Welcome
HumanBelonging is a collaboration between coach-creatives Erin Goeres and Alex McIntyre.
We believe that a sense of belonging is the cornerstone of a thriving life.
We offer personal and professional development programmes that bring together creative practice and coaching principles to help individuals, groups, and organisations find new ways of connecting with those around them.
Collaboration, connection, community and creativity are at the heart of everything we do.
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Coaching is a conversation in which two or more people think deeply together with the aim of improving someone’s situation or experience. We offer individual and group coaching programmes to help you identify your unique needs and desires, and to craft ways of achieving them.
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We offer creative learning programmes for groups, organisations, and educational institutions. Our programmes support you to identify the communities that will help you thrive, and to cultivate a sense of belonging in both personal and professional settings.
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Drawing on our own creative practices and experience, we offer programmes and resources to help you integrate a reflective creative practice in your own life. These programmes use creativity to promote self-reflection, trust, and connection with other like-minded people.
WHY NOW?
We live in uncertain times. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, feelings of isolation, loneliness and disconnection have become increasingly common. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared loneliness to be a pressing global health concern that affects every facet of health, wellbeing and development. Dr Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, reminds us that:
Strong relationships are what matter most. They improve our health, enhance our performance, and enable us to rise above differences of opinion and ideology to come together and take on big challenges as a society…Human connection is the foundation on which we build everything else.
Together: Loneliness, Health, and What Happens When we Find Connection (London, 2020)
How do we Work?
We help individuals and organisations effect change through increased self-knowledge and a renewed sense of purpose. We draw on coaching principles and creative practices such as writing and visual art-making to explore what each person needs in terms of social connection. Everyone’s needs are unique, but we all require meaningful connection to thrive. We support clients to identify their own needs and desires, and to create new routes to belonging that are authentic to them.
Our programmes are grounded in the three dimensions of connection identified by neuroscientists and evolutionary psychologists: intimate or emotional connection (with close confidants or intimate partners), relational or social connection (friendships and companionship), and collective connection (being part of a community of others who share your interest and purpose). The lack of relationship in any one of these areas can make us feel lonely, but together, these three dimensions provide the full range of social connections we all need to thrive.
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For Individuals
We offer individual and group coaching programmes to help you identify your unique desires and needs, and how to achieve them in community with others.
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For Organisations
We offer bespoke in-person and online programmes that promote belonging and connection within the workplace.
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For Educators
We offer tailor-made workshops for educational settings focused on creating trust, safety and connection with those we teach and work with.