About
Hi, I’m Sabrina. This is why I’m here…
I've been where you are.
After my Dad died during COVID, I did what a lot of capable, self-aware people do under that kind of pressure.
I found solutions. I organised tasks and logistics. I went to grief counselling. I learned just enough to steady myself.
And then I threw myself completely back into work.
From the outside, it looked like I was fine. New job. Full diary. Life back in motion. I told myself I was better. I’d dealt with it and moved forward with my life.
But I'd only patched myself up just enough to function again.
The grief hadn't really moved. It had gone underground. I was exhausted in ways that rest didn't touch. I stopped doing things I used to enjoy. I realised I was burning out but I couldn't understand why, because on paper I'd done all the “right” things.
What I hadn't faced was the hidden truth: I still missed my dad deeply. I still felt lonely in ways I didn't want to admit to. And I was avoiding the grief because I believed I should be over it by now.
The thing about people like us is we're brilliant at adapting. Almost too good.
We read the room. We get back on our feet. We keep going. Even if we sacrifice ourselves in the process.
But the bill comes due later when the surface fixes no longer work and numbness covers everything.
The moment things shifted
It wasn't a dramatic breakdown. Not the funeral, not the first anniversary.
It was the slow, unsettling realisation that the life I'd rebuilt still felt fragile. Like I was keeping it running by sheer force of will, not because it felt grounded or stable again.
The shift came during my Diploma in Art-Based Coaching. Months of exploring my creative side and finally being honest with myself through real expression.
I stopped trying to overthink my way out of it.
I started working with images, memory, mark-making, objects, collage and sensation - and something different became reachable. Not the tidy, managed version of my grief. The layer underneath.
The one I'd been protecting myself from.
What surfaced wasn't just the loss of my dad. It was the loss of a felt sense of being safe in the world. The future I thought I'd have. The version of myself that existed before everything changed and drifting from what I thought success meant.
I hadn't failed at recovery. I'd finally reached the layer of grief I'd been avoiding because it hurt too much.
And that's where the real peace of mind and body began.
Since then, I’ve had chronic health diagnoses and been let go from a financial services job I’d given everything for.
So I didn’t set out to do this work.
It grew from working with high-performers navigating burnout… and from my own experiences of loss and realising the life I’d built no longer fit.
Going through the motions?
Tried the obvious things?
Still feeling lost?
You're exactly who I support.
How I work: blending science, resilience and creativity
My approach sits at the intersection of three things: neuroscience and psychology, guided but flexible coaching and creative practice.
The science matters because loss, life disruptions and burnout aren't just emotional experiences. They show up in the nervous system, in our mindset and thoughts, in patterns of behaviour and energy.
Understanding what's actually happening in your brain and body makes it less frightening and more workable.
The guided but flexible coaching matters because if you’ve spent years trying to fix this alone, you don't need tools or hacks that work for others but not for you. You need a clear process that offers direction but still adapts to your personal situation.
And the creativity matters because hidden grief often sits below the reach of language. Talking helps. But working with images, objects, mark-making and sensation reaches the parts that logic keeps circling without ever quite landing on.
That's usually where things start to shift because you get to the areas you might struggle to find words to express.
“Sabrina is amazing and really helped me focus on my values when I was struggling to decide if a job was right for me. She helped me focus on the positives and understand what it is I value.”
- RC, Risk Manager, Financial ServicesWho is this for
I work with people who are capable and high-functioning, but struggling in a way they can't fully explain, often for longer than they'd like to admit.
You’re not in crisis as you’re still showing up for work or your business, for the people around you, for everyone who needs you.
But inside, something’s gone flat, numb, or empty, or like you’re watching your life happen to someone else.
You’ve tried to fix it. Therapy, books, mindfulness, the whole lot. Some of it helped at the edges. But none of it resolved the underlying emptiness, of feeling lost in life when you’ve ticked “all the right boxes.”
You might arrive when you’ve run out of explanations and need a better one. Or when you’re fed up of living on autopilot and want to enjoy the life you’ve worked so hard for and be present for what matters.
However you’ve arrived here, you know you can’t go on like this anymore.
You’re done because this can’t be what life is all about.
You're in the right place if:
You feel burned out (e.g. exhausted, irritable, lost confidence), but not only in a "working too hard" way. It’s something deeper and pervasive.
Your life looks fine on paper and you genuinely can't explain why it doesn't feel it.
You feel emotionally flat, disconnected, or like you're just going through the motions.
You've already done "the work" and self-improvement activities but something’s still unresolved.
You're self-aware enough to know something is going on. You just can't name it yet.
This might not be the right fit if:
You're looking for performance or productivity coaching i.e. how to achieve more, work smarter, optimise your output. That's not what this is.
You'd rather find a better coping strategy than look at what's actually driving the feeling.
You want to talk/rant about what's wrong but aren't ready to do anything differently.
You want a step-by-step plan to follow without looking at what's underneath.
You want someone to fix you rather than work alongside you. This approach takes honest engagement, not just showing up.
The experiences I support
What made you successful might now be holding you back.
You’re responsible, talented, hard-working, go over-and-above, did all the right things AND self-sacrificed to get to where you are.
But now you’re confused, frustrated and slightly scared about why it doesn't feel right anymore. High-functioning burnout doesn’t happen due to one issue. It often kicks in after losses and life disruptions have compounded over time.
Your precious resources aren’t replaced and it gets harder to keep performing at the level you need or want to.
You might be here because of the*:
Loss of a loved one: through death, anticipatory loss such as dementia or serious illness, or estrangement. Recent or years ago. The ripples don't follow a timeline.
Life transitions that brought losses with them: a relationship ending, a career shift, a health change, a version of your future that's no longer available.
Earlier losses that never got processed: a parent or caregiver who wasn't quite emotionally there, a childhood that required you to grow up fast, things you adapted to so quickly you never had the chance to grieve them.
These moments often show up as prolonged grief, burnout symptoms, or restlessness.
But underneath them is usually something deeper.
An identity rupture. This is a shift in how you see yourself and assumptions about the world now and in the future.
*This probably isn't the right fit if you're in acute mental health crisis. Please speak to your GP or a therapist in the first instance, or if you're looking for someone to just tell you what to do.
Background and training
I'm a Burnout and Resilience Coach based in London, working online with clients across the UK and internationally.
My academic background is in neuroscience and the psychology of mental health, so the approach I bring isn't borrowed from popular wellness culture or “neurobollox” (e.g. lizard brain or polyvagal theory? No thanks).
It's built on how the brain, body and nervous system actually respond to loss and grief, chronic stress, and ongoing emotional suppression.
Academic:
MSc Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health
BSc Neuroscience
Coaching and practice:
ADCT Diploma in Art-Based Coaching
IAFPD Accredited Advanced Diploma in Coaching
IAFPD Certificate in Psychological Coaching
IAFPD Certificate in Coaching
IAFPD Primary Certificate in Problem Focused Counselling, Coaching & Training
IAFPD Primary Certificate in Performance Management
IAFPD Primary Certificate in Stress Management
I’ve supported clients experiencing burnout and mental health difficulties through therapeutic coaching work with Rethink Mental Illness, one of the UK's leading mental health charities.
I also have a professional background in financial services, mining and not-for-profits, so I understand first-hand the particular difficulty of admitting something isn't working when you're expected to be the one that copes with it all.