Trauma-Informed Coaching & Mental Health & Wellbeing Consultancy in Carlisle, Cumbria & the North East
Empowering Resilience, Inspiring Growth
Helping professionals, caregivers, and organisations facing high-pressure demands reduce stress, anxiety and burnout and build resilience, sustainable wellbeing, and lasting performance.
We deliver evidence based, somatic trauma-informed coaching, stress management support, and CPD-accredited workplace wellbeing training to help people thrive.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Struggling with stress, anxiety, or trauma and not sure what kind of help you need? Learn the difference between counselling, therapy and coaching and find out which approach could best support your wellbeing.
Welcome to Strong Horizons
Founded by Sally MacDonald, trauma-informed coach, wellbeing practitioner, and former senior investigator with 28 years policing experience — Strong Horizons blends lived experience, neuroscience, and evidence-based practices to support professionals, caregivers, and organisations in navigating stress, burnout, and trauma.
Our mission is simple: to build sustainable resilience so you can thrive with confidence, calm, clarity and care.
Our Services
Designed to educate, empower and deliver practical evidence-based tools that support the mental health and wellbeing of professionals, caregivers, organisations and communities.
Our approach centres on in-person, trauma-informed 1:1 and group sessions, delivered locally in Carlisle and across Cumbria and the North East.
1:1 Trauma-Informed Coaching
Personalised support for professionals ready to move beyond cycles of stress, overwhelm or trauma — grounded in neuroscience, compassion, and practical strategies.
Corporate & public Sector Wellbeing Training & Workshops (CPD Accredited)
Training experiences that build trauma-informed awareness, psychological safety, and systemic wellbeing — designed for teams, leaders, and whole organisations.
Mental Health first aid Training: Trauma-Informed practitioner & awareness programmes
CPD - accredited courses that equip individuals and teams with clarity, confidence and tools to respond to mental health challenges with care, compassion and skill.
Community Wellbeing Events & Courses
Inclusive wellbeing events grounded in nervous system education and everyday tools to support emotional resilience and collective growth.
Safe & Sound protocol (sSP) for Nervous System Regulation
A groundbreaking auditory intervention based on Polyvagal Theory that supports nervous system regulation, emotional resilience and mental clarity.
Our Approach
Grounded in Science, Committed to Whole-Person Wellbeing
At Strong Horizons, we understand that our responses to pressure, stress, and adversity aren't about willpower — they're shaped by the nervous system.
That's why our approach blends neuroscience, psychology, and somatic practices with trauma-informed principles to help professionals, caregivers, and organisations in cultivating:
Resilience
Regulation and relational capacity
Cultures of safety and sustainable wellbeing
Whether you're navigating challenges personally or supporting a team, client group or community, we offer practical, evidence-based strategies that create lasting impact — empowering resilience, inspiring growth.
What it Means to Be Trauma-Informed
Being trauma-informed means understanding that trauma and chronic stress leave a lasting imprint on the nervous system - and that we need more than mindset shifts to truly reset and thrive.
Being trauma-informed supports real, sustainable change through:
Recognising signs of dysregulation - shutdown, burnout, reactivity, avoidance
Responding with clarity and compassion, and using evidence based tools
Replacing shame and judgement with understanding and strategic support
Creating the conditions for psychological safety, regulation, and long-term wellbeing
For organisations, trauma-informed practice means systemic, strategic support through:
Designing environments that foster trust, choice, and co-regulation
Supporting staff wellbeing, mental health support and reducing absenteesim, turnover, and conflict
Strengthening leadership and team cohesion through nervous system-informed strategies
Improving client, customer and community outcomes through more attuned, regulated professionals
Embedding the core principles of trauma-informed care: safety, trust, collaboration, empowerment, choice and cultural responsiveness
Our Method in Action
We draw on an integrated toolkit that bridges neuroscience, psychology, and somatic practice — supporting resilience, growth, and performance through a holistic brain, mind, and body approach, grounded in practical strategies.
Our Five Pillars of Practice
Nervous System Education
Understanding how stress, trauma, and burnout affect your mind and body — and how to support regulation from the inside out
Parts Work & Self-Leadership (IFS)
Explore your inner dynamic with clarity and compassion. This builds self-awareness and reduces internal conflict driving better decisions and relationships
Somatic & Embodied Practice
Move beyond talk-based insights with gentle body-based tools to shift state and restore calm
Co-Regulation & Psychological Safety
Whether at home or in teams, safety is the foundation of connection. We help individuals and groups build trust, co-regulation, and relational resilience
Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP)
A science-backed auditory intervention based on Polyvagal Theory. Support focus, emotional regulation and nervous system flexibility in both personal and professional settings.
The Benefits — For Individuals & Organisations
Individuals
Greater self-awareness and emotional regulation
Healthier boundaries and more fullfilling relationships
Improved energy, mental clarity and sleep quality
Increased capacity for joy, connection, and personal growth
More presence and resilience in caregiving and high-pressure environments
Organisations
Stronger leadership, collaboration, and team morale
Improved focus, productivity and employee wellbeing
Cultures of psychological safety, trust and resilience
Reduced burnout, absenteesim, and staff turnover
Better client, customer and community outcomes through more attuned and responsive teams
“We can’t lead, perform, or serve effectively when we’re caught in cycles of stress, overwhelm, or trauma.
A trauma-informed approach is the foundation for resilience — creating lasting impact, sustainable wellbeing, and meaningful growth.” — Strong Horizons
Why Being Trauma-Informed Matters
We are living and working in systems shaped by stress, pressure and — for many —unresolved trauma.
Being trauma-informed is not about therapy. It's about building a shared foundation for how we live, lead, and support one another. That foundation is grounded in:
Safety
Trust and transparency
Choice and collaboration
Empowerment and inclusion
Compassion and sustainable resilience
The cost of not being trauma-informed includes
Burnout, low morale, absenteeism, and high turnover
Miscommunication, conflict, and reactive dynamics
Unmet client, customer, or service user needs
Lost time, energy, innovation, and potential
A trauma-informed approach delivers
Improved mental health and emotional resilience
Stronger team culture and trauma-aware leadership
More attuned , effective service delivery and outcomes
A culture where people thrive — not just cope
"Trauma-informed practice isn't a specialist add-on — it's the new baseline for wellbeing, leadership, and systemic change"
Feeling overwhelmed?
Struggling with stress, anxiety, or trauma and not sure what kind of help you need? Learn the difference between counselling, therapy and coaching and find out which approach could best support your wellbeing.
Read our guide here
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