Jules is a force of nature.
His enthusiasm and energy for recovery and helping people is awesome and infectious. His approach – combining his own abundant experience of recovery with a range of wisdom from an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary philosophies – saved my life. I am therefore delighted to contribute a few words of recommendation to endorse the fantastic coaching and counselling services that Jules offers.
I first met Jules five years ago during a time of personal crisis. Having experienced depression and problems with alcohol for years I’d finally reached breaking point. Trips to the Doctor; rounds of counselling; self-help books; obsessive exercise; anti-depressants hadn’t shifted it, whatever ‘it’ was (I’d carried a sense of ‘something’s not quite right with me’ for as long as I could remember). Confused and bewildered, I was drinking more and more to blot out my unbearable reality; I’d become lost in an internal wilderness, demoralised and hopeless.
In our first session Jules spoke truths that cut through the gloom and disillusionment. Drawing on personal experience (I later found out that he had navigated a similar crisis), Jules was quickly able to identify the nature of my malady and begin to introduce to me a solution that would transform my whole way of being. Initially, communicating in a very simple straightforward manner (it’s all I could handle at the time) Jules gave me simple directions I could follow, which when applied to my life had an immediate impact: miraculously the depression started to lift and Jules had my total confidence.
As I grew stronger, we started to look at my behaviours and thought patterns to identify faulty and self-defeating ideas and beliefs that were exacerbating my drinking and keeping me stuck. Our sessions were fun, therapeutic and interactive – the insight I received from Jules as we discussed how a new attitude and approach to living would produce different results was enlightening – and I’d leave the sessions feeling uplifted and hopeful.
He often communicates his insights with humour and navigates sensitive subjects with love, compassion and empathy. Whilst our time together was transformative, vitally the work we did together has given me the resources to live a contented sober life. I am now at peace with myself and with the world I live in. Jules remains an ally to this day and I check in from time to time when I need a refresher. I will be forever grateful that he showed me a way out.
Oxford Recovery Coach 