Personal Coaching for Young Minds | One-to-One
In-person coaching for children and teenagers led by a trained mindfulness teacher. Learn simple exercises for finding peace and calm and tools for handling stress and anxiety. Choose from introductory courses and shorter bite-size sessions.
Please contact me to learn more and discuss how we can work together.
One-to-One Coaching sessions teach young people the skills of mindfulness, empower them with simple exercises that quieten the mind and help develop habits that can positively impact on their health and happiness.
HOW CAN MINDFULNESS HELP YOUNG PEOPLE?
Our children are increasingly living lifestyles that are demanding, stressful, anxiety-inducing and loaded with pressures that didn’t exist for older generations. Surveys frequently demonstrate the worrying trends of poor mental health among our young people.
Parents are expressing concern for their children’s well-being, health and happiness and naturally want to support them, but many don’t feel they know what kind of help is best.
Emotional health in childhood is the key to future happiness.
Mindfulness is a skill that anyone can learn and benefit from and I am personally very passionate about teaching the skills of happiness and good mental health to young people. It is my belief that the earlier this begins in a person’s life, the greater chance they have of developing into a happy, healthy adult with the ability to respond better to life’s challenges. This is about sowing the seeds of emotional health and equipping young people with effective tools and strategies for looking after their own well-being.
Many forward-thinking schools now offer mindfulness sessions in the classroom (such as .b for teens and paws .b for younger children because they recognise the wide range of benefits to pupil well-being.
The Benefits
Here are some of the known benefits of mindfulness. How might they support your child’s personal, academic, social and emotional life?
✔ Increased happiness and well-being
✔ Improved attention, focus and concentration.
✔ Managing stress and anxiety
✔ Ability to be relaxed and calm
✔ Better relationships with peers, family and teachers
✔ Greater emotional resilience and management of emotions.
Mindfulness benefits the ‘whole-person’ and – because we are all unique – each person is likely to benefit from practicing it in their own individual way. See my client testimonials and hear my clients express how coaching helps them.
PERSONAL COACHING
Courses and one-off sessions are taught in-person and arranged in advance by parents.
Introduction to Mindfulness Course (6/8 week foundation programme)
We start with the foundation of a full Introduction to Mindfulness Course, consisting of 6-8 weekly sessions (6 week programme for 7-11 year olds, 8 week programme for 11-18 year olds) with Home Practice in between.
Sessions are 45 mins long and supported by engaging and informative work-sheets sent to you by email.
Each week covers a different theme of mindfulness, teaching key exercises and feeding back on the experience of each meditation. Sessions are tailored to your child. We discuss the ways in which mindfulness relates to their experiences in everyday life - for example in terms of their personal health and well-being, their life at school or college, or in their relationships with friends and family.
Extra Sessions: Refreshers (45 mins) & Breathers (25 mins)
After completing a full foundation programme, further sessions are available - these are also available online via Skype.
Refreshers can be scheduled periodically as a follow-up after the initial course to check in on how things are going and to support continued learning and development.
Breathers are shorter bite-size sessions designed to provide immediate support as and when needed. They can be helpful:
to enable a calm transition after school into family time
to settle a busy mind before beginning homework or music practice
after a particularly difficult day at school or stressful experience
when feeling anxious about tomorrow’s exam, performance or presentation
Taster Session
An informal chat between coach, child and parents to introduce ourselves and briefly discuss mindfulness and what to expect from a programme. Learn about what is involved and ask questions. We also get the chance to try a short mindfulness practice!
Contact me to discuss Personal Coaching for Children & Teens
MORE INFO
Staying safe online
It is of the upmost importance that online sessions are conducted with the safety and security of children in mind. For this reason it is my policy to follow certain procedures to ensure we can work together in an appropriate and suitable way.
Connecting safely via parent’s Skype account only
When I work online with clients under the age of 18 it is my policy to only connect with the Skype account belonging to the parent(s) and under no circumstances to the personal Skype account of the child. Parents without their own Skype account can visit www.skype.com and follow the instructions to get set up.
Parents welcome!
Many parents choose to be present during the Skype sessions and take part themselves. If brothers and sisters (even Grandparents!) also wish to take part in the session they are welcome to join at no extra charge. It is desirable for parent(s) to be present for at least the beginning part of the first Skype session. Please consider what environment best supports your child’s learning.
DBS Certification
I hold an up to date DBS Certificate to the level of Advanced Disclosure. This is the standard level of background check applied to those working with young people and vulnerable individuals in UK schools or other settings. Please feel free to view my advanced/full disclosure DBS Certification (The government’s Disclosure and Barring Service - formerly known as ‘CRB’) online by following this link:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do Skype sessions work?
Our Skype session begins with the parent connecting to me at my Skype account. My policy is to only connect with the Skype account belonging to the parent(s) and not with the personal Skype account of the child or teenager.
Sessions can be video-call based (face to face) or audio only (voice to voice). It is entirely your (and your child's) choice. Working together face to face is usually preferable as it helps to build a stronger teacher-pupil relationship and can make the interaction easier and learning more effective.
Can parents join in?
Parents are welcome to participate in the session if they feel it is appropriate. The sessions are designed to teach mindfulness in a manner suitable to children and teenagers but many parents find their own personal benefit in the exercises we practice. I would advise using your own knowledge of your child’s learning style to decide whether they may get more from the sessions by participating without parental attendance.
Can you provide references?
I welcome the opportunity to discuss working together and I am happy to provide references upon request.