Speaker: Caroline Milne , Cerified Menopause Coach and Licensed Menopause Champion , Unmenopaused
Caroline Milne : So the coaching diploma is giving me the opportunity to move from being a nurse, which I've been for the last 20 years, to supporting women with menopause, um, in a really practical way with the menopause plan.
What made you choose this menopause coaching diploma instead of other options?
Caroline Milne : I chose women of a certain stage coaching diploma because it was really great to have the opportunity to have a chat with Lauren before and really get into depth about what the course really involved. And for me in particular, it was the um permission that was. at the end of the coaching programme to use their signature menopause plan. Um, so for me, that was really important to have that, uh, ready deliverable, um, programme that really supported me. It was going to come with scripts and things that really would help me. Feel confident delivering something at the end and also that coaching, you know, experience, she talked about that we would be doing practise clients and things like that. So it felt really, really in depth. It was a much longer than a lot of the other courses that I'd seen online. Um, and had a lot of experts attached to it as well. So it felt like the information I'd be learning was really credible. It was also in line with another menopause, uh, champion training had done. So it felt really aligned with where I was, uh, with, uh, where I was going with my menopause, coaching and champion work. So the two worked really well together for me.
What specific challenge or uncertainty did you have before enrolling, and how has the training resolved that?
Caroline Milne : So having been a nurse for 20 years and um advising patients on how to help themselves, um, learning how to coach was something that felt quite uncertain for me. Um, and I was worried that I would not be able to develop that skill, how I would translate what I already have skill wise into coaching. And I found that the training, it was really good to really explain what coaching is, so I could really get my head around what I should and shouldn't be doing when I'm coaching somebody. Um, so that's been really, really helpful and something I was a little worried about. Um, it's still a learning curve. I'm still developing that skill, but I know what I'm trying to achieve, and I can, um, I can know when to sort of stop myself when I'm heading more into an advisory role, um, like I would have been in my nursing, um. Well that I was doing before. So that's been something that's been really helpful through the course. Um, getting that experience as well, practising was really, really helpful. So we did practise with each other on the course. We also experienced being coached ourselves and then we also took practise clients through who were, you know, aware that they were practise clients and that we were using scripts, which really, really helped me understand. How to pose questions, um, to the the client I was sitting with, to avoid giving my opinion to them, um, and allowing them to really sit with what they were, um, being asked and and come up with their own solutions.
How has this diploma changed your confidence, career, or business results so far?
Caroline Milne : So the coaching diploma is giving me the opportunity to move from being a nurse, which I've been for the last 20 years, to supporting women with menopause, um, in a really practical way with the menopause plan. So that's been really, really helpful to have that. Um, it's also given me the confidence to talk about menopause more, reach out to women. who may need support and offer that service to them so that they, um, know that there's an opportunity there for them to actually look at those things and address them in a supported way. Um, so it's been really, really great towards building a new business for myself, but also supporting women in my local community.
What surprised you most about the experience?
Caroline Milne : So what surprised me most about being on the coaching diploma was actually the um connection I made with the other women in the course. We had a lovely cohort of about, I think about 30 people. Um, and we've since stayed really well connected. We have a WhatsApp group and we have a conversation every month to support each other with this new venture because we're all on the same path, um. But in different ways, and it's, we've come from different backgrounds, and so being able to learn from each other, support each other, um, and cheer each other on, you know, when we have wins, uh, lift each other up when we're struggling. Um, it's been really, really helpful, um, so that that real, uh, community aspect of the course that comes with having that. Um, face to face online, weekly, uh, training really made a huge difference because we did build a really strong connection with each other over the time that we were on the course.
Who would you recommend this diploma to, and why?
Caroline Milne : So I would recommend this course to any woman who is passionate about delivering menopause, education and support to other women. But more specifically, I think if you are in a business where you can see that there's a need um for more understanding, more inclusion, um. In the way that they support women in the workplace. Um, also for nurses like myself, I think it's a really good addition to your role, um, or to use as I am I doing and actually transitioning into a new role altogether, but using my nurse. skills in the background. So there's loads and loads of opportunities of ways you could use it. You can use it for educational purposes, you could use it for 1 to 1 coaching type, uh, purposes or even small group coaching. There's lots of different ways I think you could use it. Um, but I think really it's about awareness, getting the information out there and explain to women that are ways that they can support themselves with some guidance, um. As well as going to see their practitioners in, uh, you know, health providers. So there's definitely room for this out there, and I think it's really beneficial to many, many people.
