Linda | Counsellor/Coach, Bsc Applied Psychology

I reached out to Linda because I had a complex relationship with body image, food and exercise after years of competitive sport and studies. These concerns and thought patterns were taking up a lot of my time and energy and making me very unhappy. I was eager to address them for my own well-being.

Linda formed a lovely rapport with me, is a great listener and is non-judgemental. I felt very comfortable sharing things with Linda that I had never voiced aloud previously.

I now have awareness of restrictive food habits that I hadn’t given much thought to previously, I can now approach and undertake intuitive eating and have a different view of health as more than just body size, food intake and exercise.

Thank you Linda for all your help and guidance over the past few months. It's helped me more than I can say. I will use the skills you have helped me to develop for the rest of my life.

I started my coaching journey with Linda because I wanted a more positive/neutral body image, and I needed some guidance on intuitive eating and finding movement I enjoyed. 

Linda is really good at making you feel comfortable and safe to open up about anything and everything! A lot of the time it felt like I was having a zoom call with a close friend giving me advice.

Linda has amazing empathy skills and also has an awesome sense of humour! Linda always knew the right questions to ask to make me look at my thought patterns with a different perspective, and that ultimately led me to having more balanced thought patterns in the long run. 

Since working with Linda, I understand the root cause of my emotional eating. Instead of numbing my feelings with food, I now acknowledge them and work through them and honestly can’t remember the last time I ate until I was sick, which is a huge win for me.

To put this into perspective, I’m currently going through an extremely challenging time with a ruptured Achilles as well as an endometriosis diagnosis with fertility struggles (in other words, this would have been prime emotional eating time for me in the past) and I haven’t once turned to emotional eating to regulate myself.

I can have photos taken of me without freaking out or feeling like I need to edit or delete them! I love that I can look at photos as a whole instead of zooming into parts of myself. 

I’ve let go of food labels and instead listen to what my body feels like - and know that my body has different needs every day and that’s okay! I’m embracing gentle nutrition and focusing on movement I enjoy.

I don’t get upset if clothing is too small for me anymore, and I don’t find clothes shopping as stressful as I used to. Clothes are meant to fit me, not the other way around! 

I’m still working on this one but I’m feeling more comfortable with letting go of the perfectionism trap. I’ve learnt that perfectionism is just another way of restricting myself. 

After this being my goal for so many years, I can finally say that I’m now focusing more on how I FEEL rather than how I look.

I sought support because I have been struggling with my body image for over a decade and was unable to “resolve” the issue on my own. I was looking for tools to better be able to handle self-criticism, comparison to others as well as to myself in the past, and in general low and negative moments regarding my appearance and eating habits.

Linda has helped me address more than just the things I contacted her for and has helped me make some real tangible changes (I’m still going to the gym every week and while I have lost no weight at all, I’ve become way stronger – exactly what I wanted).

Linda created a space that felt safe and judgement-free and in which I was able to admit things (out loud and therefore to myself, as well), which I would normally not dare to admit to others.

Linda challenged me to redefine the things which I regarded as flaws and to describe the person I want to be in new words. Those were my favourite exercises.

I’ve become kinder to myself, both regarding my “failures” (for example by not seeing them as such) and self-criticism.

I am more accepting of the way I look now and I am better able to avoid comparing myself.

Fun fact, the two things I wanted from my wedding dress were to hide my arms and my belly but I went for a form-fitted, sleeveless dress and really like the way I look in it!

I feel like I can rely on things we discussed, it’s like having a safety net to fall back on.

Linda made me feel comfortable and safe right from our very first session.

Linda made the sessions fun and lighthearted but also provided a space for me to be vulnerable and to feel the emotions I was feeling.

Linda provided me with strategies that have already made such a positive difference in my life.

I can now have snacks that I enjoy in the house without feeling as though they are ‘bad’. I eat them when I feel like it and enjoy them more because I no longer have the mindset that all ‘unhealthy’ snacks have to be eaten on my one ‘treat day’ a week.

My mindset around exercise is a lot less fixed. I exercise when I feel like exercising and for an amount of time that I choose on the day. I can now recognise when I am thinking in a way that is negative or unhelpful and the majority of the time I am able to interrupt those thoughts and replace them with more helpful, positive ones.

Linda has helped me massively and has provided me with strategies that I know I will be able to use for the rest of my life!

I came to see Linda because I wanted to process some of my fears around a new diagnosis while not resorting to diet-culture solutions. I also wanted to unpack why exercise was so difficult for me and find new ways of engaging with exercise that worked for me.

Linda is empathic and understanding, with a strong body-positive focus. Linda is flexible, which meant that I felt able to talk about what I needed to.

Linda helped me become aware of and work through my hang-ups around exercise. I now do yoga reasonable regularly and I am also still managing to eat with enjoyment (without bingeing), despite needing to replace a few things due to a medical diagnosis.

I was struggling with an eating disorder when I found Linda. I was hoping Linda would help me on my journey to food freedom and she really did!

Linda did not treat me like a number, which is the case at many other places where you can find help for eating disorders. She is kind and takes the time to really listen and find solutions that suit my situation.

Linda makes time for you and listens very well. She is kind and makes sure you feel comfortable. She is honest and shares excellent tips. I have gained insight into why I have struggled with food, I am more honest about my struggles and have found more freedom around food!

Since the age of 13 I have been aware of my changing body, weight, size, and how it looks. Over 20 years I have spent thinking about food, counting calories being on various diets and trying to change the way my body looks. To no avail. I was never happy no matter how big or small I was.

I was so sick of having my life literally revolve around food. Every thought was constantly consumed by food, how many calories I was eating and then subsequently burning through exercise, what I “should” be eating and avoiding (really, the list could go on forever).

Linda helped me through a process of being so fearful of all foods to being able to genuinely enjoy everything. Linda helped me feel more comfortable with who I was. That I am not what I eat, that food isn’t just for nourishment, but also something you can use to connect with people et cetera. I had always thought that food had no real purpose.

I also learnt that there are NO rules around food. I am now free with food with no judgement and total trust in my body. I now know that I am more than my weight. My body will go through changes, but the type of person I am will stay with me forever.

This work I was doing for myself will help my children in the future. I can also teach them how to listen to their bodies and nourish them. Working with Linda was truly a life changer!

Talking to Linda is like chatting to a friend and our conversations are relaxed and without judgement.

Linda has helped me to understand why I sometimes turn to food for comfort and now that I have that awareness, I can make different choices.

The process has been really freeing for me. It is a great feeling to have no restrictions on the types of food I eat. I now eat delicious food at nearly every meal (but sometimes life gets in the way!).

I have been getting mentally stronger around food and the way I see myself. My self-talk is much kinder than it used to be as I no longer berate myself for my food choices. I have also noticed that I have more energy all throughout the day and generally feel much happier.

I have changed my reason for exercising too, it is now for the way it makes me feel instead of burning calories. I love it so much more!

This isn’t a quick fix. There is still work to be done to undo the 35 years of mental and physical damage that diet culture has instilled, but I know that I have great support in Linda.

I want to thank you again so much for how much you have changed my life already.

I find myself being more positive about myself and feeling so much better in general. I’m now able to go days without thinking negatively about my body, rather than thinking about it and feeling upset 24/7.

I am able to accept how I am right now rather than feeling like I have to lose weight.

I now feel freedom around food and exercise. I understand that I do not have to force myself to exercise which has brought back my motivation and my enjoyment. I now focus on exercise for how I feel, rather than trying to change how I look.

I would recommend your service to others, it has honestly been transformative in my life!

I have found working with Linda really valuable, I have learned so much about myself!

She really understands what it's like to struggle with food and body image. I have a completely new perspective on life.

Linda made me feel comfortable and safe right from our very first session.

Linda made the sessions fun and lighthearted but also provided a space for me to be vulnerable and to feel the emotions I was feeling.

Linda provided me with strategies that have already made such a positive difference in my life.

I can now have snacks that I enjoy in the house without feeling as though they are ‘bad’. I eat them when I feel like it and enjoy them more because I no longer have the mindset that all ‘unhealthy’ snacks have to be eaten on my one ‘treat day’ a week.

My mindset around exercise is a lot less fixed. I exercise when I feel like exercising and for an amount of time that I choose on the day. I can now recognise when I am thinking in a way that is negative or unhelpful and the majority of the time I am able to interrupt those thoughts and replace them with more helpful, positive ones.

Linda has helped me massively and has provided me with strategies that I know I will be able to use for the rest of my life!

Linda was great at making me feel comfortable to be completely honest/open with her.

 

I struggled with this with the clinical psychologist I had previously worked with.

 

Linda has helped me to form new habits with food and understand more about intuitive eating. Food is now NOT the first and the last thing on my mind! I feel more in touch with myself and have strategies to help me deal with my emotions.

 

Linda also helped me to see that my worth is not in my appearance!!!

The coaching sessions with Linda has honestly been transformative in my life.

 

Linda has helped me accept how I am right now rather than feeling like I have to lose weight. I’m now able to go days without thinking negatively about my body, rather than thinking about it and feeling upset 24/7.

 

I now feel freedom around food and exercise. I understand that I do not have to force myself to exercise which has brought back my motivation and my enjoyment.

 

I now focus on exercise for how I feel, rather than trying to change how I look.