Helen Mulligan
I work with older children and teens who struggle with the challenges of everyday life. I help them unlock new ways of seeing, being and doing so that they can confidently embrace life’s ups and downs.Through coaching, I focus on putting young people back in control, so they can make choices that help them thrive.
Working with Helen
Hello
Young people have always been at the heart of what I do: as a teacher, school leader, mentor, coach and mum of two.
As a coach, I provide young people with the understanding, tools and practices that enable them to confidently embrace life's ups and downs.
Whatever challenges they are facing, from low self-esteem, self-doubt or anxiety to friendship issues or school struggles, I meet each child exactly where they are. I am passionate about supporting young people to foster a deep understanding and acceptance of themselves so that they can take their place in the world with greater self-acceptance, courage, and confidence.
Children and families I work with come away with new insights, practical tools and strategies and a shared language and understanding. This enables them not only to overcome the specific challenge they sought help for but can create fundamental change that ripples out into other areas of their lives both now and in the future and helps them thrive. For children, wiring these connections and insights young can reap a lifetime of benefits.
My background, experience and approach
I am a qualified and accredited coach and I love working with young people to help them find their way through, and beyond, those sticky moments in life.
We all have sticky moments. Moments when we
● just don’t feel our best selves or comfortable in our own skin
● feel like others don’t understand us
● feel fearful, withdrawn, anxious or overwhelmed
● have no idea where we are going or are not sure what we want
● struggle to make friends or adjust to new situations
● feel mad, angry or even rebellious
● get ourselves into situations we don’t know how to get out of
● find life (or at least some bits of it) a struggle.
Having battled with anxiety and a severe eating disorder as a teenager, I know what it is like to feel many of these things. I’ve worked hard to develop the tools, strategies and habits I need to thrive in life (partly through coaching) and that is why I decided to train as a coach and specialise in working with young people.
I believe passionately in giving young people the understanding of themselves and others along with the practical tools and ways of being they need to live healthy and fulfilled lives. I believe that every child and teenager is filled with creativity, resourcefulness, wisdom and inner strength and that coaching can help to unlock this, building a solid foundation for every step of their future.
Children and families I work with come to coaching for a variety of reasons from feeling very anxious or having low self-esteem to difficulty managing their emotions and getting into trouble at school.
Having worked for fifteen years as a teacher and school leader in middle and primary schools in Bedfordshire, Cambodia and Cambridge, I left the school sector when I had children. I wanted to spend more time focusing on young people’s wellbeing and personal development so I trained to become an accredited Professional Coach and a certified Wise for my Size children’s life coach. As a 'Yes Futures' charity volunteer Coach, I also help young people at Secondary School to develop their confidence, resilience, communication and self-awareness through the Rising Futures programme.
My Approach
My approach means the children I work with feel truly seen and heard. We work together to develop self-awareness and set goals, from understanding and managing worries, building self-care habits, breaking free from limiting beliefs and developing a more positive outlook. Whether at crisis point or long before this, children leave feeling they have the understanding, self-confidence and tools to handle the sticky moments and revel in the rest. When these seeds are planted, it is amazing to see how they grow.
Work with Helen
1:1 Coaching
Group Coaching
Group Coaching
I can work with you and your child on a 1-1 basis to coach around specific issues that your child may be experiencing. 1:1 coaching provides an opportunity to coach at greater depth and will be tailored to your child. Coaching usually lasts for 8-12 weeks and sessions are 45-60 minutes. These can be either in person (North Cambridge) or online.
Group Coaching
Group Coaching
Group Coaching
I currently run after-school and community clubs for children (8-12) and teenagers (13-16) in North Cambridge. Please get in touch to find out more about my current offers.
What my clients say after working with me
Child aged 10 years old
I liked that Helen was funny and a good listener. She asked lots of good questions. I looked forward to all my sessions and I was sad when they came to an end. I am a lot happier and I can sleep a lot better.
Parent of an anxious child
My child suffered daily anxiety about a range of issues and their confidence and self esteem were very low and she could get quite teary about life in general. The coping strategies have started to help, including giving us the language to discuss what’s going on. Helen was so in tune with understanding just what my child needed. I see she is more positive around sleep and generally around the house and going to school. I cannot thank Helen enough for her kindness, patience and more importantly, belief in my child. I have never seen her open up as much as this or trust someone this much other than her parents.
How my coaching supports the whole family
I would strongly recommend Wise for my Size coaching for children. The sessions build a toolkit to support children through anxiety. This is done slowly and sequentially so that by the end, children have the language to discuss how they are feeling and identify coping strategies. This has helped my daughter to manage her anxiety, talk about her anxiety and find solutions when she is on her own at school or elsewhere. It has helped me know what language to use to support my daughter and to be even more aware of when things are not quite right.
The power of coaching on your relationship
Helen has challenged us sensitively to “flip” an idea or something we said and that has created “light bulb moments” when my daughter and I have suddenly realised we are looking at things in very different ways to each other, like the topic of depression…we ended up laughing about it too which shows how comfortable we all were. We have looked at triggers to anger and poor sleep patterns. Just being more open and aware feels like the worry behind these topics has eased no end. Helen has been just what we needed and our mother /daughter relationship is gradually going from strength to strength thanks to these sessions.
Parent
I found it hard to put into words what we were looking for but once Helen and I met and spoke it felt clear. Helen is very engaging in her approach; she is really good at talking to a child of my son’s age.
Parent benefiting from Helen's gentle coaching approach
The benefits of this coaching were two-fold. There is the anticipated learning, exploring and blossoming from the child, but there is equally as much opportunity for parents to learn. I feel much better equipped to talk to my children about difficult things from watching this process, then I could even have anticipated and these skills will stay with me, long after our current and specific difficulties have been resolved.
The impact of my Group Coaching Approach
My child really enjoyed Helen's instruction and was enthused to come each week because of the fun that was had in the group.
This has been a great experience for my child, who had some anxiety around transition at the end of the year. She has been able to talk about what she is feeling and has been talking about issues when they arise instead of letting the emotions build up. I highly recommend the sessions as they are a fun way to open up discussion, develop skills and self-compassion.
My child has been increasingly able to articulate what she is experiencing and seems happier to 'feel it' and move on when ready.
My child is definitely much calmer, better able to articulate thoughts and feelings and more likely to find or suggest a solution when there is a problem or upset.
She knows more about how the brain works; and it has made her think differently about how to cope when she is angry.