From Mental Health Nurse to Burnout Coach: Finding Your Niche with Courage — with Julie Luscombe

About The Guest:Julie Luscombe is the founder of People Like Me Coaching and Training Consultancy and a certified burnout coach who's made Jersey her home base for supporting overwhelmed professionals.With three distinct careers behind her - mental health nursing in the NHS, public health strategy work, and senior education roles - Julie brings a unique perspective to coaching that's grounded in real-world experience with mental health, suicide prevention, and health inequalities.Her journey into coaching began during the pandemic when she used her holiday time and money to retrain as a professional coach, initially thinking it would be her "retirement plan." Four and a half years later, she's built a thriving practice specialising in burnout prevention and recovery.Julie's approach is refreshingly human - she's known locally as "the circle of control lady" and believes in creating valuable thinking space to unlock the resources and potential within her clients. Her professional qualifications include being a Certified Burnout Coach, Approved Physical Intelligence Coach, Accredited Action Learning Facilitator, and holding an MSc in Public Health plus a Professional Doctorate in Education.What sets Julie apart is her willingness to meet clients in their overwhelm rather than rushing them toward future goals - recognising that sometimes people need to settle their nervous system before they can think clearly about what comes next.About The Episode:What happens when a mental health nurse discovers coaching during a pandemic and decides to completely reimagine her career? In this powerful episode, host Melissa sits down with Julie Luscombe to explore her fascinating journey from the NHS to building a thriving coaching practice specialising in burnout prevention and recovery.Julie shares the raw truth about initially wanting to focus on "flourishing" but discovering her clients needed something different: support through overwhelm, stress, and burnout. This isn't just another coaching success story; it's an honest conversation about the courage required to meet clients where they are, even when that place feels darker than we'd prefer.If you're a coach struggling with boundaries, visibility, or wondering how to show up authentically with your clients, this episode is essential listening.In this episode, you’ll learn:Courage looks different for everyone - Sometimes it's taking a massive leap, sometimes it's the small daily steps. The key is moving at your own pace, not what others expect of you. Clients are already in the middle of something - Before we can focus on future goals, we often need to help clients settle their nervous system and find clarity in the here and now. The power of "me too" moments - Sharing appropriate parts of your story creates connection and helps clients realise they're not alone in their struggles. Self-employed coaches face unique burnout risks - The combination of helping profession work plus solopreneur challenges requires intentional self-care and boundary setting. Visibility requires ongoing courage - From the initial terror of posting on LinkedIn to saying yes to clients outside your comfort zone, building a practice means continuously choosing courage over comfort. Plot your restoration first - Julie's game-changing approach: look at your week and schedule what keeps you well BEFORE filling in work commitments. LinkedIn can be your conference - Think of social media as sharing breakout information at a giant conference rather than marketing yourself.  Saying yes can be as courageous as saying no - Sometimes imposter syndrome makes us say no to opportunities we're actually perfect for. Burnout recovery creates post-traumatic growth - Working in this "darker" space isn't depressing - it's incredibly rewarding to witness people's transformation. Go Deeper with The Courageous Coach ProgramIf these conversations are resonating, you might be ready to go deeper. The Courageous Coach program is designed for qualified coaches in the early years of building their independent practice. If you want to coach with more courage, clarity, and humanity and grow a business that truly reflects who you are, this is for you.You can find all the details here: https://www.melissahague.com/courageous-coaches Connect with MelissaCome and find Melissa on LinkedIn. Whether you have questions about the program, want to share what resonated from this episode, or just fancy a chat, she'd love to connect.Support the Podcast:Follow & Subscribe: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.Share with a fellow coach: Know someone who could use a little courage boost? Pass this episode on—courage is contagious, after all.Thanks again for listening. Until next time, stay curious, stay human and keep choosing courage.