Coach Class
Coach Class is hosted by Dom Burch. He is a business coach and mentor. He interviews fellow coaches about their field of expertise, and inspirational leaders about what makes them tick, how they motivate themselves and others, and what it means to be authentic.
Coach Class
Understanding Anxiety With Ted Bradshaw: What No One Teaches You Early Enough
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In this episode of Coach Class, I sit down with Ted Bradshaw — cognitive behavioural therapist, coach, and educator — to explore the space where psychology meets coaching.
Ted shares his journey from being a nervous, anxious teenager to working in NHS mental health services, and how his early curiosity about people — combined with a love of problem-solving — led him into CBT. Along the way, he reflects on a simple but powerful question that still drives his work today:
why aren’t we taught the tools to understand our minds earlier in life?
The conversation explores:
- The relationship between therapy and coaching, and where the boundaries lie
- How CBT works in practice — combining empathy with structured thinking
- The role of thought patterns and self-beliefs in shaping behaviour
- Why understanding anxiety can make it feel less overwhelming and more manageable
Ted and I also discuss how our understanding of mental health has evolved:
- Previous generations often lacked the language to describe anxiety, sometimes appearing withdrawn rather than “anxious”
- Today, we’re better at naming mental health experiences, but still learning how to live with them
- The impact of Covid on young people, including increased worries around safety, germs, and social situations
A key theme throughout is Ted’s idea of helping people move from being the subject of their thoughts to observing them — a shift that can create space, perspective, and choice.
The episode also touches on:
- The importance of accessible, practical psychological tools
- How people learn differently — and why coaching and teaching need to adapt
- Ted’s growing body of work, including his Substack and podcast, Things I Want My Kids to Know, where he explores topics like social anxiety, panic attacks, and overthinking
Ultimately, this is a conversation about making sense of how we think and feel, and equipping ourselves — and the next generation — with the tools to navigate life with greater awareness and resilience.
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