Reviews

6 reviews (1 verified) (5.0)

June 20, 2022

Verified

Barbara is a very kind, helpful, cheerful, honest and informative. I enjoyed our conversation very much, it was very enlightening and deep. She is generous with her time, knowledge and experience. I wish her always happy, joy loving life.

Marwah Sultan

May 16, 2022

I was referred to Barbara by a friend who had her as a coach. She suggested a few options and I decided to go through the Positive Intelligence program with her. I found her very easy to work with. Thoughtful, intuitive and prepared. A very good listener. It’s been a few months since the program ended and the techniques are so well ingrained that I find myself still using them. I am much kinder to myself and easier on others

Susan Broad Kershaw - Writer

May 06, 2022

I finished my MFA after my daughter went off to college. I had spent years fantasizing about this stage of life, when all the time that stretched before me would be mine, alone. I would create all day, produce volumes of flash fiction and a stack of novels. But reality was a different story. Without the inherent structure of active parenthood or the deadlines of a rigorous academic program, I floundered. It was easy to lose sight of my goals—or put them on the back burner in the light of another’s perceived need—to get to the end of another day without having written a word and think, “Oh well… tomorrow.” After months of failed self-starting, I found Barbara through a friend who said she had helped another author friend get her professional career on track. Barbara helped me identify the ways I had been self-sabotaging, softening the blow by helping me understand that what might have been considered flaws had positive aspects as well, and teaching me to harness their power for my betterment. With Barbara’s guidance, I have established a writing routine that works for me, one that provides structure, accountability, and even a little socializing. And when the pesky self-saboteur pops up, I am likely to identify her quickly, and gently make more affirming choices—in both my professional and personal life. I am happy to say in the months since concluding my work with Barbara I have had short fiction accepted for publication and have made significant progress in the revision of a novel manuscript. And most importantly, I feel committed, focused, and more confident about pursuing a career in this new chapter of my life. I have enormous gratitude for the gifts Barbara brings to her coaching and wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone needing an assist in making their creative goals a priority.

Alicia Dekker, writer

May 03, 2022

When I signed on to work with Barbara Bell, I was a frustrated artist in my 60's, with a lot of family responsibilities that conflicted with my need to grow my art practice. Caring for my family was strangling my efforts to map out working time and secure showings of my work. I considered giving up art-making, but knew it would be like a dismemberment, and that I may never return to what I loved and needed in my life in order to be my authentic self. I had worked as a teacher for 30 years and raised two children, and was waiting for "my time", the time when I could wholeheartedly embrace my calling as an artist. I wanted, and felt an obligation to look after my aging parents (living about 150 kms away), whose dementia and immobility made them very needy. At the same time, my daughter, a recovering addict, had a baby and moved very close to us. Her need for counselling and baby-free time to meet her sobriety goals, made it seem impossible for me to carve out the time needed to work in my studio. I hoped that Barbara could help me through this impasse. She was immediately insightful about my frame of mind, offered me a framework for seeing the situation as a construct that could be altered with some gentle behavioral changes and a set of metaphors that represented the conflict. This helped me view the conflict in a more objective, reasonable way. I was able to see my thinking when faced with specific challenges to my time, instead of being mired in guilt and resentment. At the same time, Barbara was always aware and respectful of my "nonnegotiables", the things I didn't want to give up, so that I found ways to navigate the decision-making in which I had previously given in to everyone's needs but my own. Always, she reminded me of how much self-love I deserved, and she encouraged me in the practices of mindfulness that calmed the panic I felt in times when I said yes to myself and no to others. I still struggle, but have been able to claim enough time for myself to make work and engage in the business of securing showings, of which I have had a number in the past six months. I am grateful to Barbara for her loving guidance and the very helpful structure for identifying my self-sabotaging behaviours, which has allowed me to see choices where I once saw only necessities. She's helped me reclaim my "wild and precious life" and I am very confident in recommending her as a support for those needing a reset in their lives.

Heather Roy

April 29, 2022

Barbara Bell worked with me to hone my skills as a manager at a time that my organization was going through substantial change. She worked with me to recognize my strengths and to harness the passion I feel for my role, and the team I lead, into something more focused and supportive. She did so with compassion and great professionalism. I would work with Barbara again.

LH, Not-for-Profit Arts Director

April 08, 2022

Barbara is an extraordinary life coach. She has a deep understanding of others, huge compassion, and remarkable wisdom. Before coaching, I was less clear on exactly what I was trying to achieve in my professional life. I was trying to do too many things and not always focussing on the things that were most important to me. With Barbaras coaching, I was able to see my own behaviour much more clearly and as a result, I emerged happier, more relaxed, less stressed, more focussed, and better able to say yes to the things I wanted to pursue, including work and friendships, and no to the things that werent as relevant. My experience with Barbara was one of the most profoundly positive, helpful, and transformative experiences of my life.

Lindy Mechefske, Award-winning author.