I am Sueda Ciftci.
Associate Coach Diploma — ICF Accredited Training Programme | EMCC EQA Foundation
I didn't come to coaching through a neat, linear path. I came to it through necessity, struggle, and eventually, profound transformation.
My professional foundation is in education and mathematics, subjects I love because they're about patterns, clarity, and problem-solving. I spent years teaching, tutoring, and mentoring because I genuinely love working with people and watching them discover their own capabilities. That passion for connection and growth has always been at my core.
That's when I truly discovered coaching.
I'd been familiar with mentoring; I'd done it for years. But coaching was different. Mentoring often meant guiding people toward answers I thought they needed. Coaching meant creating space for them to find their own answers. When I experienced that as a client myself, something fundamental shifted. It opened doors I didn't know existed. More importantly, it showed me the work I was meant to do.
What I bring to this work isn't theoretical, it's lived:
I understand burnout at its deepest level, not just the exhaustion, but the identity crisis that comes with it, the feeling of losing yourself completely.
I understand trauma and its impact on every aspect of life, including career. I've done the deep psychological work of healing, and I know how trauma shows up in our professional lives in ways we don't always recognise.
I understand the unique challenges of being multicultural in professional spaces: code-switching, questioning belonging, and the tension between honouring my roots and adapting.
I understand what it means to start over, to leave everything familiar behind and rebuild from nothing, to prove yourself again, to navigate systems that weren't designed with you in mind.
I understand redundancy and the profound impact of sudden job loss. I've worked with people going through it and seen how it shakes not just financial security, but a sense of self, purpose, and worth.
I understand the intersection of all these challenges because I've lived there myself.
My values aren't aspirational, but they're foundational:
Non-judgment. Respect. Compassion.Integrity. Authenticity. Equity. Mental health. Respect. These aren't just words. They're the principles I've had to rely on during my darkest moments, and they're what guide how I show up for my clients.
I believe in equity so deeply that for every paid coaching package, I provide free sessions to refugees and underserved communities. Because I know what it's like to need support and not know where to find it.
Why I Offer "Rise Sessions" to Refugees & Underserved Communities
For every paid coaching package, I offer a free session to refugees and underserved communities.
This is personal. When I arrived in the UK, I was overwhelmed by financial pressure, life commitments, and questions I didn't even know how to ask. If someone had simply created space for me to find clarity back then, so much struggle could have been avoided sooner.
I can't give that gift to my past self, but I can give it to others standing where I once stood. Everyone deserves support during life's hardest transitions — regardless of their ability to pay.