I Was Experiencing Alot of Disproportionate Rage and Self-Hate

When we first connected, I was experiencing a lot of (seemingly) disproportionate rage. I had done some work to identify my triggers and the reasons underlying my behaviour (mainly stemming from not feeling listened to, seen or understood) and this had been fuelling a lot of self-hate and frustration (not helped by hormones!)

I was concerned that this was impacting on my relationships with my children and husband and the type of mother and role model I wanted to be.

I had been following you for some time and knew about the Inner Child and Inner Parenting but, no matter how hard I tried, I struggled to control myself to make the changes in the moment, and felt both stuck in a vicious circle and very alone. My main stumbling block was HOW to parent my inner child - I didn't feel I knew because it had never been modelled to me.

I felt a bit nervous before our first session but was hopeful because I had reached a point where I could no longer see the wood for the trees. After setting my two goals in our first session, I already felt more in control and really understood by Lavinia so I finished the session feeling relieved and in very safe hands.

Since coaching, the most significant improvement has been in my relationship with myself. The process has taught me that I am allowed to feel how I feel - and with reason - so I am kinder to myself and I now recognise my self-worth and treat myself with compassion.

I now have tools I can apply which are helping improve my relationships with my husband and children (though that is still a work in progress!), I have been less affected by my mum's/sister's comments and the process has given me hope and the foundations to continue making progress.

I surprised myself the most during the series by my ability to be kind to myself - it is as if a switch just needed to be activated! This has helped me feel much calmer. My biggest learning was how powerful our somatic session was and the tools it gave me to keep going with it.

Our sessions also helped me give myself 'permission' to grieve my step-dad which has helped release a lot of pent-up emotion.

The cost of the coaching series was a significant financial commitment and it took me some time to consider this before contacting Lavinia, however, the tools I learnt, as well as the shifts in perspective that have occurred as a result, will last a lifetime. There is nothing I can think of that Lavinia could have done to improve my experience.

I instantly felt comfortable with Lavinia and have learnt the tools I set out to gain from the sessions. Thank you so much for your advice and support!

~ Helen Princeton, teaching assistant & mama, UK