– for the life you'll LOVE
Hi, and welcome to my website; I'm Nicky Shipp, qualified life coach or, if you prefer – which I do! – change & development coach.
I guess my clients' words, below, are the best way to show you what working with me is like, and how it can help; meanwhile, here's some info about the process...
If we work together, I'll walk alongside you. Wherever you are on your journey, our sessions will act as a tin opener for your mind, helping you to clarify what you want to focus on, to enhance your core confidence and enable you to transform your life.
Essentially, I'll listen to you, really closely, and reflect back to you. Ask questions. Intuitively & rationally follow what comes up. Give you space to think.
Time for YOU.
We'll identify your strengths & values. Discover what you really want, and what drives you towards & away from it. Unearth beliefs, blind spots and emotions that may be getting in your way, and use questions, tools and processes (including NLP and Havening) to deal with them and open a different perspective.
As someone who deeply values growth – and has regular coaching, too – I love working with anyone & everyone who's up for deeper awareness and is ready for change and progress, especially in:
• clarity
• confidence
• wellness
– and I have a particular interest in working with creative minds, sports people, and performers, and the gifts and challenges of diverse thinking, especially ADHD. (If you'd like a list of ADHD characteristics, strengths & challenges, please click this link.)
I also work with couples, including parent/adult child relationships, for many reasons but fundamentally to increase understanding and harmony.
Where relevant, we can utilise my lo-o-o-ong experience in business (as graphic design consultant, copywriter, healthcare writer, photographer, creative director, mentor, tea maker...) – and life! – and explore thoughts, processes and actions that can help you towards your goals. (FYI: some of my clients claim for business coaching vs tax.)
Sessions are on Zoom (1 to 2 hrs), and prices for individuals are based on £85 p/hr. If either of those precludes you being able to work with me, please do get in touch to explore potential options.
If any or all of this sounds good, let's arrange a free, no-strings' chat to see how well we fit...
what my clients say
SB, Buckinghamshire, UK (interior designer):
Having had 6 life coaching sessions with Nicky I'm beyond shocked that it's actually worked! Working with her has been fun, interesting, hilarious at times, emotional at times and overall very, very helpful.
I now feel great, positive, confident and free... a complete u-turn in my confidence and the way I think about my creative work life. It was as if she helped me find the key to unlock the door and release/let go of a few things, no longer ‘stuck’ in that circle of non-self-belief!
Previously I would have been very nervous and doubtful and probably would have dipped out rather than try something. Now I feel I can go forward very happily, and I can’t wait for my next step.
Mieke, Queensland, Australia (fine artist):
Have been doing lots of thinking after our session. A true eye opener, it made me think so differently about my experiences/perceptions as an artist, and answered questions, thoughts, ideas I have been pondering for so many years...
Sarah Lederer, Maine, USA (graphic & fashion designer):
Working with Nicky is a delight, and is one of the most valuable things I have done for myself as a design professional and creative person.
Our sessions over the last year have helped me in so many ways, both personally and professionally. Her understanding of the challenges and joys of creative work allows us to get to the juicy cores of our discussions faster and deeper than with a non-creative coach.
Our work has helped me identify and celebrate my inherent, intuitive, sometimes invisible abilities – revolutionary for me, as I’ve spent so much time diminishing my own talents in my head, thinking that if something comes easily to me and feels good, it must not be worth much. Au contraire!
I recommend Nicky's coaching & mentorship to anyone looking to free themselves from imposter syndrome, make brave leaps in their work, and live a more joyful and creative life.
Kerry Donoghue, Glasgow, UK:
Nicky makes openness feel easy and safe. Today, I came away from our first session loving myself more than when I went into it.
Stephanie Hogg, Canberra, Australia (photographer):
Working with Nicky has helped me gain a deeper understanding of what's going on for me personally and psychologically and how to apply that self-awareness to managing my photography businesses and workplace relationships.
Through our sessions, I'm able to feel more confident in my ability to navigate challenging business situations and arrive at creative solutions.
Nicky's ability to help me see things from a different perspective and reach new insights is invaluable. I always leave our sessions feeling heard, understood, with a renewed sense of direction and purpose, and I highly recommend her.
AB, Buckinghamshire, UK (graphic designer, photographer & illustrator):
At first, I was sceptical, I wasn’t sure how life coaching would help me but boy was I wrong! I’ve come to recognise that I have many strengths that have enabled me to push myself and explore avenues I would never have considered before – including setting up my own sideline design, photography & illustration business.
I came to coaching wanting to grow my confidence, and now feel stronger and much more confident in myself, what I can achieve, and am taking on projects that would previously have daunted me. But working with Nicky has done so much more than that. I’ve learnt to address problems as they arise instead of letting them brew and eventually erupt, to be more open minded about my capabilities and to deal with things in a different way by managing myself and my emotions more effectively.
I can't thank you enough, Nicky, for helping me to realise there’s always room to grow and develop, professionally and personally.
Sally S, Surrey, UK:
Thank you so much for today. I feel like I’m growing in confidence after each session. It’s so empowering.
Andrea Lewis, Virginia, USA:
The day my path crossed with Nicky's, I'd just turned 40, was quitting my job after 10 years, and recently discovered I've been living my whole life with undiagnosed ADHD.
Nicky and I connected at such a vulnerable period in this new discovery process and, after only 3 sessions so far, she's helped me unpack some truths about myself that even I've never known.
Nicky brings so much of her authentic self to these sessions. Her realness has allowed me to tap into the work in a very safe way. She's witty and professional. She's wise and creative and she approaches each session with incredible presence and empathy. I feel like after each meeting my mind is blown open, even when I may have felt resistant initially.
In fact, I feel on fire, clear and alive after we talk!
I am incredibly grateful to have a coach with her background, compassion and wisdom.
I can't wait to see what lies ahead in our work together!
Lizzie P, Manchester, UK (singer songwriter):
I’ve gone from “I don’t want free time as I can't decide what to do with it” to “I’m looking forward to an evening on my own where I can choose what to do“ – whoa, this proves that you work, Nicky!
Gabby D, Wrexham, UK (paramedic):
Nicky has helped translate my brain for me. We don’t come with a manual and, being ADHD, I would never read it anyway...! But that’s OK because Nicky helps me to nudge/shove understanding & new perspectives into my head. Thank you Nicky – you are smashing.
Jasmine Pratt, Surrey, UK (maths teacher):
When I approached Nicky for coaching, I was very unsure of myself. I'd struggled to build a fulfilling career and had tried many paths which weren't quite right. We've now worked together for over a year and each session has been fun as well as useful. There've been a few tears and a lot of laughter. Sometimes I'd come to a session feeling like I had a big knot in my brain and by the end it would be untied and I'd be clear about the next steps to take. I now have a good understanding of what motivates me and makes me happy in life. I know my strengths and have also identified how to improve in areas that I struggle with. I've seen a huge increase in my confidence and ability to make decisions. I have a clear plan of what I want from my life and career and have made significant steps towards achieving those goals. Most importantly, I am now kinder towards myself.
ME, Riga, Latvia:
This coaching session was the best thing in my life so far. I can firmly say that your coaching brought the joy of life back to my body. Thank you so much for helping me to make this breakthrough. I am a badass! :)
Katie P, London, UK (interior designer & creative writer):
I feel like Nicky accompanies me on my journey, and helps me process things I don’t get to process in any other forum. The sessions lead me to grow, learn, and recognise my wins; saying something out loud in a session brings it home, helping me transform where I otherwise wouldn’t. I’m now putting into place many practical steps, have reframed the need for perfection, am committing time to increasing my skills, and stepping fully into being a successful interior designer. I can be authentic – that’s where the best work is done – can be all of myself, and not afraid to charge what my work is worth!
Jane A, California, USA:
Through 3 sessions with Nicky, I’ve:
• Identified and simplified daily/weekly processes that help me work better with the way my ADHD mind functions
• Moved forward with several areas where I was stuck
• Realised my strengths, and that I don’t have to take on feelings imposed from the outside
• Transformed some beliefs that were getting in my way, including:
“I’m a complete loser“ …was 10/10, now 3/10
“I never do anything before it’s due” …that’s certainly changed!
I’m feeling organised, more confident, capable – and proud.
A client in East Sussex, UK:
Working with Nicky has helped me to change the way I think. I can now recognise and really appreciate my own creativity and other talents. The coaching has helped me get to know, and like, me better. I’m becoming a very different person now, more positive, calmer. I can now give myself permission to spend time on MY needs. I have a clearer frame of mind and, rather than just reacting, I’m making active choices and better decisions. Nicky helped me to identify my career values, that my role wasn’t fulfilling them, and that I’m happiest when directly helping others. And I’m really excited and proud to say that, despite being during Covid, I’m about to start a new job doing exactly THAT!
Dan B, Hampshire, UK (wildlife conservationist & educator):
I look forward to our sessions because I can talk so openly, knowing I can say anything I want and that Nicky isn’t going to laugh me out of the room or think “what is he going on about?”. So the coaching helps me to unload and think about things, to see them from a different, more helpful perspective, and I feel positive and can use my learning in everyday life. I can feel the difference in how I now process my feelings and reactions, and I’m being more balanced and selective in my interactions and how I engage.
The sessions really, really help, I can see the strides I've made – plus I enjoy them a lot!
Poppy W, London, UK (mural designer & painter):
Nicky is an essential purchase! Each session is a voyage of discovery.... I now have more understanding of how my (marvellous) ADHD brain works, better communication with my partner – and am feeling productive, creative and inspired!
Cassiana Phillips, London, UK:
The impact Nicky’s coaching has had on me is invaluable... opening the door for me to create a real transformation with the relationship I have with myself and upgrading my personal and professional life. I became aware of how I was projecting unresolved issues of the past on my present interactions and how my choices were creating undesirable results in my life – holding me back through wasted time, resources and potential because of fear/resistance to trying new approaches.
This has resulted in a significant change in the way I interact, increased confidence, and a powerful knowing that any situation can be improved when I align my approach with the result I want to achieve.
CO, West Sussex, UK:
During my sessions with Nicky, I felt challenged on many occasions, as she helped me examine certain beliefs that I'd held for a long time, that were not helping me move forward in life. I began to realise that I can be very proud of who I am, the journey I've been on, what I have achieved. It was a very significant moment when I realised that the doubting / anxious / 'you can't do it' / 'you're a loser' voice in my head actually belonged to a person who didn't exist any more and I could say goodbye and move on with my life.
My confidence has significantly improved during the coaching, I now feel I really own my space and have much more clarity in my thinking and belief in myself.
Fionie Cooper, London, UK (artist & art teacher):
In June 2020, I felt sad and lonely as I’d been on my own for over 4 years. Working with Nicky helped me to recognise I’d become emotionally stagnant, had built a protective wall around me, doubting men – and myself. I realised (in a 'penny-drop' moment!) that what I thought was keeping me safe was actually holding me back from opening up and moving forward to what I really wanted – to meet my ‘lifetime man’. While we were exploring how I might meet my ideal guy, it occurred to me that I might already slightly know him! I arranged a meet up and was so excited to see him again...
My goal on 22 June 2020 was: ‘To have met my lifetime man, with the attributes I desire, by 22 June 2021’. On 20 December 2020 – we became engaged!