Judith Apps

Executive Coaching

I work with senior leaders, founders and executives who want space to think clearly about how they are leading, the decisions they are making and what may be getting in the way.

Senior roles can be demanding and, at times, surprisingly isolating. The issues brought to coaching are rarely straightforward. They may involve stepping into a bigger role, managing difficult relationships, leading through change, building confidence or influence, making decisions under pressure, or recognising that an approach which has worked well in the past is no longer getting the same results.

My background combines more than 30 years' experience in business and leadership roles with executive coaching, leadership development and psychotherapy. I have worked in large organisations including the BBC and Reuters, as well as smaller, entrepreneurial and fast-growth businesses. This means I understand both the organisational context and the human dynamics that sit beneath it.                

My approach is thoughtful, practical and appropriately challenging. We'll look closely at what is happening, including the patterns, assumptions and relationships that may be influencing your situation. Greater awareness creates greater choice – and often opens up options that aredifficult to see from the inside. t

Coaching is shaped around what you need to achieve. We agree clear objectives at the outset and review progress as the work develops. Where coaching is sponsored by an organisation, this can include agreed measures of progress and feedback from relevant stakeholders.

I work particularly well with people navigating growth, change, increased responsibility or complex organisational relationships.

A first session is a way to explore if we are the right fit.

Understanding what you are looking for will formulate how we work and the cadence of sessions that will fit best into your situation.

The underlying belief is not lack of capability, rather an overwhelm with much going on or difficulties thinking about what and how you might effect the changes you want.

A session is 50 minutes and the first session is an opportunity to establish what you are looking for and a plan for how to proceed.

It is important to get the right person for you!

Leadership Coaching & Development

Growth and change alter what organisations need from their leaders. People who are highly effective can find themselves dealing with greater complexity, different expectations and problems that cannot simply be solved by working harder.

I work with leaders and leadership teams to understand what is happening beneath the presenting issue and identify what will make the greatest difference.

The issues organisations describe are not always the issues they need to solve. A problem that initially appears to be about performance, communication or capability may also involve unclear accountability, difficult relationships, competing expectations, avoidance of challenging conversations or ways of working that have not kept pace with the organisation.

My background combines senior operational and leadership experience with organisational development, executive coaching and psychotherapy. I have worked across large organisations, including the BBC and World Class International Consulting, as well as within entrepreneurial and rapidly growing businesses.

I have led teams myself and understand the practical realities of delivering results while managing people, relationships and the business environment that can bring uncertainties.

Engagements can include individual leadership coaching, leadership team development, support for managers moving into larger roles, and broader leadership development programmes.

People come with a wide range of challenges. They may be stepping into a more senior role, struggling with a difficult relationship, needing to build confidence or influence, leading a team through significant change, or finding that something which has worked successfully in the past is no longer having the same effect.

With leadership teams, the work may be around alignment, accountability, communication, trust or creating greater clarity about how the team needs to work together.

Before deciding which intervention is most relevant, it helps to make sense of what's happening. My role is to bring an experienced outside perspective: helping leaders see patterns more clearly, understand their own impact, have the conversations that matter and make deliberate choices about what needs to change.

My approach is thoughtful and supportive, and I will also challenge where that is useful. 

Before deciding which intervention is most relevant, it helps to make sense of what's happening. My role is to bring an experienced outside perspective: helping leaders see patterns more clearly, have the conversations that matter and make deliberate choices about what needs to change.

Whether you choosing coaching for yourself or via your organisation , objectives and measures of success are agreed at the outset and progress can be evaluated: be it personal goals or behavioural change, relevant KPIs and other organisational measures.

An exploratory meeting is the way to decide if we are the right fit.

Supervision with me is a space in which to develop as the therapist you want to be. I encourage you to bring your whole self to the work—your questions, doubts, uncertainties and successes—so that together we can think more deeply about your clients, the therapeutic relationship and your developing practice.

I place a strong value on ethical awareness and client welfare, while also helping you find and trust your own style and voice as a practitioner. Supervision may involve exploring relational dynamics, boundaries, risk and ethical dilemmas, as well as paying attention to how particular clients or situations affect you. It is a supportive space where difficulties can be considered honestly, progress recognised and professional confidence strengthened.

Bringing openness, curiosity and genuine interest to each situation, I will encourage you to do the same. My aim is to create a supervision relationship that feels steady, thoughtful and engaging—one in which you feel supported while also being appropriately challenged.

I work with trainees, newly qualified and experienced counsellors and psychotherapists. I will meet you where you are, whether you are establishing your practice, developing your therapeutic identity or looking for fresh thinking after many years in the profession.

My current supervision practice includes practitioners in specialist clinical services, university settings and private practice. I offer individual and group supervision primarily online. 

An initial session is the opportunity to see if we are a good fit and the first step toward developing a useful and productive ongoing relationship.

People come to therapy for many different reasons. You may be experiencing anxiety or depression, struggling in a relationship, dealing with loss or significant change, or finding that familiar patterns continue to repeat. You may appear to be coping but feel very different inside. Sometimes there is no single problem—only a sense that something is not right or a wish to understand yourself and your life more fully.

I offer a warm, thoughtful and confidential space in which we can explore what is happening. Therapy can help you untangle difficult thoughts and feelings, understand experiences that continue to affect you, and recognise patterns in how you relate to yourself and others.

My approach is integrative, drawing particularly on psychodynamic, person-centred and existential thinking. The starting point is always what you would like to bring, and the work develops at a pace that feels manageable for you.

I have particular experience of working with women facing fertility difficulties, IVF, decisions about starting a family and the emotional and relationship pressures these experiences can create. I also work with people experiencing separation, divorce, affairs and betrayal, menopause, bereavement and other important life changes.

Many of my clients are professionals, business owners or senior leaders who are carrying considerable responsibility. They may be managing demanding working lives while privately struggling with anxiety, confidence, relationships, career uncertainty or a loss of direction.

Alongside my psychotherapy practice, I have held senior and board-level business roles and work in executive coaching and leadership development. This gives me a particular understanding of workplace pressures and of the ways in which our personal and professional lives can affect one another.

The first session gives us an opportunity to talk about what has brought you to therapy and what you hope it might help with. We can begin with whatever is troubling you.

It is also an opportunity for you to experience how we would work together and decide whether I feel like the right therapist for you. If we agree that working together would be helpful, we can arrange further sessions and discuss whether short-term or more open-ended therapy would best meet your needs.