Personal Development For Deep Thinkers

Hi, I’m Ellen. Welcome to my coaching practice.

I believe that the more people are living a fulfilled life, the better place our world will be. Because when we affirm our authentic selves in the world, we feel less need to cause pain to others and ourselves.

I collaborate with individuals all over the world who are on their paths towards self-discovery, growth, and fulfilment. Together, we will co-create an environment where unconditional acceptance of ourselves is the norm, because it is only then can we clear our clouded visions and explore freely what a fulfilled life looks like for each one of us as unique individuals.

I cannot wait to start this thrilling journey with you.

Book Your Discovery Session

Services

Career

Unsure as to where to take your career next? I want to help!

Whether consciously or not, many of us express our needs through our career. It is also where we often find a sense of power and purpose. However, if growing up you haven’t been encouraged to express yourself in an authentic way, you may struggle with finding the career path that speaks to your soul. Sometimes, even a path that has felt enjoyable and rewarding for many years can start feeling all wrong. Even though everyone is telling you how good you are at your job, somehow the sense of accomplishment just seems so far away.

So, how does one move from a job to a vocation?

To find what is authentic to your soul, you ought to know your soul first. If you have been taught to follow someone else’s dream path, however, even the word ‘soul’ may seem foreign to you. If easier, think of it as your unconscious, your inner child, or your gut. It contains the deepest of your desires. The most powerful of your resources. And the most enlightening of your wisdoms.

How I can help:

Deep listening – I listen to what you say and hear what you really want to tell the world (through me). I apply my psychodynamic understanding in a pragmatic way which helps you gain deeper insights into who you are and what you need from a career.
Playful exploration – Following your passion should be fun! I take your ideas and interests seriously and support you in all that you wish to explore. ‘Learning through play’ is definitely not just for children.
Free expression – The immense power of freely expressing your true desires cannot be overestimated. Here, ‘free’ applies to both the content of your words and the manner in which you say them. Profound realisations often arise when hidden feelings are voiced in an uninhibited way.
Purposeful partnering – I look to build a partnership with you where you can safely test out ideas, examine relational dynamics, and raise self-awareness. The purpose is to provide an empowering force that enables you to activate your own inner resources.

Money

Wanting to create and keep financial abundance in your life? I can help you cultivate an investment mindset.

Money isn’t everything. But not having enough money is like a toothache – it becomes all that you can think about. To live a financially abundant life means freeing up emotional and intellectual resources for higher levels of fulfilment.

My experience has taught me that living life as an investor is so powerful and expansive that I would never wish to return to the life of a ‘spender’ or a ‘saver.’ The shift of a mindset is what underlies shifts of all other aspects of life. Viewing life from the perspective of an investor, you become:

Bolder – an investor seeks opportunities to grow and expand.
Smarter – an investor takes pleasure in educating themselves and in making well-informed decisions.
Freer – an investor is not inhibited by risks. He/she takes calculated risks which are warranted by returns of one form or another (e.g. financial, educational, emotional, physical).
More conscious – good investment decisions require careful consideration of many factors. An investor enters each opportunity being as conscious as possible of all such factors.
More self-aware – investing is a psychological game as much as a financial game. Knowing who you are and where your strengths and vulnerabilities lie is key to making good investment decisions. An investor takes time to understand themselves and reflect on past gains and losses.

Relationships

Wondering how you can improve your relationships? I may be able to help you find some answers.

Relationships often provide the best opportunities for self-discovery and growth, if you allow them to. Although uncomfortable at times, conflicts within a relationship highlight what is really important to you and therefore can really help you gain valuable knowledge about yourself. If you can find a safe environment to explore and examine those inbuilt values, there is much to be gained from such conflicts.

Intimacy can be the scariest thing sometimes, especially when you have been hurt before. And when two persons’ wounds clash without them being conscious of those wounds, they often end up arguing about seemingly trivial matters that exhaust both of them with much confusion and intensity.

Having experienced much of my own relationship struggles and learned from them, I hope to help you gain the insight and strength that you need to relate consciously with others. Whether it is your spouse or a co-worker, every relationship offers opportunities for self-exploration, especially through occasional conflicts and discomfort.

Relating more consciously through higher self-awareness will help you:

Increase self-esteem.
Heal from past trauma.
Deal with conflicts graciously.
Be assertive without aggression.
Avoid co-dependency.

Book Your Discovery Session

About Me

My Story

Born and raised in China, I grew up in a southern city called Kunming. Born as the second child amid the enforcement of China’s one-child policy, my very existence was threatened from the start. A traumatic event happened when I was 13, followed by another at 16, which affected my life in a way that I did not become fully conscious of until nearly 20 years later. I left home at 18 to study in Shanghai. In the process of self-exploration, I have worked for many large and small corporations both in China and the UK, studied Engineering, Law and Finance, learnt to manage my own investment portfolios, and taken a keen interest in drawing and painting. I currently live in London (UK) and continue to keep an open mind as to where I want my life to be.

I first trained in life coaching and counselling in China in 2010. Following my relocation to the UK in the same year, starting with my own personal development, I began a long journey of preparation for becoming a competent and effective life coach. Coaching not only enabled me to recover from a heartbreaking life event, but also empowered me to reach personal and professional goals that I once thought was impossible. Such intense experience-based training has significantly deepened my appreciation of how individuals can improve their quality of life by making psychological and cognitive shifts. To this day, I continue to develop my self-awareness and emotional resilience, as well as my understanding of others, under the supervision of my own life coach.

My Philosophy

All human behaviours and desires can be understood. The ones driven by self-limiting beliefs, often stem from our insecurities and fears that once protected us as vulnerable children but are no longer serving a positive purpose. Judgment of our behaviours and desires, however, only gets in the way of growth and understanding, but is unfortunately often experienced in our society or among our family and friends. Therefore, I am here to provide an environment free from any form of judgment so that you are free to engage with your own mind at a deep level. As we experience from another the level of unconditional acceptance that we so often deny ourselves, we learn to truly love ourselves and to make changes for which we have been longing.

I believe that real personal growth leads to long-term, sustainable happiness and fulfilment, and is much more important than finding short-term solutions alone. I am here to build genuine, lasting trust and connection with you so that your mind is freed up from the confusing relational dynamics that frequently arise in life and often cloud our vision and judgment. You can think of me as a playmate who constantly wants to know you better, brings you tools that may be helpful, and cheers you on as you take on each adventure, big or small.

My Mission

Now, I want to combine my experiences as a wounded child, a first-generation immigrant, a corporate professional and a human being who has witnessed a lot of life’s pain and beauty, with my love for humanity and belief in peace and actualisation as a natural result of self-acceptance. I want to form strong partnerships with those longing for a heightened understanding of themselves and others around them, so that they can learn to love their authentic selves unconditionally. Because the more of us are free to be our natural selves, the more kindness and less need to hurt there will be. Together, we can indeed shift the world.

Book Your Discovery Session

As Featured In:

How To Make a Successful Career Change By Leveraging Your Existing Skills And Experiences

What If I’m Good At Lots Of Things—But Great At Nothing?

12 Steps To Codependency Recovery

How To Be More Vulnerable In A Relationship: 7 Steps

How To Forgive Yourself For Cheating

How To Cure Oneitis: Things That Pickup Artists Won’t Tell You

How To Help A Friend Deal With A Breakup

Subscribe to my blog for tips on finding fulfilment in relationships, work, and play.

“What I am is good enough if only I would be it openly.“
– Carl R. Rogers

I offer the following coaching services:

Personal life coaching
Professional life coaching
Confidence coaching
Self-esteem coaching
Emotional intelligence coaching
Depression coaching
Money mindset coaching
Career development coaching
Career change coaching
Self-awareness coaching
Relationship coaching

My standard appointment hours are:

Mon – Fri: 09:00 – 19:00

Time Zone: London (UK)

50 mins per session. Appointments outside these hours may be available. Please contact me directly. Online appointments are available on Skype, Zoom or over the phone. Face-to-face appointments are available in London (UK).

The relationship between you and me is key to the effectiveness of life coaching. So before you invest for the long term, you can take advantage of the discovery session to find out more about me.

See Pricing and FAQ pages for more detail.

Book Your Discovery Session

FAQ

What is life coaching?

You may have heard of many definitions of life coaching. The truth is, life coaching is most accurately defined by the relationship between you and your coach. So, here I’d like to do my best to describe how I view life coaching, in the hope that it gives you an idea of what kind of relationship you can have with me.

For me, life coaching is a powerful tool to improve your quality of life through a strong partnership. Just like a sports coach brings out the best of an athlete, a life coach enables you to reach your full potential in every aspect of your life. It may be a lasting romantic relationship that you want, or perhaps it’s a career where your natural talents are more recognised and rewarded. By exploring your authentic self with an experienced and intuitive coach, you will release your inner-most creative energy. And by ‘creative’, I mean to think and dream wildly and freely. When you are free to be as creative as you naturally are, the joy of life is at your fingertips.

How is life coaching different from talking to a friend?

Different from an ordinary friendship, conversations with a life coach are always centred around you. At each session, you are free to talk about anything that is on your mind. In fact, the more free you can be, the better. Because the purpose of life coaching is to explore who you are at the most authentic level. You will find that the process is like peeling an onion. There are many layers to get through before we can unfold your natural self, especially if you are a sensitive and gifted person. This is difficult to achieve with a friend or family member, because they often have their own opinions and judgments which they are not in a position to put aside completely for your benefit.

How does the process work?

We talk. It sounds simple but it is very rare that most of us get to sit down and have a deep conversation about who we are and what we want. Let alone have such a conversation seriously and regularly with someone we trust.

Life coaching not only makes this conversation possible, but turns it into an empowering and enabling journey. By forming a partnership together, you can rely on me to hear you clearly, to challenge you kindly, and to accept you unconditionally. Sometimes we may be exploring a philosophical question that seems completely theoretical, but is in fact very important to determining your values as an individual. Or we may be reliving a past event which you have brushed aside for many years but is significant to whom you have become.

In this process, we are equal partners. I am here to empower you, but not to teach, or to advise. I want you to experience the kind of unconditional acceptance that we all need in order to affirm and fulfil ourselves in the world. On top of that, our conversation should remain fun and inspiring.

To help me best work with you, I encourage all my clients to begin their journey of growth by taking a free personality test. You can also check out my results here and learn more about me on my About page.

Where do we meet?

We can meet both online and offline. I work with people all over the world and am available on Skype, Zoom or over the telephone. If you prefer working face-to-face, we can meet in London (UK). Currently, I am available in the City and Stratford areas of London.

Does online life coaching work?

Whilst traditionally life coaching is delivered in person, thanks to the technological advancement in recent years, online life coaching is just as effective if not more so.

In addition to the obvious benefits of convenience and efficiency, online life coaching provides insights into aspects of your life which would otherwise be hidden but are significant to your self-understanding.

Many clients also appreciate the added layer of confidentiality that comes with online coaching.

You may also prefer to explore certain topics over the phone which you don’t feel comfortable bringing up via Skype or in person.

Personally I have been coached solely online via Skype since 2016. Despite the physical distance, the closeness and profundity of my relationship with my coach continued to empower me to reach for personal and professional goals.

How often do we meet?

Typically the life coaching process is based on weekly sessions. However, it need not be so. You can choose to meet me more or less often to suit your needs. It might be that for a particular period of time, you want to have a concentrated number of sessions to work on a particular area of your life. And other times, you wish to pause and reflect.

Think of me as a playmate, or a thought partner who is always happy to talk about you when you are ready to do so.

How long does the process take?

It depends on what you want to achieve and where you are in your growth and development process. Often times we do not know what areas require our attention unless we allow ourselves to freely explore, reflect and go through a series of trials and errors. I am fully supportive of you in this process by providing a safe and stimulating environment for you to do so. The life coaching process with me is completely open-ended and you are not asked to commit to any number of sessions. You can decide to continue or to stop at any time.

If it is a very specific area that you want to work on, such as planning for a career change or adapting to a new environment after recent relocation, you can usually expect to start seeing changes with six sessions.

Why did you become a life coach?

I believe that life coaching is the most effective way to empower individuals. I believe that every one of us already has what it takes to create the life we want. The reason why we have not reached our full potential, is due to the barriers and blockages that we have both consciously and unconsciously carried with us from childhood. As adults, we now have the power to break down those obstacles and reach for the kind of fulfilment that satisfies us.

On my path to self-actualisation, I have read many self-help books, listened to many life gurus’ talks and followed many mentors’ teachings. They all helped in one way or another, but nothing was as powerful as having a committed coaching relationship to call upon.

Personal development has always been my passion, starting with my natural curiosity about human psychology. I deeply understand and have huge compassion for any forms of human suffering, whether it manifests itself in vocational discontentment or existential depression.

I feel a large sense of gratification as an active participant in another human being’s journey of growth and development.

What types of clients do you take on?

I welcome all those who want to explore paths that are better aligned with their authentic selves. You may be a corporate professional or executive longing to embrace your creative side more, a graduate struggling to make a career choice, a divorcee building a fulfilling single life, or a retiree looking to start a new chapter of your life. No matter where you are in life, if you are ready to grow and to become more aware of who you are through coaching, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

What is your coaching style?

It depends. I don’t have a set agenda or an ‘one-size-fits-all’ programme to follow. I believe in processes that is completely tailored to the individual I am working with.

Timing is also a deciding factor as to which coaching style works best. At times you may need some gentle questioning and active encouragement from me, whereas other times may call for more direct explanation and role-playing.

What I am is a completely open-minded partner who is committed to your growth and development. We will identify what works most effectively for you and we will do just that.