Writing for The Psychologist, Dr Yi-Ling Lai explores how a cancer diagnosis can unsettle the roles, plans and sense of identity through which people understand themselves, and how coaching can offer space to explore what still matters.
The article is built around the Whole Health Coaching Framework developed and delivered by the Fountain Centre, an independent cancer support charity in Guildford. Its coaching programme sits at the heart of the piece, with the Centre’s patients, volunteer coaches and staff all sharing what made these conversations valuable, including simply being heard without being rushed, with the agenda led by the person being coached. It’s the Fountain Centre’s approach to care, and the culture it has built around that coaching, that gives the article its practical grounding.
It’s a thoughtful read for anyone working in integrative cancer care, and a good example of what a charity-led coaching service can offer alongside clinical treatment.
Read the full article: https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/finding-sense-self-when-living-cancer