I’ve worked with a variety of coaches over the years, some who relied on their own lived experience, and others who were constantly exploring new modalities. One of the things I loved most about my time in tech was how open people were to career transitions that, on the surface, seemed completely unrelated: baristas becoming brilliant project managers, linguists picking up programming languages with ease, or physicists moving into software engineering without a conversion degree.
In that spirit, I’d call myself pretty open-minded when it comes to evaluating people, and that has shaped the way I choose my own certifications. That said, I deeply value ongoing learning and professional development, and I know that for some, having formal training is an important part of choosing a coach.
The list below is for those who are curious about my coaching background. Rather than listing a series of acronyms, I’ve included a short explanation for each qualification and how it fits into my practice. This isn’t an exhaustive list—things like the books I study, the research I dive into, and the supervision and mentoring I receive from psychologists and experienced coaches aren’t captured here, but they’re just as central to how I grow and show up in my work.
The Flow Centre is one of the leading organisations when it comes to training people in flow and coaching. Their team includes practitioners who’ve worked with World Champions across a range of sports and who’ve contributed directly to the flow science research in psychology and neuroscience.
I chose this training because:
It builds strong foundations in coaching, including how to navigate boundaries between coaching and other forms of support
I’ve had a long-standing interest in flow and high performance, and wanted to deepen my own understanding and experience of both
I wanted to bring these insights into the climbing world, where there aren’t many people with this kind of training, and yet it’s something so many climbers, whether recreational or competitive, are looking for
The certification is aligned with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), which means it follows a clear code of ethics and global standards for quality coaching.
As a Flow Coach, my role is often to help people shift their mindset, supporting them in identifying what’s getting in the way, and creating the conditions for more clarity, focus, and fulfilment in their climbing.
April 2024 - November 2024
Flow Centre Coach Certification
Climbing Psychology: Coach Education Classes Participant
While these workshops are primarily designed for climbing coaches and instructors, I found them incredibly valuable for deepening my understanding of the psychological challenges climbers face, both on and off the wall. The sessions covered topics like emotional regulation, confidence-building, coach–athlete communication, and eating disorder prevention.
Understanding more about the coach–climber relationship helped me see how my work can complement and support both climbers and those who coach them on the movement side or who provide tactical or strength-training guidance.
March 2025 - May 2025
NeuroSomatic Practitioner
While the Flow Centre training gave me a holistic foundation for coaching climbers, I also came to realise that mindset work alone isn’t always enough to create lasting change. Climbing is inherently risky, and many people witness or experience traumatic incidents along the way. I wanted to bring a trauma-informed lens into my coaching, one that honours each person’s pace, supports safety, and still allows for meaningful progress toward their goals.
This three-month program focused on the foundations of nervous system awareness and rewiring, using applied neurology and somatic tools. We explored topics such as emotional regulation, belief systems, fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses, disordered eating, the neurobiology of the inner critic, shame, impostor syndrome, and more.
These tools have deepened my ability to support clients in high-stress environments, especially climbers operating at their physical or mental edge, by working with the nervous system directly rather than relying solely on mindset or willpower.
March 2025 - June 2025
Mountain Training: CWI & Foundation Coach Training
While these qualifications (see details at [1] & [2]) don’t focus on mental training, they’re widely recognised within the UK and Irish climbing communities. Training toward them has helped me stay aligned with local coaching and safety standards, especially for in-person work at climbing walls. This foundation supports my ability to run workshops and collaborate with instructors in a way that complements the physical and tactical side of climbing with mindset-focused coaching.
June 2025 - Present
