5 Questions with Pip Richardson

We’ve got a brand new series for you, we’re chatting to some of our favourite speakers about their businesses, the challenges they’ve faced and how they overcame them. All in five questions (sometimes more if we get over excited)

This time we’re speaking to Pip Richardson, founder of The Circle Line, an online self-development and therapy platform. She is a leadership coach, psychotherapist in training and was nominated as one of the top 20 ‘Women to Watch in 2020’ and shortlisted for the ‘Future Stars of Tech’ award for this innovative applied psychology platform. She is also an ex-lawyer and spent a decade in marketing & comms — so has a rich and varied well of experience to draw on.

What are your top tips for surviving burnout?

Firstly, don’t survive it: prevent it.

If you’ve reached burnout point then something in your life has got out of balance. It’s not good for us or the organisation we’re part of. We simply cannot do our best work, let alone sustain it, when working to the point of burnout. Our best work and those invaluable moments of insight, inspiration and creativity come when we have time and space. It is every-day problem-solving creativity that makes our work standout, that makes businesses survive and that gives us satisfaction. This does not come when we are at crisis point.

How can you spot the signs of burnout before they get too overwhelming?

Learn your patterns.

What do you do when you get stressed or overwhelmed? How do you behave? Where do your thoughts go?

We’re all different and we have different modes of “performing” in the world. We are social beings and work is rarely done in isolation — there is always a customer, a boss, or a client whose expectations we have to meet. As we strive to do so, sometimes we neglect to also meet our own needs and desires for our lives, both long and short-term.

We also all have different modes of “surviving” in the world. When the going gets tough, “survival mode” manifests in different ways in different people: some of us withdraw from others, some will go into workaholic overdrive, some will go into social mode with either excessive helping or excessive partying.

Learn to recognise what you do so you can restore more balance as early as possible.

What motivated you to start ‘The Circle Line’?

I basically realised how I’d got mental health all wrong. A close member of my family was hospitalised with psychological challenges when I was young and it affected me, them and our family profoundly. After that I thought mental illness was akin to a disease, something you either “had” or didn’t have. I had a lot to learn….

We all have an inner world. We all have thoughts, feelings and behaviours — that is what mental health is — and it’s a spectrum of intensity. What’s more, our health can fluctuate with life events. We go from thriving to coping to struggling — and perhaps to illness/crisis — and round again. Life events can be triggers for different states. As humans we all evolve and develop as we go through life, hopefully experiencing increasing periods of balance where we thrive. It’s perfectly normal. This is what mental health is — our inner world, and we all have one.

It struck me how poor understanding was (including my own) and that something needed to be done to change that — to raise awareness and provide affordable, accessible solutions. I grew increasingly unsupportive of the medical model of mental health and saw a need for a modern, humanistic private service. One that is good quality, trustworthy, and that puts you in charge of yourself and your mental health. I believe it’s so important that we get to know ourselves and develop our sense of self. It’s the basis for everything else in life.

And so The Circle Line was born.

What do you see are the benefits of therapy via video as opposed to in-person therapy?

I think it’s a personal choice. Both work. I believe in options and in letting the client lead how and when to talk to someone. And each can be right for different times in our life.

Therapy in-the-room is more up-close-and-personal. Obviously there is a physical dimension which comes into play. And body language and the senses are enhanced and become more obvious. The relationship could be seen as more intimate. This can be appealing and useful, or excruciating, depending on your perspective.

Therapy online is more accessible, more convenient, can be more affordable, and some of us feel safer in a location of our own choosing, perhaps at home. We may also open up more or more quickly online. For some, online is the only feasible option for practical reasons.

Ultimately, it’s up to you.

A lot of people struggle to get started in therapy, what advice would you give to people looking to start and what should they look for in a therapist?

If you’re looking to start I would encourage you not to stop! We talk when we are ready to, not before, and I would reassure anyone that with therapy you don’t have to do or say anything you don’t want to — ever. You go at your pace. You work on topics you choose. You do it in your own time. Ask as many questions as you want, and perhaps speak to people (online or in your circle) who have done it.

As for what to look for in a therapist… Firstly make sure they are qualified and accredited or that they state how far into their training they are. There are a lot of different levels of training out there so make sure you are comfortable with where they’re at. It takes a while to learn a subject really well — remember a degree takes 3 years. A counselling diploma takes either 2 years or 3 years, and to be a Psychotherapist takes 4 years formal training and personal therapy (which is crucial) — once you know that you can work back from there. Their method may or may not be important to you, though takes a bit of research and knowledge to assess. At The Circle Line we recognise it can feel like a minefield and so we help with all this. Without plugging our service too much (!), the profession is unfamiliar to most so that’s where using a service like ours is handy.

Secondly, consider if certain factors such as gender, age or nationality are important to you.

Then, when you speak with a prospective therapist for the first time notice how you feel with them. Also notice whether they give you advice or tell you what to do (in your life, rather than showing you techniques to manage your thoughts/feelings), or share details of their personal life — for good reasons trained therapists rarely do either. Trust takes time, but do you feel that you could come to trust them? And bear in mind that any discomfort you feel might come from you rather than them…

Mostly, I’d say — trust your instinct.

At the heart of therapy is learning to be ourselves and to trust ourselves. It’s a good place to start.

Explore more at: thecircleline.co.uk

If you want to find out more about Pip & The Circle Line, and keep up to date with when she’s teaching next. Check out them out on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and check out her instructor profile.