As your coach I am your cheerleader, helping you discover your talents and purpose in life and celebrating your successes with you!
Hello I am Jennifer, an accredited Personal Development Coach. My professional coaching skills and knowledge of young people has been acquired over a period of 20 years where I’ve worked as a teacher, a youth worker, a family support worker and a student wellbeing officer.
My passion for helping young people build a positive sense of self and discover their purpose in life comes from my own experience. I am an adult adoptee who found adolescence very challenging. Looking back my adoptive parents provided stability and material comfort but they were ill-equipped to understand the emotional challenges and identity issues that adoption can create. At the time I didn’t have a trusted adult mentor to ask me what was happening in my life and to find out why I was so lacking in self confidence.
After years of feeling overwhelmed at School and University and struggling with my self-confidence I entered the world of work where I really benefited from the structure and clear expectations of a paid role.
I have mentioned being adopted because I believe it took me much longer to ‘firm up’ my identify and develop my talents compared to my peers. I have been persistent during my adult life in seeking new job roles, overcoming self doubt and building self-confidence and I am motivated to pass this wisdom on to young people.
Understanding our challenges
One of the many insights I gained working in a sixth form college in Kirklees is that some students find every day life harder and more tiring than other students. These students have higher levels of anxiety and lower self-confidence and are often on referral lists to be assessed for ADHD and other invisible ‘disabilities’.
This led me to recognise traits in myself that point towards ADHD and I have joined several adult community groups that support people with this neurological condition. Becoming a Personal Development Coach and discovering modern coaching tools has made my ADHD traits manageable and really improved my quality of life.
My homepage displays a quotation by Robert Brault, an American Writer and Philosopher. His message is that until we understand what our challenges are we cannot take steps to improve the quality of life we experience. I feel that this is what coaching aims to do as the coach and client work in partnership to:
- Increase self-awareness
- Identify what needs to change
- Create a plan that is achievable and allows for some adjustments
- Instill accountability in the client/young person for the success or lack of success of the action plan
With a grounding in the Theories of Childhood Attachment I keep up to date with the established models of communication that help adults relate compassionately to young people. I also have considerable experience of working within confidentiality guidelines and making decisions based on safeguarding principles to ensure a young person is protected from harm.
I’m passionate about sharing practical coaching tools with anyone who needs to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem. As a personal development coach I will be your guide and cheerleader and at every stage of your journey I will give you honest feedback to enable your self-development and personal growth.
