Work with Katie
Highly individual work, shaped around you and what matters most.
A different kind of conversation
Working directly with Katie creates space to step outside the pace of everyday life and look more closely at what matters: with someone who can hold both the detail and the bigger picture.
The work brings psychological depth into a coaching conversation, alongside curiosity, challenge and practical application. Sometimes that means making sense of something complex. Sometimes it means seeing a familiar situation differently, testing a new approach, making a decision or identifying where a relatively small shift could have a much wider impact.
Katie works with a small number of people at any one time, creating space for each piece of work to develop with the attention and flexibility it needs. The focus, pace and depth evolve according to what proves most useful as the work develops.
A broad lens. A focused purpose.
Katie's perspective has been shaped across psychology, education, coaching, business, research, training and facilitation: bringing together different ways of understanding people, performance, change and the systems we operate within.
Her academic background includes law, psychology and the psychology of education. Alongside this, her wider professional experience includes building and running businesses, coaching people across different contexts, designing and delivering training, facilitating conversations and groups, and researching and developing practical ways to translate ideas, research and evidence into real-world application.
This breadth matters because the things we want to change or develop rarely sit neatly within one discipline. A challenge at work might involve confidence, relationships, organisational dynamics and decision-making. An ambition might raise questions about identity, performance, practical constraints and what success actually means to you. What looks psychological may have a practical solution — and what looks practical may have something less obvious underneath it.
The aim isn't to view everything through one lens. It's to have enough lenses available to recognise what matters, and focus there.
The approach follows the person.
Optimise isn't built around a single model or methodology. Katie draws on a broad range of psychological approaches, evidence-based methods and coaching practices, selecting and adapting what is useful according to the person, what they want to achieve and what emerges through the work.
This might include ideas and approaches drawn from cognitive and behavioural psychology, performance psychology and regulation-based work, as well as EMDR where relevant.
The method is never the starting point. Relevance is.
EMDR within Optimise
EMDR can be useful when a particular belief, response or previous experience continues to influence how someone thinks, feels or performs, or gets in the way of something they want to do.
Katie's doctoral research explored the integration of EMDR into psychological practice, and it has remained a significant area of her research, training and development work. Within Optimise, EMDR can be used selectively and in a targeted way when it is relevant to what someone wants to understand, change or move towards.
What might Optimise look like in practice?
Different starting points. The same principle: understand what matters, then focus there.
When you want to perform more freely
You know you're capable of performing well, but in certain high-stakes situations something changes. You become more self-conscious, start monitoring yourself, or find that abilities which usually come naturally become harder to access.
We might begin by understanding when this happens and what changes under pressure, looking across the wider picture rather than assuming it's simply a confidence problem. That could reveal a particular belief, response or previous experience that becomes activated in those situations.
The work might involve developing ways of responding differently under pressure, addressing something specific that is getting in the way, and testing those changes in real situations. What happens then gives us new information and helps determine where we focus next.
When you're navigating what comes next
You may be successful in what you're doing but increasingly aware that something needs to change, perhaps a role, business, relationship with work or the direction you want your life to take.
Rather than beginning with the decision itself, we might build enough of your Map to understand what sits around it: what matters to you now, the different demands you're balancing, assumptions or expectations influencing you, what you might be reluctant to lose, and what you're drawn towards.
The aim isn't necessarily to arrive at the right answer. It's to create enough clarity to make choices that are more informed, more deliberate and more aligned with what matters to you and then learn from what happens as you begin to act on them.
When something keeps getting in the way
Sometimes you know what you want to do and may even know what you should do, but find yourself repeatedly responding in a way that makes moving forward difficult.
Rather than simply trying harder to change the behaviour, we'd get curious about what is maintaining it. The relevant piece might be a belief, an established pattern, the way your system responds to particular situations, something in your current environment, or an earlier experience that is still influencing the present.
Once we understand what matters, we can work with it directly, using whatever approach is most relevant and then see what changes when you begin responding differently in everyday life.
Ways to work together
There are two ways to work directly with Katie. Both are individually shaped around you; the difference is primarily in the pace and concentration of the work.
Space to explore, understand and move forward.
One-to-One Optimise begins with a 90-minute Discovery Session, giving us space to begin building your Map and identify what has brought you to Optimise, what you would like to move towards and what may be most relevant to getting there.
From there, the work is shaped around you rather than a predetermined programme. Sessions may be 60 or 90 minutes depending on what we're working with, with shorter follow-ups also useful at some stages.
There is no requirement to commit to a set number of sessions. Some people work together regularly for a period of time; others use a smaller number of sessions or return with more space between conversations. The focus, pace and structure evolve according to what proves most useful as the work develops.
One-to-One
Intensive
More concentrated time and attention.
Intensive Optimise creates an extended period of dedicated time to focus on something that would benefit from greater continuity or momentum.
It might suit a particular challenge, decision or transition; something you want to understand or shift; or simply a preference for working more intensively rather than spreading conversations over a longer period.
Working over a concentrated period can also change how the time itself is used. With fewer interruptions between conversations, less time is spent repeatedly reconnecting with the work and greater continuity can be maintained around what is being explored. This can allow for greater depth and sustained focus, while still creating appropriate space for reflection and containment.
The length and structure of an Intensive are shaped around its purpose and can take place in person or online.
Designed to make the time useful
The right amount of time
Sessions are shaped around what we're working on rather than a fixed format. For some work, 60 minutes provides plenty of space to explore what is relevant and identify useful next steps. At other times, a longer session allows us to work with greater depth and bring the session to a useful point of integration.
Where the work involves EMDR, sessions are generally 90 minutes. This provides the time needed to work effectively without unnecessarily breaking the process across multiple sessions.
Session length is something we'll consider together as part of the work, and it can change over time as your needs and focus develop.
Resources that travel with you
Where useful, sessions are supported by tailored resources and materials, provided digitally or in hard copy. These might capture an idea we've explored, provide a way of continuing the work between sessions, or make something we've developed together easy to return to later.
When useful insights and strategies are captured rather than left in the room, they can be more readily applied and integrated into everyday life, often reducing the amount of contact time needed.
Fees & Practicalities
The practical structure is designed to provide clarity at the outset, while retaining flexibility around what you need from the work.
If you're considering working with Katie, you can begin with a complimentary initial conversation to explore what you're looking for and whether Optimise feels like the right fit.
One-to-One
One-to-One Optimise is £120 per hour.
We begin with a 90-minute Discovery Session (£180), creating space to understand what has brought you to Optimise, what you would like to move towards and what may be most relevant to getting there.
From there, we'll agree a way of working that fits you and the focus of the work. Sessions may be 60 or 90 minutes depending on what we're working with. Where the work involves EMDR, sessions are usually 90 minutes to allow sufficient time to work effectively and bring the session to a useful point of integration. Shorter follow-up sessions may also be useful at some stages.
There is no requirement to commit to a set number of sessions. We can continue, space sessions further apart or finish according to what proves most useful as the work develops.
Intensives
Following a 90-minute Discovery Session (£180), Intensives are individually designed and priced according to their purpose, length and format, including any preparation and supporting resources. A clear proposal and fee will be agreed with you before you decide whether to proceed.
Once the structure and fee have been agreed, a deposit secures the Intensive. The remaining balance can be paid in instalments if preferred, provided payment is completed before the Intensive begins.
Employer or organisation funded
Optimise can be self-funded or funded by an employer or organisation. Invoices can be provided where required.
In person or online
Sessions and Intensives can take place in person in Lincolnshire or online, allowing the format to be shaped around what works best for you and the work we're doing.
Start with a conversation
Initial Conversation
A brief complimentary conversation to explore what you're looking for, answer any initial questions and consider whether Optimise feels like the right fit.
Discovery
If you decide to work with Katie, the next step is a 90-minute Discovery Session. This gives us space to begin building your Map, understand what you want from the work and identify where it may be most useful to focus.
For One-to-One work, Discovery forms the first of your initial four sessions. If you're considering an Intensive, Discovery allows us to assess what would be most useful and design the structure and focus of the Intensive around you.
Begin
From there, we agree the most appropriate way forward: continuing through your One-to-One sessions or, where an Intensive is planned, agreeing its structure, timing and preparation.
Arrange an initial conversation
If you're interested in working with Katie, share a little about what you're looking for below. Katie will be in touch to arrange a complimentary initial conversation.
