Coaching

The student coaching service is currently available to students studying at Edinburgh and Scottish Borders campuses.  Please note, there are a limited number of spaces available for Coaching at any one time so you if the service is full you may be asked if you wish to join the waiting list or directed to another source of support.   For further information please email studentwellbeing@hw.ac.uk.

The Student Coaching Service is part of Student Wellbeing Services.  

You may also be interested in the Coaching Lab which is the central point for coaching psychology and coaching research, teaching and practice at Heriot Watt University.

What is coaching?

Coaching helps you clarify what you would like to achieve and how you will work towards this, and can help you overcome challenges and stay focussed on achieving the goals you have set. Your coach will provide support and encouragement to help you reflect on the current situation, explore options and ways to overcome barriers so you can move forward.

What kind of things might coaching help me with?

It is up to you what you work on but some examples of things students bring to coaching include managing stress or anxiety, time management, building confidence, improving communication skills, public speaking and setting and achieving personal or university goals. Your coach will help you set your own outcomes and help you devise a plan that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be. 

Your coach will not advise or tell you what to do but rather will help you to identify the direction that is right for you.

How can I access the coaching service?

If you think coaching might be for you, email studentwellbeing@hw.ac.uk. We will offer you an initial appointment lasting around an hour to meet your coach and discuss how coaching can help you work towards any of your goals.  If you decide to go ahead with it, the number of sessions will be decided between you and your coach.

What is the difference between counselling and coaching?

Counselling is a therapeutic space where someone may explore any issue in their lives that is affecting them emotionally and psychologically. 

Coaching is different to counselling and offers a more structured and practical approach to life-planning, focusing on the present and helping you achieve your goals for the future.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality and information sharing will be discussed between you and your coach in your initial appointment.  Only if your coach has concerns about your immediate safety, or the safety of someone else will they share any relevant information with a third party, and this would be discussed with you at the time.

Your coach has completed an accredited training course and is a member of the Association for Coaching. At Heriot-Watt, our coaching practice is aligned to the AC Global Code of Ethics and good practice standards.

Student feedback

I found the coaching sessions and the visual prep documents very helpful towards achieving my goals. My coach helped me own the sessions so that I build tailored action plans. Now I am armed with a toolkit for achieving my goals. I wasn't sure what to expect coming into coaching when I signed up but then again, every person's intention/situation is different and ultimately YOU will mostly define your expected outcome with guidance from your coach."

My coach was very welcoming, friendly and open for any thought and worry. She listened, advised and helped me define own personal goals, work towards them and manage them. She helped me not only help myself, but belief in myself and be kinder to myself.

It is a perfect service if you've got a large issue to overcome, like anxiety whilst speaking, but it's also great for keeping you on track and getting better results from yourself.

My coach was very attentive and focused on my problems which provided good direction on how to achieve the goals I set myself.  I see how coaching is affecting my life in different aspects. Overall, I believe this is one of the best student support systems in Heriot-Watt and we, the students, are very glad to have this. I hope more students can make use of coaching.

The overall experience is very good, I felt cared and helped.

My coach provided a clear structure and asked questions that challenged me, helping me to arrive to answers for the issues that I was using coaching to address. She seems to always ask the right questions and gets your mindset on solutions instead of problems, helping you put into perspective how big of a problem your issue really is