In their words...
From Terror to Growing Personal Agency
JAMES' JOURNEY
REBUILDING CONFIDENCE, BOUNDARIES AND A SENSE OF SELF THROUGH A COMPLEX SEPARATION AND ONGOING POST-SEPARATION ABUSE.
“When I first started working with Leo, I was a shell of myself. After more than 20 years with my partner, I was navigating a devastating separation involving emotional, psychological and financial abuse, complex business disputes with her and an incredibly painful situation involving my two young boys.
The abuse hadn’t stopped with the separation. Relentless demands, intimidation through third parties, threats and constant pressure had left me living in fear for years, exhausted and barely recognising myself.
One of the hardest things was accepting that I had experienced abuse at the hands of a woman I had loved and trusted. As a man, I felt enormous shame, compounded by the feeling that nobody believed me while my former partner’s version of events was readily accepted. I had lost friendships, become isolated within my community and experienced profound grief, not only for the relationship and family life I had lost, but for the person I thought I had known.
From our first session, Leo made me feel genuinely heard, understood and safe. She has an extraordinary ability to recognise and put into words feelings I struggle to articulate myself. For the first time, I felt someone truly understood what I was going through, without judgement.
What makes her coaching exceptional is the combination of deep emotional understanding and practical clarity. She has helped me navigate complex financial and business matters, identify suitable legal professionals, prepare for difficult decisions and break overwhelming problems into manageable steps.
Crucially, she is helping me manage the ongoing pressure, establish boundaries and respond with clarity rather than react from fear.
Her parenting guidance has been invaluable. She has given me practical tools and language to navigate sensitive, age-appropriate conversations with my boys, protecting them from adult conflict without placing emotional burdens on their shoulders.
She is helping me become a calm, emotionally safe and grounded father, focused on what I can control and on providing the stability and reassurance my children need.
Our work on boundaries, self-worth and self-care is incredibly helpful. After years of neglecting my own needs, I am learning to trust myself, recognise my values and look after my own wellbeing.
Perhaps most remarkably, I am not simply rediscovering who I was before this relationship. Through our sessions and exercises, I am discovering who I am for the first time.
I can genuinely say that working with Leo is life-changing journey for me. She has helped me move from fear, confusion and helplessness towards increased clarity, strength and a growing sense of hope. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”
Breaking the overwhelm
EMMA'S JOURNEY - ANXIETY, CHILDREN & THE DIVORCE PROCESS
“When I started coaching, my mind felt as though it was constantly racing. I was consumed by worry about my children, imagining the worst possible outcomes and catastrophising about things that hadn’t even happened. Every decision felt enormous, and I often felt too overwhelmed to know where to begin.
Leo helped me recognise when fear and assumptions were taking over, rather than treating every anxious thought as a prediction of what was going to happen. She taught me simple techniques to regulate my emotions, including breathing exercises and ways to interrupt the spiral before it carried me away.
Gradually, I began to notice a real difference. I could pause before reacting, calm myself more quickly and think more clearly, even when conversations or decisions felt difficult. We prepared for challenging discussions together, so I could approach them with a plan rather than panic.
The biggest change was how I handled the legal side of my divorce. Before coaching, I would arrive at solicitor meetings with a head full of worries and leave feeling as though I had barely taken anything in. Afterwards, I was able to separate my emotions from the practical issues, identify the questions I needed answered and focus on the decisions in front of me.
As a result, I used my solicitor’s time far more effectively and felt much more involved in the process, rather than simply being carried along by it.
I still had worries, of course, but they no longer controlled me. I became steadier, clearer and more confident in my ability to handle what was happening. I trusted myself more, and decisions that had once felt impossible became manageable, one step at a time.
What I appreciated most was that Leo never made me feel judged for worrying. She helped me understand what was happening, regain control of my emotions and find my feet again with practical, compassionate support.”
Learning to Care for Myself, Too
SOPHIE'S JOURNEY - GRIEF, PARENTAL GUILT & SELF-CARE
I was experiencing so many conflicting emotions during my divorce — grief, sadness, guilt and sometimes even excitement about the future. But my biggest concern was my children. I was so focused on making sure they were okay that I’d almost forgotten about myself. Whenever I considered taking time for myself, I always felt guilty.
One of the most powerful moments in my coaching with Leo was when she used the metaphor of a cup to help me understand that I couldn’t keep pouring from an empty one. My children didn’t need a mother who was constantly running on empty. They needed me to fill my own cup so that I had enough to give them, too.
That was a huge penny-drop moment. I realised that looking after myself wasn’t taking something away from my children. It was helping me become a calmer, more present and emotionally available parent. So much of my guilt began to lift.
Leo helped me turn that realisation into practical changes. I restarted yoga, made time for things I enjoyed and began recognising my own needs instead of constantly putting them last.
What I also found extraordinary was Leo’s ability to understand what I was feeling, even when I struggled to explain it myself. Sometimes she’d gently reflect something back to me and I’d think, ‘Yes! That’s exactly it!’ She wasn’t putting words in my mouth; she was helping me find the words for feelings I hadn’t been able to express. I felt so very seen and understood, as though a huge weight had been lifted.
We also explored the grief and complicated emotions surrounding my divorce, helping me make sense of what I was experiencing and recognise when I needed practical legal guidance or other professional support.
I came away feeling lighter, more hopeful and much less guilty about caring for myself. I began to understand that I could be there for my children, grieve the life I was leaving behind and still make space for my own wellbeing and the calmly emerging version of my new self.”