Coaching for Family Members
Supporting Someone You Love
If your partner, child, sibling or close friend is experiencing a spiritual crisis, non-ordinary state or experiences that have received a diagnosis of psychosis, you may be going through an extremely challenging time yourself.
A conversation can be like a journey. When you come to its end you may no longer feel like the same person.
The focus often falls entirely on the experiencer, while family members carry fear, uncertainty, exhaustion and responsibility with little support for themselves.
These coaching sessions are designed to support both you and your loved one by helping you better understand what may be happening and strengthening your own capacity to respond effectively.
Sessions may involve a combination of therapeutic conversation and practical exercises. Once we have got to know each other, you may also be welcome to join one of my regular support classes.
Why A Coaching Session With Me May Be Helpful
Being Heard and Understood
I have not experienced what it is like to be a parent, partner or sibling supporting somebody through a crisis.
Good conversations are not just about the words.
What I do understand is the impact these experiences can have on a family.
My own parents supported me through psychiatric hospitalisation overseas, repeated crises, years of uncertainty and a long process of recovery and integration. Alongside the experiences themselves, they also had to navigate the mental health system, difficult treatment decisions and the challenge of maintaining hope when others had little to offer beyond medication and management.
As a result, I have a deep appreciation for the emotional burden family members often carry, frequently with very little support for themselves.
Sometimes the most helpful thing is simply having a space where you can speak openly about what you are experiencing and know that you will be heard.
Maintaining Hope
When someone you love is struggling, it can be difficult to see beyond the immediate crisis.
One of the most important things I can offer is the perspective of somebody who has travelled through extreme states, repeatedly encountered serious challenges and eventually recovered.
Recovery journeys are rarely straightforward. They often involve setbacks, uncertainty and difficult decisions. Yet positive outcomes are possible.
Maintaining hope does not mean ignoring reality. It means recognising that difficult situations can change and that growth and recovery remain possible, even when the path ahead is unclear.
Enhancing Your Capacity to Support
There is much that family members can do to support a person experiencing a spiritual crisis or non-ordinary state.
Understanding what they may be going through is an important start.
I can help you explore practical approaches to communication, emotional regulation and supporting someone without becoming overwhelmed yourself.
I also teach simple embodied practices which can help family members remain calmer, more grounded and better able to respond during difficult periods.
No one can guarantee how another person will respond, but there is often much that can be done to increase the likelihood of a positive outcome.
Looking After Yourself
Perhaps the most important service I can offer is support for you.
The better resourced you are physically, emotionally and mentally, the better able you will be to support someone else.
Many carers place their own wellbeing at the bottom of the list. Over time this can lead to exhaustion, frustration and despair.
Taking care of yourself is not selfish. It is often one of the most helpful things you can do for the person you love.
Much of my own work over the years has involved learning how to regulate the nervous system, process emotional difficulties, cultivate resilience and develop a stronger sense of inner stability. These are skills that can benefit family members just as much as experiencers themselves.
How I Work
My preferred approach is to begin with an introductory coaching session.
This gives us an opportunity to discuss your situation, explore any immediate concerns and consider how I may be able to support you and your family.
Some people benefit from a short series of coaching sessions during a crisis. Others prefer occasional support over a longer period of time.
The level and type of support can then be tailored to your particular circumstances.
Working Together
Wellness Coaching: I am offering 'wellness / life coaching' sessions as an 'expert by experience'. I am not a regulated psychotherapist or counsellor. I have professional training and up to date insurance to work with individuals as a Mindfulness teacher, a Bodywork therapist and as a Tai Chi teacher.
Legal & Professional Disclaimer: What you take from a session and put into action in your life is your personal responsibility. By engaging my services, I will assume you understand and accept this.
Personal Responsibility: I encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and recovery wherever possible. My role is to offer support, guidance and practical tools, but I cannot take responsibility for another person's life or decisions.
In situations where a person is unable to take responsibility for their own safety or wellbeing, support from family members, carers, clinicians or mental health services may be necessary. Mental health services continue to play an important role in society when a person requires a level of support that cannot safely be provided elsewhere.
Psychiatry: I believe people should have access to a wider range of options than are currently available. Psychiatric care has an important role to play for some individuals, particularly where safety is concerned. At the same time, I believe there are others who may benefit from more recovery-oriented approaches that place greater emphasis on meaning, mindfulness, embodiment and personal growth.
Dangers: I am not naive about the dangers that can accompany non-ordinary experiences. At times they can be frightening, disorientating and potentially harmful both for the individual and those around them. At the same time, I do not believe fear alone is a helpful response. Together we will discuss both the risks and the opportunities these experiences may present.
If a situation requires a level of support that cannot safely be provided through coaching, family support or community support, then additional clinical or psychiatric care may be appropriate.
Trauma & Suffering: In my experience, emotional distress and non-ordinary experiences often have meaning and context within a person's life. Exploring these themes can sometimes be an important part of recovery and integration.
Having travelled through my own difficult experiences, I have developed a capacity to sit with suffering in others without immediately trying to fix, suppress or explain it away. Sometimes that process is challenging. At other times, we may even be able to find moments of humour and lightness within it.
Practical Details & Fees
I would suggest making an initial contact with me through this website.
If you feel my approach may be helpful, we can arrange a first paid coaching session to discuss your situation and whether we would like to work together.
Session Fees
- £80 for a one-hour session
- £120 for a ninety-minute session
Payment
Payment can be made by bank transfer, Wise or PayPal. I ask that payment is made before the agreed session.
Taking the Next Step
If you have read this far and feel that my approach resonates with you, I invite you to get in touch.
We can arrange an initial session to explore your situation and whether working together feels appropriate for both of us.
There is no pressure or obligation to continue beyond that first conversation.
Testimonials
Hi Anthony, I just wanted to share with you how humbled and moved I was after our conversation yesterday.
After we stopped talking, I felt a deep sense of relaxation and peace, which was very welcome.
I was highly impressed by how deeply and intuitively you understood the problems with the children.
I find it strange, and sad in a way that spending a couple of hours talking to you was more helpful and insightful than all of the hours combined that social workers and GPS have contributed to our family.
And I feel strongly that your voice deserves to be heard,
Because you have direct experience of these sort of issues, which most people do not.
Thank you for being there.
Hint: 'Borderline'...
John, UKThrough Anthony's own lived experience of heightened emotional states, he has been able to help me understand what my partner has experienced.
Anthony has shed light on how I might really support my partner in times of crisis without having to rely on conventional psychiatry and medication, something we're both keen to be the way forward for us.
Anthony's wisdom and warmth have made me feel much more confident in my ability to take care of both myself and my partner in future.
Frankie, UKI have attended the embodied mindfulness and rejuvenation sessions which Anthony runs and during the class have found the insights he has gained from his own experience about 'altered states' / 'psychosis' really helpful to consider in relation to my son's experiences which have been frightening (and much more), for him but also for me and the rest of the family.
Anthony shares and communicates with authenticity and sense about what has helped him on his journey, shedding some light on what, for those 'alongside' someone experiencing these states, can be hard to understand.
His wisdom and practice provide hope that, with support and work the path is not bleak but one of discovery and evolving. This hopeful perspective is in contrast to the often negative one which carers may have encountered and can help equip carers to better navigate the journey....
Anthony's website contains a wealth of valuable resources for experiencers and those supporting them.
Glad you are there to share and that I was lucky enough to hear about you and your work.
Thank you
Sue, UKSupport Resources
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