Karen Pratt
Karen has been in the Learning and Development field for over 17 years. She lives in South Africa and works internationally, both face to face and virtually. She thrives on diversity and difference with a curiosity about noticing and honouring what is similar and what is different. She holds an unwavering belief in peoples’ potential - her delight is in partnering with people as they reconnect with who they are at their best. She brings a groundedness and calmness to professional relationships, inviting people to feel safe to be real.
Professional background:
Karen has worked in unusually varied professions over the past 40 years. She began her career in Medical Microbiology, specialising in research into antibiotic resistance mechanisms of microbes. She shifted into holistic health and specialised in infertility work - she worked in synergy with conventional medical practitioners and had the joy of celebrating with couples who were able to become parents after many years. Her interest in how people make meaning of who they are and what happens to them, led to her study of Transactional Analysis (TA) - a rigorous process of qualification stretching over 16 years. She has also studied Appreciative Inquiry - a powerful paradigm of working with people to connect with their inner strengths and live from those.
Qualifications:
• Diploma in Clinical Pathology and Microbiology
• Certified Transactional Analyst (education)
• Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (education)
• Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the ICF
• Diploma in Coach Supervision
• Coach trainer
• Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator, Coach and Trainer
Areas of work:
i) Personal Coach
Whether you are at a crossroads in your life, want to move into a different career, want more balance in your life, want to develop new leadership strategies and different ways of managing your team and running your business, Personal Coaching offers a powerful tool.
The initial contract might be for a behavioural change – but for this to be authentic and sustainable there will inevitably be a shift on the personal level. Within the power and safety of a co-created coaching relationship, I will both support and challenge you to notice outdated thinking, feelings and behaviours, and explore and develop new, life-giving patterns that will enable you to live your desired change.
“Being able to understand myself and why I think, act and choose in a certain way has been invaluable! Karen has enabled me to empower myself through gentle coaching which has been an eye opener and allowed me to free myself from fears and take the next leap towards my chosen path for success. I am simply amazed at how quickly the transformation occurred.”
Kirsten Foster
Head of Data & Insights and Account Director in Digital Media
ii) Supervisor
Partner with me in exploring who you are in your work. Discover what’s at your essence when you work with power and authenticity, and how you can connect with that in an ever expanding way. Honour yourself, your clients, their contexts and the profession of coaching in a co-created, safe space for reflection and transformational learning. Supervision is so much more than just checking if you are “doing it right.” Transformational learning in supervision accommodates both personal and professional learning. In partnership we can find different perspectives of who you are within you work. At the heart of how I work as a supervisor is the question once asked by Michael Carroll (2003) - “How may I join you in your
learning?” and “What might we discover together that we might not discover alone?”
“I have had the great pleasure of working with Karen as my Coach Supervisor for a number of years. This has enabled my reflection to deepen significantly over time, whilst providing substantial measures of support and development to me as a Coach. Not only has my coaching practice grown and deepened over time, but I have become increasingly grounded and stretched as a person. Karen has a unique ability to invite learning in such an ease-ful and gentle way. Her strong sense of presence and complete acceptance of where I am has released a capacity to move way beyond my comfort zone. I have the utmost respect and appreciation of Karen as a Coach Supervisor, a role model and a quality human.”
Denise Hunt, ACC
Denise Hunt Global
iii) Transactional Analysis Trainer
Transactional Analysis is a body of psychological tools that enable people to understand themselves and their styles of communication and connecting with others.
I am accredited by the International Transactional Analysis Association (ITAA) to train and supervise people from beginner level, to professional practitioner and also trainer and supervisor level. I am currently Co-Chair of the International Board of Certification.
For details of the professional training framework, see www.itaaworld.org
"Karen is the best TA trainer I could ask for. Not only is she patient, earnest and knowledgeable but she embodies the very essence of what it means to live mindfully in your Adult. Karen has guided me thoughtfully on my journey as a coach and workshop facilitator, creating a safe yet exciting environment for me to learn. She encourages me and provokes much reflection and awareness in a way that no other trainer has done before. Thank you Karen, I owe my passion for TA to you!"
Kirsten Melmed
Life Coach and Workshop Facilitator
iv) Coach Trainer
I have been part of the Trainer team with Coaching Development for the past 6 years. I am especially linked with Africa and India and at the moment train an ICF accredited programme - The Coaching Practitioner, that runs with participants from India and Africa - both face to face in each country and then a combined ongoing virtual group. The opportunity for people to learn about diversity, by training within a diverse group, is very powerful! For details see www.coachingdevelopment.com
"I felt truly privileged to be trained by Karen, who not only delivered the programme meticulously with exceptional eye for details but more importantly, role modelled every value associated with the TCP programme – she demonstrated trust & respect for each participant, practiced the core belief that every one of us is creative, resourceful and whole, built such a safe, transparent and authentic environment that not only facilitated self- awareness and rich learning but also triggered a transformative journey within. I would look forward to associating with Karen in any capacity in the future too, since I strongly believe that she can help me grow exponentially in this field and as a human being to achieve my mission in life."
Jaba Sen Menon
Independent Consultant & Former Head, Business & Marketing
Centum Learning Limited, New Delhi, India
v) Mentor Coach
I am trained as a Mentor Coach for ICF credentialing and work at both ACC and PCC level. I work with groups and individuals, helping coaches to integrate and demonstrate the ICF competencies.
“Karen is a powerful and insightful mentor coach. Using a variety of methods from listening to recordings of my coaching and engaging in meaningful discussions regarding my strengths and gaps, to facilitating conversations to unpack the meanings of and differences between ICF competencies, Karen played a huge role in my development and improvement as a coach, and still does! Mentoring sessions with Karen, always provided much food for thought and also provided me with the confidence to stretch myself and weave new elements into my coaching in order for me to remain true to all competencies.”
AJ Edge, ACC.
vi) Appreciative Inquiry Trainer
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a co-creative search for the best in people, their organizations, groups and communities.
I train on AI Facilitator and AI Coaching programmes. For details see www.the centerforappreciativeinquiry.com