Your Business Is Doing Well. So What's Holding You Back?
What if you could combine the forward momentum of coaching with the depth and gentleness of therapy?
You've got some clients. You're building a reputation. And you're good at what you do.
But every now and then, perhaps there's that little bit of doubt.
A wobble in confidence.
You question a decision, wonder whether you're doing enough or find yourself comparing your progress with somebody else's.
Meanwhile, other small business owners seem to be everywhere. Another networking event. Another exciting project. Another success story.
Should I be doing more? Am I falling behind? Have I actually got this right?
Or perhaps things are going brilliantly. The diary fills up, opportunities come along, and suddenly you're juggling everything again.
You promise yourself you'll set better boundaries, protect your time and approach things differently.
And for a while, you do.
Until those familiar patterns begin creeping back.
Sound familiar?
What if the next step isn't about learning more business skills, but understanding yourself a little better?
I've been there, too.
I don't often share my personal struggles on social media. That's intentional. As a therapist, I believe the focus should be on you, not me.
But I'm human, too.
I've been self-employed since 2009, working across senior HR, recruitment, marketing and running businesses, including an international business and my own recruitment agency.
I've experienced burnout. And for years, I found myself repeating familiar patterns.
Getting busy. Taking on too much. Becoming overwhelmed. Resetting. Starting again.
This time will be different.
Until those patterns gradually returned.
Having therapy myself helped me understand some of the invisible threads influencing my responses, including fears around rejection and making mistakes.
Those tendencies haven't magically disappeared. But now I recognise them earlier, understand myself better and have more choice about how I respond.
And perhaps you've noticed something similar.
The business changes. Your circumstances change. But somehow, familiar patterns keep following you.
What if you already know what to do?
Business coaching can be valuable for strategy, accountability and growth. But what if you already know what to do, and something more personal keeps getting in the way?
This is where Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) offers a different approach.
Sharing many of coaching's forward-looking qualities, SFBT helps you explore your preferred future — what you'd like to be different, the strengths you already have, what's working and the small steps that could help you move forwards.
What might change if you trusted your decisions more, felt comfortable setting boundaries or enjoyed the business you've worked so hard to build?
Where appropriate, solution-focused hypnotherapy can complement this work through guided relaxation, focused attention, imagery and positive therapeutic suggestions, offering opportunities to mentally rehearse preferred responses and consider new possibilities.
But what about those invisible threads?
Perhaps you hesitate to raise your prices because you worry about rejection.
One critical comment makes you question your abilities.
Or you avoid difficult conversations because disappointing somebody feels uncomfortable.
Through integrative counselling and psychotherapy, we can explore what's happening beneath the surface.
CBT-informed approaches help us recognise connections between thoughts, feelings and behaviours — for example, how “If I make a mistake, they'll think I'm incompetent” might lead to overthinking or excessive preparation.
Psychodynamic-informed work explores how earlier experiences and relationships may influence present-day patterns, such as seeking approval, fearing rejection or linking your worth to achievement.
And person-centred principles provide the empathy, acceptance and space to explore these experiences without judgement.
Sometimes understanding where a pattern comes from can help you recognise that you have choices about what happens next.
Why work with me?
I've spent over 17 years experiencing the realities of self-employment, from attracting clients and managing commercial pressures to wondering whether I'm doing enough.
Alongside that business experience, I've invested seven years in training in counselling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, including clinical placement and supervised therapeutic practice.
So when you talk about the pressures of running a business, you're talking to someone who understands that world.
But you're also working with a trained therapist who can help you explore the emotional and psychological patterns influencing how you experience it.
My approach brings together the forward momentum of solution-focused therapy with the depth and understanding of integrative counselling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.
Not another set of targets. Not pressure to become somebody else's version of success.
A space to understand yourself, recognise your strengths and work towards meaningful change.
What if the next investment was in you?
You've invested years in building your business.
But how much have you invested in understanding the person behind it?
Perhaps your next chapter isn't about working harder, doing more or proving yourself.
Perhaps it's about feeling more confident in your decisions, developing healthier boundaries and finding greater freedom and enjoyment in the business you've created.
You may already have the skills and experience to move forwards. Perhaps you just need the space and support to recognise what's possible.
If something here resonates, I'd welcome a conversation.
An initial consultation offers an opportunity to explore where you are, what you'd like to be different and whether my approach could be right for you.
Explore working with me and enquire about an initial consultation
I offer solution-focused hypnotherapy, integrative counselling and psychotherapy for small business owners and self-employed professionals near Bicester, Oxfordshire, and online across the UK.
