About us and our offer

Our coaching and consultancy team is comprised of experienced practitioners drawn from a variety of backgrounds including Allied Health Professionals, nursing, social work, community development and physical exercise. Our practitioners combine valuable experience from their respective professional backgrounds with a core set of values and competencies, which we have developed over more than 10 years. Known to us as the Thistle Approach, it is person centred and uses solution focused, strengths based 1-1 and group coaching. As the competencies do not belong within a particular profession this enables us to introduce the Thistle Approach as a unified approach across the spectrum of health and care professions and sectors. We also support peer volunteers to develop the same generic competencies so they can work as valued and competent team members in interdisciplinary teams.

Who consultancy, coaching and reflective practice is for

We are keen to work with those leaders from health, care and third sectors who meet the following criteria:

• Leadership commitment demonstrated by defined leadership contribution to whole systems change

• Named champion for change with permission to spend time on redesign

• Clearly defined outcomes for planned change

• Time allocated to attend training and reflective practice

• Demonstrated willingness, openness and curiosity to engage in a relationship with the development programme and the Thistle Practitioner.

• Commitment to emergent learning and development

Format

We are happy to start with a conversation that explores your best hopes and the outcomes you wish to achieve and the difference you wish to make. We will then agree how to support you on your change journey with key points to reflect. We can also help you decided how best to capture te change through your monitoring and evaluation process’. We can meet you online or face to face.

Interventions will then be tailored to the specific needs of each team or service and may include: web based general guidance on the principles and practices of rehabilitation and supported self-management; online learning modules; ‘Good Conversations’ training; facilitators training for Training Others in Personal Outcomes Approaches; Wellbeing Practitioner training; Lifestyle Management Course facilitator training; service redesign based on the principles underpinning House of Care; first Contact Practitioner Development; Reflective practice.

Outcomes

Through our coaching, consultancy and reflective practice we aim to help you achieve the following outcomes.  

• Support services within health and social care have greater capacity to provide rehabilitation and supported self-management.

• Health and social care practitioners are supported and resilient.

 Indicators for these outcomes:

• Practitioners can evidence an outcome focused conversation which includes: clear description of person’s outcomes; strengths; plan to progress toward outcomes; what the person can do for themselves, access to self-management supports, introduction to self-management knowledge and skills.

• Practitioners feel this is the right approach, it helps them develop in their role from fixer to facilitator, bringing together their expertise with the persons expertise to maximise health and wellbeing via rehabilitation and supported self-management.

• Practitioners are supported to reflect, learn, share, innovate, collaborate and build relationships, via ongoing training, reflective practice and development sessions.

• Practitioners support people to access support provided out-with the NHS, adopting a single point of access/request for assistance approach.