“I found Helen through a friend who had recommended her and her transition coaching. This year, I transitioned from one country to another- both on different continents and neither being my passport country. This was incredibly discombobulating. I had never done any kind of coaching before but Helen was a brilliant guide through the turmoil.
Being very easy to talk to and gently bringing structure to our conversation, she brought lots of practical tools to our sessions which helped me to examine where I was at, where I wanted to be and how to take steps to get there. I was able to apply these things to my daily life and honestly this helped to make my first few months in Europe much more stable. Helen uses the enneagram approach, and would highly recommend her coaching. “
“It was a difficult packing up and saying goodbye but `From Apprehensive to Quietly Confident` [online course] gave me some structure in my chaos of packing up and saying my ¨Goodbyes¨. The return to my passport country though was `difficult` in a way I had not experienced before. I struggled from day 1 with the climate and everything else about this place I had been born into. I was a stranger among family and friends who could not understand how God had changed me in those years.
The struggle went on and I got more and more distressed until one day, I read a blog from Helen Watts, ¨Reframe your re-entry¨. It seemed to have been written just for me and I made contact with Helen because I wanted some of the help she was speaking about.
I found Helen easy to talk to and knew that she would understand the jumble in my head. I came to understand that I was actually quite `normal´ as I went through this transition. There was so much I did not know when I went onto the mission field but there was much more I did not know about coming back from it. Watts Your Pathway set me on my feet again and pointed me in the right direction FOR ME to make progress in this journey. “
“When I returned to my passport country following living overseas for nearly 10 years, I decided to take the opportunity to do the re-settlement coaching with Helen & found it very helpful. I was seeking help to re-settle & also wanted help figuring out what direction to go in for the next season of my life. It was great to be able to work though these things with someone who has experienced having a ‘whole other world’ in another country & gone through the re-settlement process herself as Helen has. There is so much that is unique to this experience that many others can’t relate to. Helen’s application of the Enneagram together with other tools was also very useful in continuing to grow in my understanding of myself & helping me to move forward. I highly recommend this coaching to others who are going through the journey of re-settlement.”
“I was a long term expat and yet found re-entry very challenging. I found Helen via her re-entry/repatriation group and decided on personal coaching to ease through this difficult period. Helen’s support has been a life saver, she does not only show great empathy and understands first hand what it means to move back ‘home’ but she shares a wide range of practical tools that were very customised to my needs. I would highly recommend Helen as a re-entry/repatriation coach.”
“Helen has really helped us in the process of transition. We felt like we had experienced a traumatic end to our life overseas and were struggling to find a way forward. Helen helped us individually and as a couple to better understand ourselves and each other. We found the Enneagram a helpful tool and Helen is really skilled in applying it. We felt Helen was able to understand our situation, empathise with us and help us move forward in tangible and practical ways. We would strongly and warmly recommend Helen to anyone going through a transition back to their ‘home country’.”
“Several months after moving to the UK from America, I was still struggling with the transition. I was also unhappy with the career path I was on, but I had no idea what I wanted to do. Helen’s coaching sessions were critical to getting back on track. Through her coaching, I was able to realign my goals and set a new course forward. I also now have the knowledge and tools to reevaluate my situation whenever things feel amiss. Helen helped me better understand myself and how I navigate difficult situations in a healthy way. I highly recommend Helen’s coaching to anyone feeling stuck.”
“I was overwhelmed and stuck in the transition to life the UK after 25 years overseas. I needed someone to help me focus, regain perspective and control of my life, and get me moving forward. Things began to change immediately I started coaching sessions with Helen Watts. I came to see clearly the steps I needed to take to get life under control and, through resources such as the enneagram, I came to understand myself better. Helen’s passion is to help people through the struggle of transition to find their own unique pathway. Her coaching is of the highest standard, based on excellent training and the challenges she herself faced through transition. I recommend Helen and her coaching unreservedly.”
“I sought out coaching with Helen because I was having a lot of stress and difficulty making sense of my transition back to the culture of my birth after living overseas most of the past 15 years. I felt unmoored and unsure how to settle well into my new life. The coaching process with Helen was instrumental in opening my eyes to my true identity which gave me direction and confidence for making steps toward how I want to build my life. She provided many activities and worksheets that helped me figure out what my priorities are, how God has wired me, what my values are, and how can I best contribute in the world.
She was a sounding board for conflicted feelings and confusing thoughts, and, unlike a counselor, she did not direct me in those things but helped me ask myself what was going on in some of those muddy places. So there was this deep formational stuff happening, and she also made a space for me to set practical goals for myself in some of the specific real-life categories of stress, which has been an ongoing excellent tool I use when I’m feeling down in part of my life.”
“The coaching times I had with Helen were a chance to bring some focus into a hazy chapter of my life. With a young family we had returned from 7 years in Asia without much of a plan for the future. Helen was both able to affirm me in my muddled state and also nudge me to take small steps to re-order and re-think priorities and plans.Coaching with Helen brought some disciplined thinking into my life. The tools and exercises she used helped me get to know myself better and understand my present situation, motivations and feelings more clearly. In particular, working with the Enneagram provided insights I hadn’t consciously registered before and I continue to benefit from a new level of self-awareness it brought about.
It was helpful to talk to someone outside of my immediate situation, but who had had similar experiences. I could let my guard down and experiment with thoughts and ideas with an attentive listener. But also knowing that there would be some action or step to be taken at the end of it all helped me to move forward.”
“Arriving back in the UK after 19 years abroad was a daunting experience. Helen asked me probing questions to help me understand some of the transition process and how to move forward into this new season. I found the enneagram particularly helpful in understanding myself and some of my experiences and feel confident that I am now much more self-aware and able to successfully manage new situations. Helen was brilliant at tailoring the coaching to my individual needs and resourcing me with materials to help me transition successfully back into life in the UK.”
“Helen is a professional and experienced debriefer and coach who has been of significant help to BMS during a time of staff shortage. Mission personnel have commented on how much they appreciated being debriefed and coached by her giving them the opportunity to open up to someone who was experienced, insightful and understanding. Helen’s reporting and feedback has always been swift and punctual with mission personnel commenting on the accuracy of her reports. We are very happy to recommend her.”
“I would highly recommend Helen’s debriefing process for those who have recently repatriated. I’m certain that I am going to be experiencing benefits from the insights I gained during my debriefing for months to come.”
“A friend recommended having some debriefing, and I made contact with Helen. From the first phone-call and initial ‘assessment’ I found Helen very supportive and insightful and it was comforting to know she understood what I was going through! I wasn’t sure what to expect but knew I wanted to feel clearer about the new direction my life was heading in.
It was great to be able to talk through some problems I had been through and also identify some stress symptoms I was suffering. The sessions were also incredibly helpful in redefining and reaffirming who I am, what I want to do and practical ways to get there! I have never been clearer or more confident about the direction my life is going in. It’s great to be able to identify what drives me and realise the skills I have been acquiring overseas are a great gateway into a better future back home.”