Crucial Difference Diploma in Coaching Supervision (September – December 2025)

PhD, MBA, BA (hons), FRSA, Author, Poet; Accredited Supervisor and Master Coach, Change-maker, facilitator, learning partner.

Louie is passionately involved in liberating human potential, drawing upon the natural processing dynamics of ‘Presence in Action’ and ‘Symmathesic Agency’ which pulse at the heart of all she does with individuals, groups and organisations.

These accessible approaches for catalysing personal and systemic change tap into diverse modes of exploration and expression that leverage all that makes us human. Deploying a fusion of poetic, visual, kinaesthetic, intellectual and performative modalities, Louie tickles out authentic human exchange, invoking those who engage to surface their personal and collective brilliance.

Louie’s work is grounded in her doctorate which epitomises the integration of deep personal and collective inquiry; emergent symmathesic professional practice; coherent philosophical and theoretical foundations, and a pioneering approach to academic research.

Her past roles include CEO, Board Trustee, Head of Corporate Performance & Development; visiting lecturer to undergraduate and post-graduate degrees.

She has contributed articles to both academic and practice-based journals e.g. Human Arenas, Cybernetics and Human Knowing, e-O&P Journal, Coaching Today, the3rdi magazine, and Book Chapters in Coaching Supervision Groups: Resourcing Practitioners (2021); Coaching Supervision: Advancing Practice, Changing Landscapes (2019); and The Collaboratory (2015); poetry anthology Attending, Responding, Becoming: An anthology of surprises beyond intention or design (2021) see Louie’s website.

Jo Birch has over 30 years’ experience as a psychotherapist, executive coach and educator. An accredited supervisor, Jo is currently the holder of the prestigious EMCC Global Supervision Award.

She remains an active contributor to the counselling, psychotherapy, coaching, and supervision communities — formerly Chair of BACP Coaching and board member of AoCS and EASC and regular volunteer with AC.

A regular journal contributor, Jo is editor of Routledge publications Coaching Supervision Groups: Resourcing Practitioners (2022) and co-editor Coaching Supervision: Advancing Practice, Changing Landscapes (2019) in the EMCC Mastery Series, and previously series editor of Thinking Global for Coaching Today.

As Director of Crucial Difference, she created an international team providing supervision training for coaches and supporting leadership development across the helping professions and beyond.

Also well-known for utilising person-centred creative approaches throughout her work, Jo initially studied with Liesl Silverstone and became one of a small group of accredited trainers. More recently her creativity has moved into photography and filmmaking which extend her personally and professionally. Currently she creates short films for people making a difference in the world; and is creating business portraits with people who hate being photographed!

Jo is committed to creating a more just and inclusive world. Having lived and worked in diverse innercity environments, she integrates multicultural learning into her work, delivering training in multiple languages (including English, Russian, and Chinese) and continually expanding her own cultural understanding through the study of Urdu, Spanish and more.