Liz Sorton » MNC Members Directory

Biographical Info

A coach and mentor for teenagers with over 20 years experience providing zoom weekly coaching sessions to children aged 10 upto university. Working in all areas of their lives from school work, routines, sleep, stress management, dealing with low mood, dealing with anger, low self esteem, friendship challenges, family changes – parents splitting up/stepfamilies and many other areas of their lives.

Providing 121 and group coaching in secondary schools in the boroughs of Enfield, Barnet, Haringey, Hackney and Islington.

Providing online youth mental health first aid courses for parents/carers and professionals working with aged 8-18. These skills can prevent a mental health issue getting worse and also skills to support in a crisis.

Testimonials – one to one coaching

Mum and M – I think X was in a bit of a cloud coming out of lockdowns, etc … and feeling really overwhelmed with the amount of school work she had outstanding and it was evident after speaking with yourself that she felt relieved and lighter …. she moved on to be able to make decisions as regards to her A-levels , doing her university application , planning for her summer , getting a new job … so thank you for giving her the nudge / focus necessary . Apart from her sleeping pattern ( not quite sorted ), it feels like she has found her pre-pandemic happy self again !

G (17) I began working with Liz after noticing that I was feeling very anxious as a result of school pressures. I was very guarded before Liz, and Liz allowed me to express myself and feel more comfortable. This had a knock-on effect, allowing me to open up to my parents about my anxiety and how it was affecting me. Liz’s sessions were extremely beneficial in helping me figure out how to manage my time and the high expectations I have for myself. Liz helped me become more self-aware and taught me useful coping strategies that I have incorporated into my daily routine, allowing me to deal with stressful situations better. Thank you, Liz.

Mum of E My daughter worked with Liz this Autumn as she was struggling with friendship issues and a poor sleep pattern. The sessions with Liz were very valuable for her to find ways of managing the issues she had, she appears to be coping much better at school and is more able to articulate her emotions and able to be calmer in stressful situations . Thank you Liz.

E (12) Liz helped me think up some very useful ideas to help me with my mental health. I have really appreciated her help. It was really good to talk to someone who seemed to understand what I was going through.

Mum of A and B (aged 10) As a coach myself I have a unique skill set as a parent, which sometimes means that I find myself unwittingly ‘working’ at home. Of course, actually what I needed was to be a Mum and not my children’s coach, and also for my home and time with my family to be my safe space to relax and recharge. So it was a huge relief to be able to talk to Liz about our concerns, and for her to take over the proverbial reins from there. I was back in the role of Mum and this made a huge difference to me, and to the children.

Our journey with Liz began with our son, who has in the past struggled to express his big feelings and once his twin sister had talked to him about the work he was doing with Liz, she asked if she could work with Liz too. You don’t have to be ‘broken’ or have anything ‘wrong’ with you to work with a coach, we are all perfect just as we are. However coaching is about raising awareness and connecting you back to your inner resources, which is a great skill to learn at any age and a huge gift to have the privilege of learning at a young age. Being able to give you child the gift of being able to take responsibility for their reality is huge and I would recommend it whole heartedly.

A (10) The sessions were fun and helped me with my anger and noticing when I was getting angry and making my fuse longer. Knowing what triggers me means I can leave the situation and know how to calm myself down. It also helped me understand how to be calm when people are triggering me.

Mum of G My daughter had expressed that she was feeling anxiety about her GCSE exams and Liz looked like she could help. My daughter had six sessions with Liz, she helped her with organisational techniques, ways of managing anxiety and general study methods. After the sessions, my daughter was relaxed and keen to try out the ideas she had been given. All in all, it was a very positive experience.

For school work/working with Kickstart work placements in and around North London or online

Music Inclusion Manager & Curriculum Music Teacher, Music Service, Music Hub Liz delivered a ‘Building Resilience and Keeping Strong Mental Health’ training session that everyone in our team could relate to in some way, so it was very useful for us all. Liz included some simple and practical ideas which was very helpful. At a particularly busy time of year, it was great to have some time to think about our own mental health and what can help us to relax, facilitated in a professional and supportive way by Liz. Thank you Liz for your well-organised and thought-provoking session.

Organisation who took on a team of 3 Kickstart work placements in 2021 (in their early 20’s) Liz provided my team of Kickstarters with tailored support throughout their 6 month program. One of Liz’s strengths is identifying needs and creative solutions for those needs. I very much enjoyed working with Liz on this project.

A mum of a 16 year old who had severe anxiety and was school refusing, completed an apprenticeship and got a job offer at her placement (16 year old – B) She liked you from the start and said you were the person she felt listened to her most and she’d got control over her life back. I think that’s what gave her the impetus. I’ve always known she is lovely and capable, it’s been getting her to believe it. I don’t know what you’ve done to support her, but her confidence is building all the time and she announced today that she didn’t feel sick for the first time when she got up for college, I couldn’t be happier.

YC careers adviser who provided careers guidance to young people referred onto the project (16 year old – B)  Oh wow! Excellent news, please send my congratulations for doing so well . That’s a really positive outcome. Thank you for all your help.

A Head of Year, A Head of Pastoral Care and an Attendance Officer at a Hertfordshire secondary school (16 year old – C)
– Your work with her was incredible before the meeting with you, myself and a colleague attended at X’s house, we did not imagine that she would sit any of her exams in school. It has been a complete turn-around for her
– A truly remarkable turnaround from where we were to what X has now achieved. Thank you very much for your work, it is very much appreciated.
– I am in complete agreement. A great result – thank you.

Assistant Head Teacher Inclusion, a secondary school, in Hertfordshire (15 year old pupil – A)
I believe that the work you have done with X has been the one thing that has made a positive difference over the last few months. I believe that through your robust yet sensitive approach you have succeeded where others have failed and at least got him into school to attend Maths and take his GCSE exam. Also, you have helped him to manage his anxiety and work towards more independence. Without you, he would not have successfully built up the confidence to gain a place at college. I have appreciated your viewpoint and contributions to the Team Around the Family meeting (TAF) – clear, concise and professional. Many thanks for your dedication and commitment.

Professional referring a young person who had been school refusing for 2 years (15 year old pupil – A)
I want to say you have done amazing work with X to help him get to where he is, he is clearly really proud of his achievements on NCS and I am sure your support really encouraged him to give that a go. He is looking forward to college which is fantastic news.

A Mum and Dad of 15 year old son who was school refusing and had chronic anxiety (15 year old pupil – A)   We would both like to say, that X has made huge progress and although he still has the occasional wobble, he seems to be turning a corner and looking forward not back. We believe that without your help and guidance with X, he would not have made the progress he has and we do appreciate all you have done with him as we know how difficult it can be, so thank you so much.

Online youth mental health first aid training

– I found the course so interesting and I have gained so much knowledge in mental health which I never had before, I now feel confident supporting, giving advice and helping people. It was also a reality check that there are lots of people around the world who are not okay and struggling on a day to day bases which was a big eye opener, I believe more people across the world should have this training and awareness to be able to look out for signs and symptoms to potentially save someone’s life.

– I thought the course was great. It had a mixture of practical activities, listening and discussing and independent learning. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. – Interesting and professional presentation, very important topics were discussed, good exercises and examples. The knowledge and skills I have gained in such a short space of time will help immensely in navigating the ups and downs of parenting teens and potentially in future volunteer roles. Thank you Ally and Liz for delivering such a brilliant course. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to friends and family.

– I absolutely loved this course it was so informative and engaging with lots of activities. Both Liz and Ally were very knowledgeable on the subjects and answered questions in a non-judgemental professional way. They both made the live sessions engaging by the way they spoke and presented the course which I feel is key to keep students interested and focused, so at no point was I bored or wanted it to end quicker. I am more confident in dealing with young people and spotting the signs of mental illness. Thank you so much for your hard work and effort that you put into the course.

– Liz and Ally’s energy was fantastic throughout. They were both knowledgeable and inspirational with lots of experience to draw from. The course was great, 4 x half days – this made it easy to stay focussed and engaged. The group size was perfect, 8 of us, enough for discussion and group work, but small enough that everyone had all of their questions answered. Thank you for a brilliant course both.

– Really well delivered, interesting, lots of information.

– The course was extremely informative and at just the right level for my work and volunteering roles. Spending the four days with the same group of people helped us to develop a good rapport and the break out room activities were really valuable.

– This was a very inclusive, thoughtfully planned course. I enjoyed every part of it. The instructors were always thoughtful and gave everyone equal opportunities in all parts of the learning. I never felt that anything was a silly question and came back feeling so much more confident in the areas of learning. I would have loved to have some sort of support group for all participants to join and continue sharing knowledge and thoughts after the course. Thank you both so much.

– I am better informed to recognise the signs and symptoms, the best ways to approach someone, listen to them, provide help and where to guide them to get the best support.

– A worthwhile course and community to be part of.

– I will definitely be recommending the course and them.

– I fully enjoyed learning and participating in this course, my instructors made a very warm space to learn and grow in.

– It was a very informative I learnt so much. – I would highly recommend this course for any parent, carer, youth worker or in-deed anyone who comes into contact with children ever!