Hello!
I am Natalie and I am so glad you have found me. I can't wait to connect with you and see how we can work together.
I have always been a helper... it is just in my soul. I am that friend that people come to when they need help and support and I love being that person.
After lots of different jobs throughout my life (graphic design, interior design, estate agency and sales to name just a few!) it was the jolt of being made redundant that made me re-evaluate what I wanted from my working life and what made me finally make the leap into mental health. I completed Level 2 Counselling Studies and started work as an Independent Mental Health Advocate, supporting people who had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act to express their views and wishes around their care. I now work part time for an NHS commissioned service called the Emotional Wellbeing Service and I help support people with low level mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, self esteem issues, negative thinking patterns.
I am currently training to be a Master Intuitive Psychology Coach, which is an Advanced Accredited Diploma, the highest accreditation in coaching. I am accredited by The Association for Coaching. During the training we were coached ourselves in the techniques that I have learnt and the my coaching journey was honestly absolutely transformational, so I have such faith and belief in the methods I use because I have and continue to experience it for myself. I have written more about my training and my own coaching journey on my Instagram page so please have a look for more on this.
Outside of work, I am a mummy to 2 young boys, a fluffy spaniel and a wife. We live in a beautiful house on the Kent/ Sussex Border, near Tunbridge Wells and have spent the last 10 years renovating our home. It's still an ongoing project but it is worth all the chaos that comes with a renovation project. I love travelling and exploring and as a family we have a fabulous trailer tent that we have taken all over the place with our boys. You can't beat the freedom of camping and getting out in nature. I love my garden and enjoy growing my own fruit and vegetables. It all sounds idyllic doesn't it! I can assure you that my life is not an Instagram lie and I do my best to keep it real. I still struggle at times but I have been on a long journey of self discovery and I have learnt a lot along the way. You can read a little more about my journey below if you are interested.
My Journey...
I genuinely believe that everyone has times when they struggle with their mental health, to a greater or lesser degree. I am no exception but I have always been proactive when I have struggled, to reach out for support when I have needed it. I saw my first counsellor when I was about 18 and I have had lots of different types of therapy since including hypnotherapy, CBT, EMDR and I have worked with a number of counsellors.
As a child, I struggled massively with homesickness and this impacted my life up to the age of about 20. At the time I used Hypnotherapy to help to overcome some of my fears. For many years, I have suffered with a condition called Emetophobia, which is a phobia of being sick and I have done CBT courses to help with this. I can't say that I am 'cured' of this because like with any anxiety related mental health issue, there isn't a cure. But I have a lot of good coping strategies for this and it no longer impacts my life like it used to.
I have suffered with depression and I can struggle with emotional regulation but I have learnt so much about the nervous system through my training as an Intuitive Psychology Coach and this has made a considerable difference to my emotional wellbeing. I didn't have a traumatic childhood, I had a good childhood with parents that loved me and did the best for me but I still recognise that there have been things that I still carry with me from my childhood and these are trauma responses. Trauma is the result of anything that overwhelms our bodies nervous system and sometimes it doesn't take much for this to happen. I use techniques now to help to regulate my nervous system but it is always an ongoing process, like keeping our bodies fit and healthy, it's not something you can just do a few times and is enough.
Other therapies I have used in the past are EMDR and couples counselling. Each time I have therapy I feel I move forward in this journey of understanding myself. However, I have also found that I have reached a ceiling in my counselling journey, like I have talked myself out and and don't know what else to say. I have felt like I just go around and around in circles, coming back to the same things, the things that are within my conscious. It is only since training as an Intuitive Psychology Coach that I feel that I have made real progress in connecting with what is really holding me back and causing me such conflict internally. This process has been life changing and I cannot wait to help show you the power of these methods.
My Neurodiversity Journey...
This is a pretty new for me as I am still very much at the beginning of this journey but I thought I would share this as I believe it is something a lot of people will resonate with.
My eldest son is currently being assessed for ADHD and through this process I am connecting with the likelihood of my own neurodiversity. I had been resonating with a lot of the concepts of ADHD, such as lack of dopamine impacting motivation and the resulting procrastination, the overwhelm of thoughts in your mind, emotional dysregulation and rejection sensitive dysphoria. But it wasn't until we had the initial stage of my son's assessment that my own neurodiversity was really raised when the nurse suggested that I go for an assessment too . She explained that to have the level of awareness and understanding that I have with my son and to manage the situations that we are already, this only really comes about when that individual has been managing these things so well for themselves.
This made a lot of sense to me and has actually given me a greater confidence for being able to support my son.
I don't necessarily feel that I need to get a diagnosis but I have realised that I want to try to repair some of my past wounds possibly caused by not knowing or understanding how my brain worked as a child, and getting a diagnosis may help with this. So I am in the long wait for an NHS assessment....
If you resonate with any of this, or perhaps have seen one of my posts on social media. Please reach out as I am sure I can help you to connect and understand yourself, even without a diagnosis.
Qualifications and CPD
We should never stop learning. I am a big believer in continually learning and developing my skills and knowledge. This is how I can help support you properly. Below is a list of my qualifications and courses I have completed, just to show my commitment to supporting you.
Advanced Accredited Intuitive Psychology Coaching Diploma - qualify in Spring 2025
Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills
Level 2 Certificate in Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health Advocacy in the workplace
Safeguarding Adults
Trauma Informed: Theory & Practice
Risk Assessment Training
Mental Health - Understanding and Awareness
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
Strength Based Approaches
Understanding Psychosis and Bipolar
Personality Disorders - Working with Complex Emotional & Relational Needs
Co-occuring conditions - Alcohol and Mental Health conditions
Understanding Self Harm
Supporting Autistic People
Group Work Skills
Managing Difficult and Aggressive Situations
Professional Boundaries
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Psychologically Informed Environments