Miles has had careers in both business and the professions, before switching and working full time as psychotherapist and business coach. He has developed PsyCoaching®, which is a service for individuals who are concerned about their work lives and careers. PsyCoaching® applies the technology of depth psychology to performance within the business environment.
To succeed in business we need to be able to think clearly and act effectively. But our thoughts and actions are grounded in our psychology: research shows that what we think and what we do are built on our emotional states and on our capacity for handling those states. So "difficult feelings" — and unhelpful ways of dealing with them — can undermine our ability to perform.
Usually the things we struggle most with at work do not come from our more adult, competent and capable states of mind (after all, those aspects of ourselves tend to be skilled, trained and experienced). Rather they emerge from what feel like "less able" states of mind that get activated by the stress, responsibilities and demands of the work environment. And, often, the ways we try to cope can then just exacerbate the difficulties.
Here are some common symptoms:
- Feeling disproportionate stress and pressure
- Anxiety and fear
- Depression
- Lack of confidence or feeling insecure
- Feeling like a "fraud" or an "impostor"
- Getting into difficulties with work colleagues, perhaps through too much anger or through fear of conflict and too little assertion
- Self medication with alcohol, drugs and food etc.
Most coaching interventions focus on improving your competencies and skills. PsyCoaching® is different. It aims at achieving sustainable, in-depth improvement in business functioning by working with underlying emotions and unhelpful states of mind. It combines depth psychology with the coaching tools of performance focus, organisational dynamics and practical techniques. It aims to give you access to more flexible and adaptive "ways of being" in your work role as well as in your life generally.