Verity Symcox: on coaching for mental health and working with fifty50.
Verity on coaching for mental health
‘As a coach, I get asked why I want to work with mental health in this way a lot. The honest answer is I have always been interested in mental health and, if I look back to before I became a coach, I have always worked to promote and develop positive mental health.
Before I was a coach, in one of my first team coaching workshops, I was pulled aside by the CEO moments before I was about to begin and made privy to a rather sensitive piece of information; a member of the board of directors, who was part of this team workshop, had just returned to work after having a very public breakdown.
I was not prepared. Should I continue as planned? Should I adapt to the workshop? Should I stop and leave? Did everyone know? Should I acknowledge this? These were all high achieving, high earning executives – these people don’t get mentally unwell, do they? And if they do, what does it have to do with the workplace?
I went ahead as planned with the workshop, and it sparked a desire to better understand mental illness. I wanted to know what I could do to help others and to support workplaces. I trained as an integrative therapist and developed a style of therapy that combines Freud’s psychodynamic theory and Carl Roger’s humanistic way of being with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other therapeutic approaches. In other words, I have a deep understanding of psychology, and I can connect with people on a much deeper level. I help people to get unstuck and move forward by working on their behaviour and the deeper-rooted psychological aspects of their mental health.
I am constantly reminded of that early team burnout experience. My desire to bring my therapeutic knowledge into the workplace led me to train as an executive coach, specialising in psychological coaching and behavioural change.’
Verity on fifty50
‘I am passionate that coaching is a well-evidenced and viable initiative for workplaces to introduce to support employee mental health. I believe coaching is highly effective as both a standalone initiative and when presented in addition to current workplace wellbeing initiatives, such as Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). Workplaces can use coaching to develop a stigma-free culture that embraces open discussions about emotional challenges and supports their employees to invest in creating mentally healthy habits, ultimately making them more productive and successful.
A mutual contact introduced me to Camilla in early 2020, and we instantly got along! What should have been a quick coffee turned into brunch, more coffee, several hours of talking all things mental health and conceptualising what fifty50 could do to support workplace wellbeing! It was refreshing to meet another like-minded businesswoman and coach, who shares the same values and passion for using coaching to support workplace wellbeing. So, when Camilla asked me to come on board to help develop the fifty50 proposition and presented the opportunity to be their Head Coach and Resident Mental Health Expert, I leapt at the chance!
My MSc research into mental health in coaching practice informs all I do. This includes the work Camilla and I have done to co-create fifty50’s ethical coaching proposition to support employee mental health and create mentally healthier organisations. I am very excited to have developed and be facilitating our bespoke, in-house training for all fifty50 coaches.
I feel that fifty50’s coaching proposition enables organisations to safeguard their employees from burnout and other mental health challenges. What’s more, I am incredibly proud that by partnering with fifty50, organisations can take their first steps to promote positive mental health and work to create a healthy, mentally resilient and productive workforce, ready for the future of work and life in general.’
Verity Symcox - fifty50’s Resident Mental Health Expert & Head Coach.