How We Work.
Although every individual and the situation they are facing is unique, we are guided by our five-phase Better Place approach to wellbeing support. This triages the immediate position, then helps the individual to cope with their situation and then supports them on their journey through their personal storm.
The Path to a Better Place.
Our wellbeing support approach to executive coaching builds on the insights and research of William Bridges’ transitions model and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ work on personal loss. Often these are brought together and described as the change curve.
But working through a difficult situation is not simple, easy or linear.
People don’t work through tough times in simple, progressive stages. The phases overlap and abridge each other. Tough, emotional times aren’t neat and tidy.
So, we anticipate, expect and embrace setbacks as an important part of the journey. How we frame and address these challenges helps us to understand ourselves better, build resilience and, in time, gradually move forward.
Our approach.
1
Safe Place.
The first conversation with an Act 5 consultant psychologist is always about ensuring your safety. We never charge for this time.
This is a confidential, 30-minute online session getting to know you and the trauma or issue that is causing distress.
It's also your chance to find out more about our approach wellbeing support, and the coach working with you. As we're coaches and not therapists, we find that some background about your coach helps to build trust, perspective and understanding, and form a platform of partnership to work from.
At the end of the session, we'll decide together whether the service that Act 5 offers is right for you ‐ or whether a different service will be better suited to your needs at this time.
2
Your Space.
The first phase of support builds on your Safe Place conversation.
We will work with you to gain greater understanding of your context and the situation. We explore your thoughts, reactions and emotions, including how you're feeling in the here and now.
Our role is as a compassionate, empathic listener and wellbeing support facilitator whose role is to help you to identify, explore and process these emotions, begin to take some control back and start to build a healthy and effective coping strategy.
3
This Space.
The next phase we move into builds on the hard work and difficult conversations that we've had in Your Space. The situation may still be continuing and evolving, and new issues may be emerging and we help you to explore these, and what these might mean for you.
When appropriate, we start to imagine what the future might look like for you, and consider some alternative options that might be relevant and appropriate.
Whilst we all prefer to focus on the positive outcomes, we sometimes find it useful to balance this with the exploration of the less palatable alternatives in the future. We do this as we believe this helps people to take control of their future state, whatever it might be.
4
New Space.
As you continue to process your situation, we begin to explore what your future might look like and help you to generate and think through a range of different options or directions.
We'll offer you wellbeing support through these with you in a structured and explicit way, experimenting with ideas and alternatives, whilst weighing up the issues and opportunities associated with each.
We'll start to consider the actions that are going to lead you to the best possible outcome for you ‐ and also actions that might reduce the potential for less positive outcomes to occur.
5
Better Place.
As you continue to process your situation, we begin to explore what your future might look like and help you to generate and think through a range of different options or directions.
We'll offer you wellbeing support through these with you in a structured and explicit way, experimenting with ideas and alternatives, whilst weighing up the issues and opportunities associated with each.
We'll start to consider the actions that are going to lead you to the best possible outcome for you ‐ and also actions that might reduce the potential for less positive outcomes to occur.
One way to use your ten hours of support time could be with four 90-minute sessions and four 60-minute sessions.
We find that clients benefit from more support in the Your Space and This Space phases, and so we recommend session lengths of 90 minutes. For highly complex situations, this time can be extended.
Then as you move into the New Space and Better Space phases, a session length of 60 minutes sessions might be more appropriate.
But ultimately, the choice is yours. You may feel the need for a short additional ‘emergency’ check-in session when you’ve encountered a setback or problem.
Additional time to extend a programme can be agreed upon at any time.
Most Act 5 conversations happen over Microsoft Teams and Zoom platforms for flexibility, responsivity, and convenience.
We also enjoy meeting with clients in person, at our quiet, comfortable, and confidential consulting space in Cheadle, Cheshire. Free parking is provided and it is by prior appointment only.
We are also happy to meet with clients in other convenient and confidential spaces across the UK, but we do ask that our expenses are reimbursed in this circumstance.
Sometimes in person sessions might include going for a walk in a park or a coffee in a quiet café if a change of context or location might bring useful insights and aid progress.
We suggest alternative venues only after consideration of the client and their situation, and no client is in any way obliged to agree to an alternative venue to meet. We carry out a formal risk assessment of the venue prior to suggesting an alternative meeting space.
Please make sure you read and understand our client contract and coachee consent.
Support Sessions Pricing and Booking.
Our contracting and booking approach is transparent, simple and easy.
Our first conversation with you, where we explore your situation in a Safe Place and decide together whether Act 5 is the right wellbeing support for you, is always complimentary.
If we both decide that Act 5 executive coaching is right for you, we will ask you to complete a client contract via an online link. This sets out how we will work together and a sample of our contract is viewable following this link.
Following this, we ask our clients to invest in a bank of time, rather than a set number of sessions.
How you choose to use the time in your bank is up to you. You’re in charge of how you use your investment and our wellbeing support. Each person and their situation is different, and we want to be as flexible and responsive as possible to your needs.
Due to the nature, complexity and intensity of the challenges usually faced by our clients, our minimum contract is for ten hours of support time, payable before support sessions commence. We charge £5000 for 10 hours of support time with a consultant psychologist, at a rate of £500 per hour, excluding VAT.
Kerry Seaman, our Customer Support Manager, liaises between you and your coach to book and manage your Act 5 sessions. We believe that the personal touch is more suitable for our clients rather than using an anonymous, online booking portal.
We aim at all times to make it as easy and as flexible as possible for you to manage your Act 5 sessions to suit your progress, timelines and personal and work commitments.
What do our clients say?
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