a joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe
Mikhail Csikszentnihalyi
Anthology Coaching started as a dreamy, jetlagged conversation in a Heathrow departure lounge in 2018 between its founders Caroline Duffy and Denise McGahan. As colleagues working on different client projects, they spent time together sharing their stories, dreams and challenges.
Denise McGahan was completing her MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and starting on the journey of writing her book ‘Anthology’ focusing on the core positive psychology concept of narrative identity. Caroline Duffy was heavily involved in creating impactful learning experiences for international talent programmes and so together, they began to explore what a compelling journey on identity development could look like.
The conversations built throughout the pandemic and various lockdown periods as they shared their transitions as women, mothers, wives and professionals over long walks in the Irish rain and a little bit of sunshine.
A recurring theme in the conversations was a passion for clients and their work as coaches. Both are deeply committed to supporting clients to create lasting and meaningful change. The idea of creating a safe space for people to come and explore their identity started to take shape. In October 2022 they ran the first coaching retreat.
Today, Anthology Coaching offers a range of services for its clients, all anchored in the area of narrative identity and ‘becoming yourself’.
Meet Denise
Denise is an executive coach and an author. With a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology, she works with an international client base, supporting leaders to make the impact they intend in ways that strengthen their confidence, wellbeing and life-satisfaction.
As a positive psychology practitioner, Denise’s special interest lies in identity development and she is the author of Anthology, a field guide to expanding potential and vitality in midlife. She helps people become themselves by exploring their purpose, strengths, values and passions and working with them to design a life that fully and wholeheartedly expresses their essential self. Clients value Denise’s ability to combine intuition, empathy and creativity to offer deep insights which bring clarity and focus. Her honesty and genuine commitment to her clients’ development create a safe space for exploration and experimentation.
Meet Caroline
Caroline is an Executive Coach, Team Coach and Facilitator. Her purpose is to support clients to access their core potential and flourish in all aspects of their life. To do this, she balances both warmth and edge to drive effective dialogue, resolution of difference and deepening of relationships.
Caroline considers the role of coach as a privilege and works hard to build trust between herself and her clients. Her approach is compassionate yet principled and practical. Above all it is grounded in reality. Caroline is particularly skilled in supporting clients to build their inner resilience and authenticity in this complex and dynamic world. She brings genuine warmth and edge to her work which has been described as a 'game changer'.
our philosophy
The Gender Issue
From years of working with clients in groups and one to one, we have learned that there are specific and different challenges both men and women encounter.
Our focus has always been on creating a safe space for reflection and learning. Conversations with men, women and those with other identities suggested that the vulnerability needed for deep reflection and learning may be more easily accessed with single gender programmes. For others the diversity and stimulation of a programme bringing both masculine and feminine energy would offer a more transformational learning environment.
Our philosophy is to honour people’s differences and offer pathways which reflect and support or respond to how they will learn best. In Anthology Coaching we want to have an inclusive conversation about gender and identity, contributing to a positive society that addresses and supports individuality.