Child & Teen Mindset Coach
Adult Mind-Body NLP Coach & Clinical Hypnotherapist
I combine a background in education, child development and mind-body coaching to help build sustainable, lasting change. Sessions focus on recognising what's keeping you stuck before building more useful ways of thinking, feeling and responding. We work directly with thoughts, emotional responses and behavioural habits, so change carries into everyday life rather than staying in the room.
You can expect to leave with greater confidence, improved emotional regulation and a clearer sense of choice in situations that used to feel overwhelming - along with a better understanding of how unhelpful patterns form in the first place, and tools that empower you to continue moving in that direction once our sessions conclude.
- 4 Years as a Class Teacher in a leading London primary school
- Postgraduate Certificate in Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Wellbeing with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- Clinical Diploma and Master Practitioner Certificate in NLP, Coaching & Hypnotherapy
Hannah Drake
About Me
I grew up in London into a family with roots across the United States, Australia, Germany, Italy and Lebanon. At a young age, I felt a pull to connect with my grandparents' cultures and languages, and I went on to study Italian and German at university. Along the way, I also always loved working with children and young people - with various odd jobs and volunteering experiences that began to pull me in that direction, I decided to train as a Primary Class Teacher in 2020.
COVID had hit by then and I will always fondly remember running zoom lessons into children's bedrooms and living rooms, keeping spirits high with daily joke-sharing at (a very makeshift) morning registration, and how incredibly joyful it was once we were able to be back in the classroom again.
Then, after three years of teaching, I decided to deepen my training by embarking on a part-time introductory psychotherapy course with the Tavistock while continuing to work four days a week. This year was foundational - both in what I learned (across psychoanalytic, psychodynamic and systemic psychotherapy), and in my own life with an experience of a Long Covid diagnosis and needing to be signed off work for a few months.
By learning about the mind-body connection and how my nervous system had become stuck post-virally, causing my chronic symptoms, I found my way to the world and work of NLP and nervous system regulation and, shortly thereafter, recovered my health completely. This work fascinated me and, after returning to work and enjoying the remainder of the school year, I decided to step away from teaching to complete further training and qualifying to work with people in this way.
I believe that if we taught children and young people about our nervous system, our stress-response, psychoneuroimmunology and neuroplasticity in schools, we would all be better equipped to live a full, happy life. And this is now exactly how I work with clients - tapping into what we know about the brain, neuroplasticity and our emotional world to embed deep, long-term change.
How I Can Help
Support with:
- Feeling overwhelmed with schoolwork, expectations, or pressure
- Anxiety around performance or making mistakes
- General exam stress (from 7+ & 11+ to GCSEs and beyond)
- Difficulty starting or completing tasks (homework, revision, routines)
- Emotional shutdowns, irritability, or avoidance
- Different behaviour at home vs school
- Feeling "stuck" in patterns that repeat over time
- Friendship issues, bullying, changing schools
- General anxiety or low moods
- Overall motivation and learning engagement
- Low self-confidence or fear of failure
- School anxiety and avoidance
- Difficulty with emotional regulation, e.g. frustration or procrastination
Support with:
- Parenting a child experiencing anxiety or emotional difficulties
- Understanding your child's needs
- Supporting emotional regulation
- Improving communication
- Building confidence as a parent
- Not knowing how to help without escalating things
- Repeated conflict around school, emotions, or behaviour
- Feeling that strategies only work temporarily
Support with:
- Anxiety, stress and overwhelm
- Self-trust and self-esteem
- Identity and self-belief
- Chronic illness, chronic stress and burnout
- Emotional wellbeing and resilience
- Low confidence in specific areas of life or work
- Stress that feels constant or hard to regulate
- Overthinking, self-doubt, or emotional reactivity
- Mood swings
Education & Experience
- Master Practitioner in NLP, Coaching & Hypnotherapy; PPTI 2026, in progress
- Clinical Diploma in NLP, Coaching & Hypnotherapy; PPTI 2025/2026, in progress
- PGCert in Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Wellbeing (Distinction); Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust 2024/2025
- 4 years teaching experience in London primary education; Fox Primary School 2021-2025
- Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) 2020/2021
- PGCE in Primary Education with Mathematics Specialism; University of Roehampton with Fox Primary School 2020/2021
- BA (Hons) in Modern Languages & Cultures - Italian & German (First Class); Durham University 2016-2020
Work with me
If you'd like to explore whether this support is right for you or your child, I'd be glad to arrange a free initial consultation and I really look forward to speaking with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Coaching focuses on helping clients move forwards by developing practical strategies and building new ways of responding. Where difficulties require more intensive therapeutic or medical support, I will always recommend speaking with your GP or an appropriate mental health professional.
Parents or carers are invited to attend the first session. Remaining sessions are just with the child, but regular communication with parents or carers is provided.
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is a coaching approach that looks at the connection between our thoughts, language and behaviour, and how these patterns shape our emotional responses and everyday experiences.
I use NLP techniques alongside my training in education and child and family mental wellbeing to help clients understand unhelpful patterns and build more helpful ways of responding.
Every client is different and we'll discuss your goals during the initial consultation. 3-6 sessions are usually enough to create lasting change and address the pressing concerns.
I work online with adults and in person with children.
Sessions are charged at £120 per hour for children and young people and £90 per hour for adults. The higher rate for children and young people reflects additional time for parent or carer involvement outside of the session.
Some clients prefer to work in structured blocks of 3 or 6 sessions to support continuity and longer-term change. This can be discussed during the initial consultation.
Reduced-rate spaces for students and young adults are available where cost is a barrier, depending on capacity. This can also be discussed during the initial consultation.