"Some seed was planted because I knew I had to be here," she said. "I decided I needed to train to teach mindfulness and did an online 12-week course and then a teacher-training course with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (who regularly hire Sharpham to host their own retreats). Then I came back and did a walking retreat and each time I loved it more. Then I realised I'd lost my heart to here! I even brought my family down to Devon. I wanted to be back on this landscape. I did a silent retreat and then the Coach House opened. I was there within the first 3 weeks!" She also did September retreat there too.
She realised she wanted to be a Coach House coordinator. "I knew I had to do this. I've never done anything like this before in my life."
So even though she is still working as a doctor in Brighton, and her husband and daughter live there, she re-organised her life to give a year's service at The Coach House.
"I think other GPs in my practice can see how valuable this is as a way of resourcing oneself and looking after patients," she said.
"I feel so grateful every day for Sharpham because it really did shift something," said Rachel.
"It opened a door to a new way of connectedness and dealing with challenges. As a GP, most of what you do is solving problems and learning not to solve problems but to sit with the problem is so powerful."
