I felt really under-confident at the time, I was really beating myself up about a recent redundancy, struggling to move forward in a way that I wanted and needed to. I wanted to feel good about myself.

To be honest it took me a while to sign up because I didn’t want to admit that I needed help, but when you give all your energy to helping to other people you’re not giving yourself anything.

I wanted to learn some techniques that I could do in my own time to help me deal with things that affect me as they come along. I wanted to walk away with something tangible that I could continue to engage with after the programme.

The tasks were small and manageable but had a really big impact. It was a really good mix of content, with videos, written workbooks, and meditations. I liked all the practical tips, and even little things like Jess explaining how challenging it can be to meditate, which made it much easier to try it.

Jess also encouraged us to work to our own style – write lists, draw, map out, visualise things, the exercises are designed so we could work with the ones that resonate with us at the time rather than feel pressured to get through them all. And I can go back and do the same ones or different exercises depending on what’s going on in my life.

I really liked that Jess is a psychologist and backed up everything with facts and research, and she was really good at explaining things with analogies and examples. She encouraged us to make up our own way of relating to our inner critic, and gave us the tools to write our own personalised affirmations, which I still say out loud when I need a quick confidence boost.

The group coaching calls helped to push me forward every time, so I’d have time to work on things on my own then come together as a group. It was good to understand that people were feeling the same way, and we were able to support each other.

I feel like I’ve come quite a long way. I feel like the shame I had around my redundancy has lifted and given me the confidence to take a step forward – and now I have a new job! I’ve set new boundaries with things that don’t make me feel good, and I feel like it’s having a lasting and positive impact on my self-compassion…and I’m still doing the work. It was genuinely fantastic.

I signed up to TASC because I recognised myself as a ‘helper’ and it was draining me, I wasn’t spending enough time focusing on doing things for me.

I was looking forward to self-reflection, and getting some ‘me time’, and that’s exactly what I got.

One of the reasons why I particularly like working with Jess is that she’s real, and she’s experienced similar things to me, like the imposter syndrome, and has overcome challenges in her own life that I feel she understands me. She comes from a place of empathy.

The main thing I got out of this course was the ability to recognise something that was draining me, and I felt strong enough to express my boundaries and was able to say ‘no’ to it, so that I can focus on me and my new business.

The content was given to us in separate modules, and in a variety of ways (worksheets, video, meditations) and Jess encouraged us to work through it in our own time, so it was great not feeling like I had to rush through it all. She even covered some additional content that was guided by the group needs.

Our small group was so supportive and we all got to know and trust each other. The group coaching calls were really useful and seeing other people blossom too really helped me.

I’ve already recommended this course to people! We don’t invest in ourselves enough – well, we go out and buy a new frock or make-up, but those things are superficial. But when it comes to investing in yourself we just don’t do it and I think we should. We should be nurturing our needs, not denying them. I say ‘put your own oxygen mask on first’ then you can help other people better.

TASC came at a good time for me, I was taking on lots of new things, and I knew I also had to take time out to breathe and meditate, and be in the moment.

I’m very sensitive and my work takes a lot of my energy. While I have great tools for helping others, I still need to have someone else guiding me and supporting me.

It was a really powerful programme, the exercises, and videos, and meditations. And I really benefitted from the group calls  – to get to contact with others (during lockdown). I was drawn to Jess’ nature, and her approach to topics like boundaries.

Jess allows people the space to become more self-aware and look after themselves. I liked that she allowed us to be part of the group as much as we wanted to be. And when you are, you feel that you’re there, not being judged. Jess creates such a lovely space for people to come forward and reveal themselves.

I was resistant to signing up at first. I was so busy managing the business and having the children at home during lockdown (and I because I don’t like asking for help), but I wanted to find ways to support myself better without feeling guilty for taking time for me.

A couple of friends had worked with Jess before and I’d heard good things. She was very approachable and professional: she got more out of me than I was expecting, which I appreciate because it meant that she was able to help me become more self-aware.

The course covered more than I initially expected. The module on boundaries made me reconsider what I can do differently moving forward. I can see how my Inner Critic gets in my way and I choose to react differently to it. The meditations were really nice, and I felt proud of myself for making the time to sit still and do them.

The group calls helped me to make real progress. It’s so nice to have the extra support and encouragement. Knowing that the calls were booked in helped me to focus on working through the modules. But Jess would reassure us and say ‘just do whatever you can do and you can come back to it when your ready’.

Now, I feel much less guilty for looking after myself and taking time out, in fact I can already see the benefit to my children and to my business when I do. 

I really wanted to improve myself, to be a better person for my children and my wife. My wife says I’m not kind to myself. I run a business, and I watched Jess on a FSB webinar, and even my wife said she thought Jess would be able to help me: she seemed real, approachable, as well as highly skilled, she’s relatable and believable.

I’ve had CBT and counselling in the past but they didn’t feel real. Jess does not bring a ‘one-size fits all’ approach, instead she works to understand each person and brings in bits from this and that to make it relevant for that individual.

This course was life-changing for me! I got so much out of it! I was completely unaware but my inner critic used to rule my life in lots of ways (e.g. frustration, anger, binge eating) – and now I tell him where to go. Through the visualisations and meditations, Jess has given me the tools to counter-act my self-critical thoughts: this is the golden nugget for me…and I’d never have thought of that in a million years.

Each exercise was written in short chunks and easy to follow and digest. The themes were challenging, but they really made me think and reflect. I could focus on whatever I wanted to take from each module and come back to it when I was ready. I felt like I was always making progress.  

The group calls were brilliant. I was the only male, but I felt it was an amazingly supportive group: we were supporting each other. It was great to go through this process at the same time as other people.

It felt like Jess was tuning into each of us, even on the group calls she spoke to us personally, and it always felt like she was able to relate to each of us. She’s very empathic and I’m normally a cynic, but I found Jess very authentic, reassuring, and never pre-judging.

I learned so much – it was empowering for me. I’m much more self-aware, and my children have benefited from this too. As a family, we discuss our emotions a lot more and I help my son to manage his anxiety better. I have also changed my diet and lost weight, so I feel much healthier. I know self-development is a lifelong journey and I’m so glad that, in my 60s, I’ve finally started it.