My Story

Born in the shadow of Table Mountain, Cape Town, I’ve tended to wander away from it quite frequently - mostly to further my formal education! When asked on leaving school, what I would like to study further, my answer was “medicine” – to be told that wasn’t a career for girls and therefore would not be supported.

I discovered and pursued dietetics. I came to understand the impact of food on both physical and mental health. I empowered people to make food choices that maximised their well-being. I came to understand that physical and emotional health are inseparable. My work up to that point was more focused on the physical side.

I attended a workshop on world conflict in a storybook Swiss village. The experience was, in many ways, the polar opposite of my life up to that point. It opened horizons I had never considered before. I felt a sense of daring I never had before.

One of the people I met there was studying psychology in Seattle. He described a Master’s programme which would enable me to combine aspects of psychology in a unique way. Despite practical reservations I embarked on the journey to America.

This was an obvious extension to “healing” work. I worked in this field for a further couple of decades and then was attracted to combining my knowledge and experience and directing it to coaching, particularly that based on positive psychology, This accumulation of knowledge and experience enriches my “whole-person” approach to coaching.

It will come as no surprise that I am particularly interested in encouraging women (especially in the family business scenario) to follow their dreams!

My Work

My work is based on the principle of emerging authenticity. Many people assume that their intrinsic nature is fixed, and that they need to dig down and find it. I prefer to see us as evolving over time. This opens up a far wider range of possibilities in which to be one’s self.

You can now make exciting, intentional choices from within this extended possibility field.

My style of coaching is based on the premise that personal development provides BOTH the element of personal growth AND the enhanced contribution the individual provides to the various groups with whom they interact, work-related and personal/social. From a psychological perspective, I have always liked the Transactional Analysis model of personal development that encourages Adult behavior - taking responsibility for what is ours to develop so that we do not have to act like dependent kids in an adult world of authority. By being “on top” of our personal share of responsibility in our personal lives, we become more efficient at cooperating to achieve collective goals that support the total environment in which we live. Self-assurance comes through exploration and expression of one’s own strengths.

I do depth work with individuals and teams. I coach individuals to understand themselves and their particular way of thinking, feeling and behaving so they can make conscious and adult decisions about how to live their lives. This understanding becomes the springboard for the enhancement of all social interactions, including those at work. The coaching of teams and groups becomes a natural progression for the coaching process.