About Bee More You
Bee More You was created by husband and wife team Ronie and Stephen. We have been together for 30 years and have lived all over the UK in a variety of places including a shared mansion in Buckinghamshire, our own self built straw bale home in Wales, renovated a burnt-out narrowboat as a floating home and sweet shop in Staffordshire and lived on a small remote island in Orkney.
We are committed to making a difference to the world and have a long history of involvement in community groups and social enterprises. We believe in living a life that makes you happy, and as lifelong learners we have moved, trained, and tried a whole lot of fun things in our time - whilst raising four amazing kids and supporting each other.
Bee More You is the result of all of our experiences. We combine Stephen's community development and mental health nursing skills, with Ronie's psychology and coaching skills, and our own unique experiences managing wellbeing and creating a fulfilling life whilst juggling family, disability, and modern society.
Our principles
Embrace Diversity
Promote Self-Care
Encourage Growth
We believe in celebrating the uniqueness of every individual, embracing their differences, and creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respected.
We prioritize the importance of self-care and guide individuals in developing personalized practices that nurture their mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
We foster an environment that encourages personal growth and transformation, providing the necessary support and resources for individuals to thrive and reach their full potential.
We believe that any design for sustainable change benefits from keeping a focus on the permaculture ethics of earth care, people care, and fair share.
Sustain change
Meet the team
Hi I'm Ronie (short for Catriona - rhymes with pony) and I'm delighted to make your acquaintance :-) I am a multi passionate lifelong learner. I love change and new experiences. Combine the two, and you end up having amazing experiences - like teaching yourself to powerlift and competing or learning to roller skate and starting a roller derby team!
When I’m not feeling quite so adventurous I love reading (I always have a book on the go), making lists, 80s and 90's music, cheesy films, Christmas cracker jokes, prolific exclamation marks, getting super excited over fancy excel spreadsheets, and walking - especially if it includes a coffee stop!
I've always been fascinated by what makes people unique - how we tick. After leaving school I studied psychology with the Open University whilst raising my four kids and moving frequently. Over the years I've become a master at transitions and pivots, at new challenges and beginnings. I’ve learned the confidence and courage to say when something is no longer filling me up with passion and purpose. And how to discover and move on to the next growth opportunity.
It wasn’t always easy to jump into something new though. I remember vividly my first time of feeling stuck and miserable in a role that just didn’t fit. I was in my late 20's. Despite a very competitive process I'd got a job as a manager in the Inland Revenue. On the outside, I had it all, private health care, a great salary, good prospects, But inside I was miserable. I dragged myself to work every day with a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hid in the store cupboard and cried before returning to my desk. Every night I went home with no energy. no enthusiasm. no joy.
I’d love for this to be the point in my story where I found my passion and purpose and lived happily ever after – but it took a lot more life experience (try 20 years!) plenty of trial and error, and burnout before I got to where I am today. In this time I completed a masters in Applied Positive Psychology and a PhD in health behaviour change and health communication. I've trained in appreciative inquiry, designing behaviour change interventions, and mentoring. I'm an ICF accredited coach, and a member of the British Psychological Society divisions of coaching, and health psychology. I have a far deeper understanding of the challenges of managing wellbeing in today's modern society and I'm passionate about helping others to find their own unique solutions.
Ronie
Training, qualifications, and memberships: PhD health behaviour change and communication, MSc Applied Positive Psychology, BSc (hons) Psychology, ICF accredited wellbeing coach, Behaviour change intervention mapping, appreciative inquiry, associate fellow of the higher education academy, member of the British Psychological Society coaching and health psychology divisions.
Hello, I'm Stephen, I am happy to be a part of Bee More You and hope that by spending time on this which is something that excites and enthuses me I can become more me! I feel I've lived several lives, partly due to the diverse experiences and locations and partly due to living well over half my life with undiagnosed bipolar disorder and the chaos and creativity this has brought me and often others around me.
I've been a conservation worker with a degree in environmental science, a community gardener and food grower, and an activist working for positive social change and equality. I've roamed canals with a travelling sweetshop, set up and lived in intentional communities and co-ops and founded an award winning social enterprise tackling fuel poverty through installation of millions of pounds of wind turbines free at the point of use. I've also lived on an island in the middle of nowhere as a community development manager gaining a postgraduate diploma in developing low carbon communities as well as driving a forklift unloading supplies for the island at the dock!
The highs, lows and sometimes chaos of living with an undiagnosed mental health condition may have driven movement and change but at an often high cost destroying relationships and things I had worked hard to achieve. My own journey, learning about myself and what affects me has lead to the point where my condition is well managed has given me a desire and passion to help others. I studied for another degree and now work as a registered mental health nurse helping other people to achieve maximum wellbeing. With Bee more you I am combining all my skills and interests. I believe that this combination of self discovery, access to nature and community along with evidence based techniques can lead to increased resilience and mental wellbeing.
Stephen
Training, qualifications, and memberships: BSc Mental Health Nursing, BSc (hons) Environmental Science, PGdip Developing Low Carbon Communities, Registered Mental Health Nurse (NMC), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Values based leadership, Conflict resolution
We believe in an intersectional approach to supporting people. But what does that mean?
It means we work with you as a WHOLE person. We are all more than a label. We all have multiple dimensions to who we are. For example, some of Ronie's are female, bisexual, disabled, first generation academic, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, employee, manager, director, carer - and many more.
Diversity, Equity, and Social Responsibility
On a personal level we both have first hand experience of disability, as well as extensive experience supporting those with chronic health conditions and neurodivergence. We get the additional challenges faced by those who are part of the lived experience crew and love to tailor our support to meet your needs.
We have both supported people with diverse gender identities and sexualities and are completely comfortable with all permutations. We welcome people to bring their whole selves to Bee More You, and know that it is a safe and judgement free zone.
Over our adult lives we have always lived by a strong sense of social responsibility. This continues to shape who we are and how we work. In this business we are committed to making a difference, wherever we can. We have taken the ethical move pledge for honest ethical marketing. We are committed to planting a tree for every paid coaching session we deliver, and we provide pro-bono coaching to help those for whom finance is a barrier.
You may come to us because you know you want to make a change in one aspect of your life. but that doesn't mean we don't pay attention to the rest of it - because life is too gloriously messy to be pigeonholed into single facets.
Embrace your uniqueness,
Bee more you
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