17/06/2026
When you care deeply about helping people, it is easy to give too much. To overshare, to over-invest, to say yes when you should say no. To pour everything into someone who then cancels last minute, does not follow through, or makes you feel like nothing you do is ever enough.
It is not because you are doing it wrong. It is because nobody taught you how to set up the relationship properly from the very start.
In both nutritional therapy and psychological coaching, this is called contracting. It is the conversation that happens before anything else. The one where you and your client agree on boundaries, expectations, and how you will actually work together. It protects you both.
As Debbie, our Co-Director of Coaching, explains:
“It seems obvious that we should work in a professional way but the problem is that can mean very different things to different people. One persons “I’m here for you” can be heard as “contact me anytime, as much as you like, 3am is fine!” When clearly it’s not fine. It looks very simple, but the reality of humans is that they are complex, multi-layered individuals with unique lives.
We need to be clear about how we work together and make the expectations explicit. This helps us remove the assumptions that get us in a muddle later. Effective coaching is not really about the models or approaches.
It is about how you work with the real person in front of you, in their real life and with all their messiness. Real life change, not theory, that is what excites me.”
Because we understand what it is like to follow your passion and build something meaningful, we make sure our students learn not just the science, but how to actually show up for people without losing themselves in the process.
Join our online open day on 7th July, or download the syllabus first.
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Dr.KhushMark PhD