Victoria Matthews-Patel, Trauma-Informed Coach for Neurodivergent Women
​WHAT CAN I EXPECT DURING A COACHING SESSION?
- Compassionate listening
- Empathy and understanding
- Me being fully present as you share your experiences
- An online space where you can share without fear of judgement or criticism
- A space where all emotions are welcomed and validated
- A nurturing environment where you feel respected and supported
- A gentle and nurturing approach with a focus on healing
- Predictability and reliability
- Reflective feedback
- Me providing seeds of knowledge, understanding and insight where appropriate
- Wellbeing support
- To be treated as an equal​​
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Compassionate listening is at the heart of healing.
What ultimately heals us is when our pain and when our emotional wounds are finally witnessed and heard by someone who feels emotionally safe.
WHAT IS A TRAUMA?
A trauma is a distressing event where you feel scared, unsafe, rejected, humiliate, invalidated, unsupported, powerless or ashamed, and how you are affected by it.
Trauma is personal and traumatic events can cause long-lasting harm to your health, thought processes and behaviours. The effects can happen quickly or a long time afterwards. Lack of emotional attachment in childhood is trauma. It can be as much about what happened as what was lacking.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE NEURO-AFFIRMING?
It means embracing, respecting, honouring, supporting and celebrating neurodivergent individuals and their needs exactly as they are.
It’s about understanding that different brains bring different strengths and challenges and that there is no need to conform to neurotypical standards.
And it’s about advocating for accessibility for all.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE TRAUMA-INFORMED?
“To be truly trauma-informed requires more than surface level knowledge.
It entails understanding models of trauma healing, neurobiology, dysregulation, dissociation and attachment.
Being trauma-informed goes beyond mere knowledge.
It’s about embodying these principles within ourselves and integrating them into our professional practice. We become the vessels of safety and healing for our clients."
​Lou Lebentz, Trauma Therapist and Creator of The Voyage and The Voyage Academy
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In 2024 I successfully completed The Voyage Deep Dive, an intensive 12 month programme, which deepened my understanding and skills in trauma-informed care, demonstrating a commitment to ethical, effective and empathic practice, enhancing both my personal and professional development in the field of trauma work.
There is a lot of talk on social media, within coaching and in self-help books about mindset, and changing your mindset.
MY COACHING IS NOT ABOUT CHANGING YOUR MINDSET. WHY?
I echo the words of Lou Lebentz who says –
“Purely mindset, motivational or cognitive-only coaching doesn’t tend to work well with trauma, certainly not in the long term. In fact, it can actually make clients feel worse especially when they’re struggling to shift their behaviour or their thinking. If someone has trauma, the feeling of failure from not being able to change “their mind” will additionally compound the shame that is already so prevalent within them.”
You didn’t choose your behaviours and your ways of thinking. But they can be understood, and they can be changed.
It takes gentle work, compassionate listening, care and time. It takes a trauma-informed approach.
WHAT ARE THE PAYMENT AND REFUND TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR 1-2-1 COACHING?
See the coaching page for fees and read the terms and conditions for detailed information.
Fees are payable at the point of booking (first session) or 48 hrs in advance (subsequent sessions) via BACS transfer to confirm the session.
Refunds: Coaching
If I have to cancel a session that you have already paid for, due to illness or an unexpected event, and we are both unable to arrange an alternative suitable time/date, then you will receive a full refund of your session fee.