About Your Coach

I see my transition into coaching as a somewhat natural progression from my work as a  professional psychologist. Coaching is a relatively recent development that has grown significantly as a useful tool to deal with many of today’s challenges in our fast-paced, constantly evolving society. Rather than seeing  life as “ what happens while you’re busy planning other things”, coaching can help you focus on what matters most to you as you become the one in charge of your own life. Living your life by intentional design rather than by default.                                                                                                         

Sue Cowan    MA, MSc                           CPCC- Certified professional Co-Active Coach ACC  - Associate Certified Coach, ICF

I studied Psychology (University of St.Andrews, UK) and continued by pursuing professional psychology training (MSc, Queens University Belfast). I then began my career as a Clinical Psychologist in the UK in the National Health Service, way back in the 1980s.

My passion was to work with mental health rather then mental illness. I was happiest when I could choose where to make my contribution – by working with individuals referred with for example eating disorders, depression, lack of assertiveness and confidence, anxiety and stress…….integrating psychological approaches into GP practices, medical clinics and community settings – as well as being a member of a team providing general psychological services across the board to a lengthy waiting list of people referred from a variety of sources. When I lived in the south east of England I took advantage of the many opportunities in London to advance my professional and personal development, including courses and supervision at the Tavistock Clinic and the Women’s Therapy Centre.

When I moved to Germany with my husband and two young children, a career break followed to devote time and energy to the children. And to improving my German skills, since we were not in an English-speaking environment. After some training, I set up my own business teaching, developing and evaluating “Business English” language training in local companies. By now I was also sufficiently proficient in German to get involved in other projects more directly related to my psychological interests, such as the local school’s addiction prevention programme.

During a one-year stay in Brussels - where there are many English-speakers - I made concrete moves towards setting up a psychology practice to return to “hands-on” work again with clients….I had missed it!

I found I was gravitating towards coaching as I mingled in the psychology scene there…….and by the time we returned to Germany I was already eagerly starting my coach training with the Coaches Training Institute in London which offers an in-person, small group, experiential programme of training. (find out more about CTI at www.coaching-courses.com )

I completed my preliminary training with CTI in 2006, and completed full certification in early 2009 to become a CPCC- a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach.

I continue to grow my self as a coach and a human being, broadening my perspectives and gaining more expertise. In 2006 I trained as an NLP Practitioner (with Ian McDermott at ITS: www.itsnlp.com ).

In September 2009 I was awarded the ACC- Associate Certified Coach- designation by the International Coach Federation. This is earned by demonstrating knowledge and proficient use of core coaching skills through a comprehensive application and exam process designed to ensure high standards for the coaching profession and the clients it serves.

My professional goals are to further enhance my coaching skills and abilities, build my practice, and to continue on my journey towards mastery in coaching as recognized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Looking back, I sense now that as a psychologist I was using a “coaching approach” much of the time in my work. Then, as now, the essence of my sessions was enabling people to enrich their lives.
Coaching competencies stem from developments in psychology; performance is enhanced through behavioural and cognitive change. In coaching however, the emphasis is more on holding a vision of the future and all its possibilities, with the client taking full responsibility for making changes and taking his/her own action: perhaps more of an “enabling” psychology rather than a direct “caring” psychology approach I followed as a clinical psychologist.

Coaching is often defined as “not therapy”. The way I see it? Yes, coaching is not pathology-oriented, it doesn’t focus on root causes of a problem, and doesn’t deal with emotional healing: there is a difference in approach (otherwise why would I spend resources on pursuing coaching training?) But the similarities are also important.
Both share the primary goal of helping people make changes (in behaviour, attitudes, feelings) that result in them feeling better about themselves and experiencing greater life success and satisfaction.

(If you are interested, you can find out more about the distinctions between coaching and counseling/ traditional therapy here.)

My background and experience in applied psychology also gives me the skills to help my clients design their environments to support and inspire them which, together with personal development, leads to sustainable change.

I see coaching as part of a larger paradigm shift towards people wanting to live their lives more purposefully (away from the paradigm of pathology, towards the paradigm of possibility). Coaching has its roots in modern psychology and counseling theories. For me the transition was not so great since I have always been outcome-oriented in my approach rather than following a medical model – working more within a Gestalt-type “how” rather than a therapy-type “why”. Many of the “problems in living” that my past patients sought psychological help for may be better served by an effective life coach.

I coach from a whole life perspective: whatever is going on in one area of our life impacts on other areas of our being. We don’t live our lives in separate spheres of family, health, work, relationships and I don’t believe it is in the best interests of my clients to help them in only one aspect of their life while ignoring the rest and how they interrelate.
I find that my heart and soul are in the right place in coaching: I believe that through coaching I can reach more people, be more helpful, lead people to brighter futures and make a bigger difference. This is my contribution.

Over the years I have lived with my family in UK, Germany, Belgium and I am now  happily settled in Geneva, Switzerland (with no more moves planned!). I have myself embraced and navigated change and transition, and although it has been challenging, I see the lives of myself, my husband and our two teenagers enriched as a result.

Professionalism is very important to me. People assume that one is qualified at what one does, but, in reality, anyone can call themselves a coach whether or not they have followed coach-specific training. I believe that a well-trained coach with experience gives great value to their clients.

I am an active member of the ICF  ( www.coachfederation.org ) – the globally recognized professional association of personal and business coaches, which sets standards of excellence and integrity for coaching worldwide; I am committed to their high professional standards and adhere to their set of ethical guidelines (you can read the ICF Code of Ethics here).  

I enjoy the things I do and I am enthusiastic about life. I am inclined to think positively and have an enabling style, where I see opportunities and solutions where others see problems. And, I believe it is possible to have fun even when you are taking things seriously. My clients tell me I am challenging but supportive, and they value my integrity, honesty and professionalism.

And, of course, I myself have regular coaching sessions with my own coach – since coaching brings so many benefits, why wouldn’t I want  it too!

Phone (office and mobile): 076-2055-076

(from outside Switzerland, dial 0041-76-2055-076)

Email:   info@suecowancoaching.com