I didn't always know how to make a living from what I was good at.
For a long time, helping others and building my practice were two separate worlds. On one side was the craft: listening, frameworks, tools, the relationship, the change. On the other was everything nobody really talks about in training: finding clients, setting your fees and explaining clearly what you do.
I was good at helping people. But I had to learn something else: stating my fees, explaining my work clearly, building on my own, and staying true to my way of working without copying loud sales recipes.
Nothing in my training had prepared me for that. The only answers I found came from the world of sales and advertising. Recipes I couldn't apply without feeling like someone else.
The turning point came when I understood that the same tools that help a client get past their blocks can also help a practitioner build their practice: understand what's in the way, build what's missing, take action without self-sabotage.
That's where the Psychology · Strategy · Action method came from.
Today I work with coaches, consultants, practitioners and therapists who are where I was. Excellent with their clients. Stuck on growing their own practice. Not to hand them ready-made recipes. To help them build something that truly fits who they are.
Psychology · Strategy · Action
Psychology
Understand what really holds you back. Not to judge yourself. So you can choose differently.
Strategy
Build what's missing. A positioning that fits you. A clear offer. Fees you own.
Action
Take action without self-sabotage. Call, propose, sell. Even when it's uncomfortable.
What this work rests on
20 years in the field
Professional coach for more than 20 years. Self-employed from day one.
Institut Merlin
Founder of the Institut Merlin, a coaching training centre.
Training
Master Coach. Trained in systemic therapy, CBT, ACT, NLP, sophrology and hypnosis.
Clients
More than 150 helping professionals supported.
Case study
Raphaëlle, 47. From exhaustion to clarity
A coach who changed careers 5 years ago. Excellent at her work. Unable to make a steady living from it.
Where she started
If you spend time in coaching Facebook groups or forums for independent practitioners, you've surely seen messages like these:
"I've done everything. The website, the ads, the marketing courses... and I still don't have regular clients."
"I work like crazy and at the end of the month I have nothing to show for it."
"I feel like I'm chasing something I never quite catch."
That was Raphaëlle. Word for word.
Five years after changing careers, her practice was a constant yo-yo. A few clients, then nothing. Back to a salaried job to pay the bills, then another attempt, then nothing again. She had invested in a website, run poorly targeted Facebook ads, bought online courses on marketing for coaches. A lot of money gone. Little to show for it.
And the few clients she did find, she had to carry. Rarely there, barely engaged, gone after two or three sessions. She ended her weeks drained, with that unpleasant feeling of paddling in every direction without really moving forward.
Her pricing? $70 a session, set by looking at what others charged and telling herself that raising it would cost her the few clients she had. And somewhere deep down, a fear she had never really said out loud: if I charge more, people will think I'm not a good person.
What was really in the way
On the surface, Raphaëlle had a client and income problem. But digging a little deeper, three things stood out.
First, she had never really allowed herself to see herself as a business owner. She was a practitioner. Running a business was a chore she put up with on the side, not something she could learn and master.
Second, her positioning was too vague to attract anyone in particular. She helped "people who want to feel better" - a promise so broad it spoke to no one. As a result, every dollar spent on visibility went nowhere.
And finally, her low fees attracted clients who weren't very committed. People who tried it out, cancelled, and left without really doing the work. Those clients got few results, which fed Raphaëlle's doubts about her own effectiveness. A well-established vicious circle.
Six months of work
The coaching ran over six months. And within the first three months, results started to show.
Month 1 - Psychology
Before touching anything else, we dug into what was really going on inside. Where did this fear of looking greedy come from? Why the confusion between "being affordable" and "being a good practitioner"? What had really been driving her pricing decisions for five years?
It wasn't logic. It was fear dressed up as generosity.
By the end of the first month, Raphaëlle could clearly see where her blocks came from. Not to blame herself. But to understand them and be able to choose differently.
Month 2 - Strategy
With that foundation in place, we worked on positioning. Who does she really help? With what specific problem? With what approach that is truly hers?
Within two weeks, something clicked. A positioning rooted in her real strengths, put in her future clients' own words. Not a slogan. A clear way of saying who she is and who she works for.
Right after, we restructured the offer. No more single sessions at $70. A program over several months, with real commitment on both sides, at a fee that reflected the change she made possible. New fee: $180 a session, within a $2,000 program.
Month 3 - Action
With her positioning in place and her fees owned, we moved on to real discovery calls. With the emotions that come with them - the discomfort of saying $180 when she charged $70 six months earlier. We worked on that live, not trying to erase the discomfort but to get through it without backing down.
The first clients at the new fee arrived in the third month. That's when the circle started turning the other way.
Months 4 to 6 - Consolidation
With the first commitments signed, the work turned to making it last. Refining the positioning through real-world contact. Handling the emotions when a prospective client says no. Building a sales routine that no longer depends on urgency or panic.
By the end of the six months, Raphaëlle not only had regular clients, but a method for finding new ones without starting from scratch every time.
What changed, concretely
Before
- $70 a session
- Clients who vanish after 2-3 sessions
- Average income per client: $200-300
From month 3 (in a 6-month program)
- $180 a session
- $2,000 commitments per program
- +300% average income per client
But what changed first, before the numbers, was the feel of the work. Committed clients who really put themselves into it. Visible results that build confidence. A practitioner who arrives at sessions wanting to be there rather than afraid of having to push.
The same circle - turning the other way.
What it shows
Raphaëlle's problem wasn't a lack of skill. It wasn't the market, the competition or the wrong platform.
It was a problem of seeing herself as a business owner. That's where we had to start. Not with tactics.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is your training and experience?
I trained in psychology, I'm also a Master Coach, and I've been practising for more than 20 years. I'm trained in systemic therapy, CBT, ACT, NLP, sophrology and hypnosis. I founded the Institut Merlin, a coaching training centre, and I've supported more than 150 helping professionals.
Why do you work with practitioners rather than companies?
For a long time I worked with both. But I realised that helping professionals live a unique paradox: they excel in the relationship with their clients, yet nobody prepared them to build their practice. This is the group I know best, because I went through exactly the same thing.
Are you a coach, a therapist or an entrepreneur?
All three. I started my career in France as a therapist and professional trainer. I then moved into coaching, and I've been self-employed for more than 20 years. I had to learn to build my practice without ready-made recipes, and with a deep dislike of pushy selling and loud, exaggerated marketing. Today I help other practitioners do the same, while staying true to the way they work with people.
You talk a lot about fear, money and fees. Why?
Because that's where people really get stuck. Most of the practitioners I work with already know what they're doing. What stops them is stating the price, the fear of looking greedy, the confusion between 'being affordable' and 'being a good person'. These blocks are psychological, not technical. And that is exactly my field.
Do you work with clients in other countries?
Yes. I work with practitioners in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and elsewhere. Depending on where you are, we meet in person and/or by video. We schedule sessions around your time zone.
You founded the Institut Merlin?
Yes. I founded the Institut Merlin, a high-standard coaching training centre. There I train skilled, demanding professionals who can practise this work seriously. And that work confirmed something valuable: what lets a practitioner live from their work isn't only talent. It's also a clear positioning, a well-structured offer, their relationship with money, and their ability to set a frame and take their place. That's where many practitioners get stuck. And that's exactly what I help with.
Is your approach compatible with my professional ethics?
Yes. The Psychology · Strategy · Action method is grounded in applied psychology and business development. It respects the ethical codes of the helping professions and never pushes aggressive sales techniques.
What is it actually like to work with you?
We start by understanding what is really holding you back. Then we build what's missing in your practice: positioning, offer, fees, financial plan. Finally, we take action without self-sabotage. No ready-made recipes. No sales pitch. Concrete work, sometimes uncomfortable, always adapted to your situation.
Want to talk about it?
A 30-minute conversation to take an honest look at your practice. No sales pitch. No commitment.