our story
Peter Marshall
About our leadership and health coaching
We are cutting edge
We understand, from our long experience as NHS clinicians, senior managers and coaches, the crisis caused by dependency, unrealistic expectations, competing priorities, and inadequate funding, made worse by the pandemic. Health workers are stressed, burnt out and leaving, making it worse for those left.
Diamonds form under immense pressure, then are excavated, cut, and polished to brilliance. Potential, like a diamond, is hidden; it needs mining and cutting by another diamond to shine.
Coaching is a flexible tool for personal change and problem-solving that mines high potential. Initially for sports, coaching now benefits career transitions, diversity and inclusion, innovation and improvement, culture and behaviour change, including with patients and in clinical settings.
Despite evidence showing coaching improves leadership, well-being, job satisfaction, performance, and patient care, many professionals remain unfamiliar with it. Without investing in coaching, NHS leaders and organisations will remain in “survival mode” and unable to access the deep thinking vital for positive and sustainable change.Rumi
Renewing our system
Since 2010, through BETTER CONVERSATION, we pioneered and scaled health coaching nationally, leading to NHS England creating HEALTH COACHES. Throughout the pandemic, we offered wellbeing coaching to NHS staff. Now, we have refreshed our coaching offer with new insights and science to meet the needs of the system.
Our coaching and training now include practices like Qigong to manage stress beyond just thinking and talking. Our expertise in neurodiversity, trauma and Complementary and Alternative Medicines can be customised like a personal trainer. We have updated our health coaching offer for clinicians and teams to incorporate behaviour change skills into their daily consultations and build team coherence. We believe that spotlighting and exploring the concept of healing in a predominantly biomedical fix it model of health care will improve treatment, motivation, and acceptance of illness.
Together with professional coaching expertise, these additional modalities aim to inspire, build awareness and ease the burden for healthcare leaders and clinicians so they can, in turn, optimise their contribution and improve health.
The Team
Dr Penny Newman, Founder and Coach
Penny is a former GP, NHS Executive medical, public health and organisational development (OD) Director and serial social entrepreneur known for her work on gender equality, primary care development, innovation and health coaching. She holds a deep understanding of the NHS across sectors, large scale change expertise and is one of few accredited medical coaches. She is also an author, key note speaker, facilitator, trainer and senior medical appraiser.
Penny’s qualifications include MSc Coaching and Development (Distinction, Prize), EMCC Global EIA Accreditation Senior Practitioner, MBBS, MSc Public Health, FPH and MRCGP (Merit). She was voted top 50 GP 2012 and is an NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Alumna.
Prof Deborah Christie, Clinical Psychologist and Coach
Professor Deborah Christie is an award-winning clinical psychologist, author, activist, public speaker, coach and trainer. She is a Professor of Paediatric and Adolescent Psychology and Consultant at University College London Hospitals and Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trusts.
Deborah brings considerable expertise to coaching leaders and teams, specialises in solution-focused and motivational interviewing and has dedicated much of her career to championing diversity, inclusion and equity. She offers specialised coaching to help people with neurodiversity thrive.
Deborah continues to influence and mould the fields of psychology and coaching with over 200 publications and chapters, critical expert and a bestselling book Psychosocial Aspects of Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Families.
John Millar, Qigong Master and Embodiment Trainer
John is an internationally renowned qigong practitioner who makes Qigong relevant and accessible within the corporate and healthcare sectors. Over the last three decades John has studied with leading teachers in the UK and China, qualifying to teach in four systems before committing to Zhineng Qigong.
Prior to becoming a full time Qigong practitioner John had a 20 year career in IT finance. A pilot programme for senior teams at Welcome Break in 2010 led the way to training a broad range of organisations in leadership, communication and wellbeing.
More recently Johns interests incorporate Integrative Medicine and working with the College of Medicine, where he is a regular speaker at national and international events.
Join leaders and clinicians like you achieving amazing results.
See what they say about Hǣlan coaching.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Testimonials
A senior doctor emigrates
A senior doctor leads global aid efforts
A lawyer transitions to partner
A coach manages her breast cancer diagnosis
An entrepreneur clarifies her business priorities
A senior physiotherapist gets a new job
A senior doctor recovers from trauma
The sessions focused around me being ‘stuck’ in my work and needing confidence to move on. Penny helped me to look at things in a new way and this has been really beneficial. We also discussed personal impact and gravitas and how to have the confidence to do what I need to do. She has also helped me realise the deeper issues underlying some of my situation including trauma from work and has been extremely supportive. I also benefited hugely from the focus on leadership of women in medicine. The chance to talk about these issues with a peer who understands and gets it was invaluable.