A new life coaching business is launching in Macclesfield.

Aligned North will officially open for business on Tuesday, September 1.

It marks the start of a new journey for Victoria Taylor-Wright, who previously spent more than two decades working as a GP.

She said: "I'm over the moon to have made Aligned North a reality.

"I'm so excited to be back helping people as it's what I do best.

"I'm especially pleased to be able to offer in-person sessions as well as online as I know from my GP experience how much that benefits the conversation and allows people to feel properly heard.

"I hope to add another successful homegrown business to Macclesfield's portfolio."

After three years as a junior hospital doctor in Chester and the Wirral, Victoria worked as an NHS GP from 2001 to 2022 at Alderley Edge Medical Practice.

She then did two years as a health screening doctor and private GP at the Wilmslow Hospital.

Victoria also volunteered with Buxton Mountain Rescue Team from 2008 to 2018, with the name of her new business serving as a reference to this time.

After almost 26 years in medicine, Victoria decided to leave the world of medicine behind and retrain as a life coach.

She has now obtained a diploma in life coaching and is registered with both the General Medical Council and the Association for Coaching.

"I needed a new career that would fit around my family commitments so that I could work from home and set my own hours," Victoria said.

"Life coaching appealed as it is fundamentally what we are taught as GPs but never have the time to do.

"The whole ethos is client empowerment and the belief that with appropriate support, a structured model, skilled questioning and active listening, a client can formulate their own solution to whatever it is they need help with.

"Behavioural change sticks much better when it originates from within the person rather than when they are complying with advice or instruction.

"There is a real sense of joy seeing someone have a lightbulb moment during a session."

Aligned North is based at Victoria's home office in Macclesfield, with clients able to attend in-person or via Zoom.

Victoria's approach starts with a free 20-minute discovery call where clients can get to know her and decide if coaching is the right thing for them.

She said: "I don't give medical advice and it's not counselling so if I think your issues would be better served by another professional, I will gently suggest it to you."

After this, Victoria will arrange between one and six coaching sessions, each lasting 50 to 60 minutes.

Victoria continued: "Some people have a straightforward single issue that they just want help with such as a difficult conversation or important decision and one session may be enough.

"Other people working through bigger life transitions such as a career change, health transition or a relationship concern may want support over a longer period of time.

"There's no minimum number of sessions and it would be rare to need more than six but some people like ongoing support and that's fine too.

"We start each session setting a goal and work through a series of structured questions that create a manageable task list to go away and work on.

"One of the themes of my five-star feedback has been my ability to help break down big problems into manageable chunks, removing that sense of overwhelm."