Coaching with Chinese Medicine Mindset

I previously provided coaching services for staff at an organisation, where I observed their workshops and offered tailored advice to improve their facilitation skills. I recall one participant expressing a deep sense of satisfaction after a coaching session, saying she felt as though she had just seen a doctor.

For this group of practitioners, their skill levels varied, and each one faced unique challenges in facilitating drama workshops. I provided suggestions based on each individual's strengths and characteristics, which, in many ways, resembled diagnosing a patient! My approach was more akin to the mindset of Chinese Medicine – not only offering specific advice to address their immediate ‘symptoms’ but also helping them better understand the unique characteristics of their bodies, and how to build a stronger health foundation. I encouraged them to reflect on some key questions:

• What are your strengths and areas for growth as a facilitator?
• How do you perceive your students?
• What are your views on experiential learning?
• What kind of facilitator do you aspire to be?
• In each moment of facilitating a workshop, what were you thinking about?

Based on these reflections, I provided personalised advice, and tasks to further support their growth.

When someone invites you to observe their teaching in action—especially during difficult moments—it represents a profound level of trust. Seeing the ‘patient’ reflect deeply after the ‘diagnosis’ left me with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I had honoured their trust and expectations.

Since relocating to the UK, I’ve continued offering coaching through online support for Hong Kong-based applied theatre practitioners. Although this process has its challenges, it has been immensely rewarding. It brings me great satisfaction to know that, despite being abroad, I can still contribute to the development of Hong Kong's creative community.

Below are the outcomes of one coaching project I worked on. In collaboration with Tam Man-Ching, we conducted a small-scale Reflective Practice research, and shared the findings through two podcast series (spoken in Chinese):

[📻 Podcast] Reflective Practice Sharing ▹ [Flow] (2023)
Listen here

[📻 Podcast] Reflective Practice Sharing ▹ [Flow] (2024)
Listen here

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