversations together.  I developed greatly in terms of my confidence as a result of working with her, and would gladly recommend her to anyone."

Composer, Sound and Music

 

"I began my coaching with Charlotte at a point of professional uncertainty, having recently become freelance. I found our sessions hugely valuable in helping me clarify my thoughts around my future career and in developing strategies to explore potential areas of work. Throughout our work together Charlotte was a supportive, open and questioning coach and I would thoroughly recommend her to friends and colleagues."

Paul Burns

Consultant, Dramaturg, Producer

wechtie.com

 

“I felt very quickly at ease in my session, confident that I was in a safe, supportive and open space to explore professional challenges. Charlotte’s attentive and supportive presence gave me the space to probe and explore issues myself, encouraged by her clear, focussed questions. The session supported me to discover actions or even solutions to challenges and this felt very empowering."

Louise Jardine, Arts Council England

 

"I’ve really enjoyed my time with Charlotte and found her very easy to open up to. The work was challenging but I never felt unsafe, in fact I found it exciting and each time wondered what I would discover next."

Niki

Coach, Artist, Therapist

 

“Working with Charlotte on the development and delivery of our Embedded residency coaching programme for artists has been really great. I always know that Charlotte can pick up relationships with our new artists very easily and involve them in the process straight away. Many of the artists that we work with are new to coaching so there is quite a lot of trust building involved.  The programme has been a new development for us and it’s been great to have Charlotte work alongside, and support, our in-house coaching offer. It has encouraged us to develop larger and more ambitious coaching programmes and to put this approach at the centre of our artist development work.”

Richard Whitelaw

Director of Programmes, Sound and Music

soundandmusic.org

"Through my coaching sessions with Charlotte, I gained a powerful understanding of what I’m working towards and greater confidence in trusting my instincts."

Judith Robinson, Sound and Music

"The thought of returning to work after a year-long maternity leave was completely overwhelming. Incredibly after just an hour-long coaching session Charlotte Semlyen not only helped me overcome this panic, she enabled me to look forward in a positive way at the challenges that returning to work will present. I came out of my session with a very different perspective and some clear aims for moving forward. The time I spent with Charlotte gave me the 'space' I needed to work out how to tackle this next chapter in my life. I can't recommend Charlotte enough - she is a wonderful coach."  

Coaching Participant 

 

“Charlotte was attentive, warm and approachable. She made me feel really at ease... I came out with a clear way of understanding a problem that was otherwise very confusing.  I would thoroughly recommend Charlotte Semlyen's coaching – it has really helped me feel happier.”  Teacher, Brighton

 

"Our sessions ultimately gave me a safe space and liberty to explore, and give dedicated thinking to, things that I had been mulling over (unproductively) for quite some time. I now have a clearer sense of what’s important to me and how to take things forward as a result; they have been invaluable."

Natalia Franklin Pierce, Sound and Music

 

"Charlotte helped me gain some much needed perspective and aided me to set practical, achievable goals in relation to my work/ family/ life balance. She creates a safe, supportive space and encourages you to find the answers you didn't realise you already knew."  

Anna Jefferson, Author and Playwright

annajefferson.co.uk

 

“I’d like to say a massive thank you for the coaching you gave me. It really clarified lots of things for me and I feel that I’ve developed professionally as well as personally too.”

Coaching participant, Sound and Music

 

"I felt that my session with Charlotte raised issues which I could then vocalise, making them real. What I do with them now is ultimately my decision, but I feel one step closer to resolving them." Mary, Dance Artist

 

"I have found Charlotte Semlyen’s input and support invaluable over the last year, a time of great change. She has provided focus, clarity and positivity around chaotic and often contradictory thinking, enabling me to distinguish 'the wood from the trees', initiating and implementing changes in the way I deal with stumbling blocks, habitual behaviours and crises of confidence. Charlotte has been largely responsible in fostering an understanding and appreciation of the value of coaching, banishing any previous scepticism. Her coaching style is supportive and focussed, combining skilled technique with warmth of personality that ensures the process is incredibly productive, and even enjoyable. Charlotte is a brilliant coach."

Jamie Beddard

Director, Actor, Writer, Diversity Consultant 

jamiebeddard.wordpress.com

 

"I really enjoyed my coaching experience with Charlotte. Having been in the middle of a complex project for some time, it was a huge help to be able to organise and refresh my thinking process and come up with clear targets and actions. Charlotte’s approach was open, approachable and non-judgemental and it was a really positive and useful experience. Thanks!" 

Angharad Cooper, Sound and Music

 

“I felt that you enabled me to think of ways to overcome my problems and you helped me find a more positive way forward. It was great coming out with a clear list of aims and actions to achieve over the next month, it really helped me decide how to proceed. You facilitated the session really efficiently so that I was able to get the most from the time... I felt really motivated afterwards.”

Coaching participant, Lewes

 

“I can’t recommend these sessions highly enough. In a single hour, Charlotte managed to bring order and clarity to the overwhelming cloud of chaos in my head, and I realised that not only do I actually have a strong sense of purpose for the future, but I also have the tools I need to get there. It’s really consolidated my goals and given me the impetus to really go for it.”   Sarah, Artist

 

 

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