Stories shape how we live, lead, relate and make meaning
The stories we tell about ourselves, other people, our organisations and our futures shape our identity, behaviour, relationships, energy levels and ability to change.
I work with individuals and organisations to identify and transform the narratives that shape how we live, lead and relate.
We can all get caught up in stories that are unhelpful and that hold us back. I help you to identify the stories you are currently telling yourself so that you can understand what might be keeping you stuck, loosen the impact of non-generative stories and craft compelling new stories that will allow you truly to thrive.
What story is shaping your reality — and is it still serving you?
Ways of Working With Me
1:1 Private Story Solution Coaching
Private coaching for thoughtful and high-achieving people seeking greater self-trust, clarity and psychological freedom.
Many capable people live inside harsh or outdated stories about success, worth, responsibility or who they must be in order to deserve rest, love or belonging.
The Story Solution helps you to:
• quieten harsh inner narratives
• reduce rumination and self-criticism
• loosen perfectionism and overdrive
• reconnect with values and purpose
• and create fairer, freer and more empowering self-stories.
The Story Solution™ for Organisations
Story-aware leadership for change, culture and sustainable performance.
Most organisations do not fail for lack of strategy. They struggle because of the stories shaping how strategy is interpreted, trusted and emotionally received.
Story Leadership™ helps organisations to:
• strengthen leadership alignment
• surface hidden organisational narratives
• build psychological safety and trust
• reduce burnout and change fatigue
• and create more compelling, credible visions of the future.
Why Stories Matter
Stories are not decorative. They are our primary sense- and meaning-making tools. They are also our fundamental psychological and organisational operating systems.
They shape:
• how we interpret ourselves and others
• our patterns of attention and perception
• how organisations make meaning of their past, present and future
• how we communicate and relate
• our levels of engagement, energy, optimism and sense of agency
• what feels possible and how open to change we are
• and how trust, identity and belonging are formed.
Whether we are navigating personal reinvention or organisational transformation, stories
influence behaviour far more powerfully than information alone. Our problem is often not our reality, but the stories we tell about our reality.
Order my new book and learn to change the stories that hold you back
THE STORY SOLUTION™
How it works
Many intelligent, capable people are living inside stories based on unfair and outdated interpretations of themselves.
Stories about success, worth, failure, achievement, lovability, control, perfection, belonging, or who we must be in order to deserve rest, approval or happiness.
These stories shape the way we think, feel, work, relate, lead and interpret our lives. They influence our confidence, our decisions, our relationships, our stress levels, our habits and our sense of what is possible.
When our self-story becomes harsh, fearful, perfectionistic or unfair, we may experience:
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chronic self-criticism
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imposter syndrome
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exhaustion, burnout and overdrive
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rumination and indecision
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people-pleasing
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anxiety and internal pressure
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loss of confidence or direction
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the sense that we are never quite enough, no matter how much we achieve
The Story Solution is a 5-step process designed to help you identify and transform the deeper narratives driving these patterns.
You learn to:
1. Observe
Notice the story you are telling yourself about yourself — often for the first time with real clarity.
2. Understand
Explore where these narratives came from, what they once protected you from, and why they continue to shape your thoughts, emotions and behaviours.
3. Edit
Identify what is distorted, outdated, unfair or unnecessarily harsh in your self-story.
4. Reinterpret
Develop a wiser, more compassionate and more accurate understanding of your experiences, strengths and limitations.
5. Author
Create a new narrative aligned with your values, your deeper identity, and the life you genuinely want to live.
Combining narrative psychology, ACT, solution-oriented coaching frameworks, clinical hypnotherapy and evidence-based behavioural tools, The Story Solution helps you move from:
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self-criticism to self-trust
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rumination to clarity
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burnout or overdrive to sustainable energy
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paralysis to purposeful action
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perfectionism to psychological flexibility
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external performance to inner coherence
The goal is not to become a different person.
It is to stop being governed by stories that no longer fit who you are — or who you are becoming.
About Me
I am a writer, consultant, speaker, hypnotherapist and coach exploring the stories human beings tell in order to thrive and make meaning of their lives.
Formerly a Professor of Cultural History — though I am feeling much better now — I combine narrative psychology, solution-oriented coaching, leadership development and cultural insight to help individuals and organisations transform the stories shaping how they live and lead.
My work sits at the intersection of psychology, cultural history, and philosophy. I am the author of several books which have been translated into five languages, and my work has been featured in the BBC, the Guardian, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Psychology Today, National Geographic and many other national and international media.
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