Better understand individual stress patterns and triggers.
Bernadette Dancy PhD
Registered Health Coach Specialising in Stress and Burnout
I support 'broken' people confused and overwhelmed by how they're feeling but ready to make changes to overcome and cope better with chronic stress or burnout.
My approach combines evidence-based stress education with health coaching, helping people understand their individual stressors, improve recovery and make confident, realistic changes to their health, work and lifestyle.
Dr Bernadette Dancy BSc, MSc, PhD, PGCHE
Evidence-based stress and burnout coaching with real life, human context.
Empowering You to Go Beyond Burnout
You may be functioning on the outside but feeling exhausted, overwhelmed or increasingly unlike yourself. I help you understand what is going on, what's contributing to your stress, how it is affecting your health and recovery, and what needs to change.
Together, we use evidence, coaching and, where appropriate, physiological information to move away from simply managing symptoms towards creating meaningful and sustainable change that allows you to feel more able to cope with life.
I help clients to:
Identify what may be interfering with recovery.
Make realistic changes to work, health and lifestyle.
Improve capacity to manage periods of high demand.
Feel more confident making decisions about their wellbeing.
About Me
Hi, I’m Bernadette Dancy
I'm a registered health coach and founder of Stress Ed. For more than 20 years, I’ve studied stress from different perspectives – initially through my PhD research and academic career in health and exercise science, and more recently through health coaching, lifestyle medicine and my work specialising in chronic stress and burnout.
My interest in this work is also personal. After experiencing burnout myself, I became increasingly interested in the gap between what we know scientifically about stress and the advice people are often given when they are struggling with it - How can we 'fix' what we don't understand?
Over the past decade, I’ve supported hundreds of people experiencing chronic stress and burnout. I particularly enjoy working with people who are used to being capable and getting on with things, but have reached a point where their usual strategies are no longer working and they're ready for change.
My coaching approach:
My approach is evidence-based, (once an academic, always an academic) but practical and collaborative. I don't give clients a generic list of things they should be doing to manage stress. Instead, we work together to understand what is happening in the context of their health, work, relationships, lifestyle and individual circumstances.
Where useful, I also incorporate physiological measures such as heart-rate variability (HRV) to help us understand patterns of stress and recovery.
Bernadette Dancy PhD
Founder & Director, Stress Ed.
PhD in Sport Psychology
MSc Preventive Cardiology / Lifestyle Medicine
BSc (Hons) Human Biology & Sport Science
Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education
UKIHCA Registered Health Coach
Former Senior Lecturer in Health & Exercise Science
Stress Management Coach & Educatorips
Work With Me
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or worse still, in a dark place but still appearing to function on the outside - let's talk.
Coaching is a partnership and collaboration so the first step is a short conversation where you can tell me what has been happening, what you would like support with and whether my approach is a good fit for what you need.
I only work with a limited number of clients, allowing them to have access to 1:1 sessions, email support and check ins as needed throughout an initial three-month coaching partnership.
When working with me, there is also no set number of sessions you’re expected to attend - coaching is designed around your needs and availability.
We will typically spread sessions across the three months so that we have regular opportunities to review how you're doing, interpret your stress and recovery data where appropriate, work through challenges and decide what needs your attention next.
Prefer to get in touch by email? I’d be happy to hear from you and answer any questions about working together bernadette@stress-ed.co.uk
What can I say about Bernie! In the first 6 sessions she had changed my whole way of dealing with stress. No stone was left unturned to create the correct plan for me. She makes everything easy to understand and implement. I haven’t felt so free of stress since I was a teenager. I cannot thank her enough and I’m really looking forward to continuing the journey. Cast any doubts aside, contact her and start your path to less stress and a better life. You deserve it!
- Colin, 2024
Whilst training for a marathon, I met Bernie who was delivering a talk about stress. At that time I had believed that training harder would yield results and pushed myself to the limits. I began to feel very fatigued and suffered amenorrhea. My mood was also low and I had trouble sleeping. It was at that point that I got in touch with Bernie for some help. Working with Bernie literally rebooted me and she honestly helped me get my life back in balance.
Bernie is a really good listener whose common sense approach and natural empathy make it very east to be open and accountable. Stress is so debilitating and choosing her expertise is one of the best things you can do for your health. I can recommend enlisting Bernie’s help if you are struggling and need some support to get things back on track.
- Carrie, 2018
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