About
Sarah Martha Murphy
MSc · EMCC Senior Practitioner
An intuitive, warm and compassionate coach who understands the modern female experience and the challenges it can bring. EMCC-accredited Senior Practitioner, based in Dubai and working online internationally.
Understanding the Person Behind the Goal
A decision about work can involve confidence, identity and expectations. Difficulty setting boundaries can affect both home and professional life. The goals women bring to coaching often connect with several parts of their lives.
I work with those connections while keeping your priorities at the centre. You bring your experience, strengths and knowledge of your own circumstances. My role is to help you think more deeply, recognise what may be holding you back and develop ways forward that feel right for you.
I believe meaningful progress comes from greater self-awareness, practical action and a more supportive relationship with yourself. Wellbeing is central to that work.
You Can Set the Brightest Goals and Still Feel Held Back
What I have learned from coaching hundreds of women is that you can set the biggest, brightest goals, but if your inner critic is undermining you it is unlikely you will reach them. Much of what holds us back sits below the surface, in the form of limiting beliefs.
The good news is that coaching is very good at this work: raising your awareness of those inner blocks, replacing them with beliefs that serve you, and using the science of motivation and goal setting to move you from a just-okay present towards a happier, more conscious and more fulfilling future.
A Background in Education and Human Development
Alongside one-to-one coaching, I develop self-paced programmes and resources. Across every setting, my work has centred on helping people learn, reflect and put new understanding into practice.
The Training Behind My Coaching
My coaching is grounded in postgraduate study, professional accreditation and continued learning. These inform how I understand the challenges you bring and the approaches we use together.
Master’s-Level Training in Psychology and Coaching
A dual master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from the University of East London — the study of wellbeing and strengths alongside the psychology of coaching and personal change.
It informs how we explore your thoughts, emotions, behaviour and circumstances, and how we connect that understanding with practical progress.
EMCC-Accredited Senior Practitioner
Professional coaching accreditation at Senior Practitioner level, distinct from an academic qualification or a certificate of course completion.
It sits alongside my education and more than a decade of coaching experience.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion
Further training in mindfulness, life coaching and self-compassion.
Depending on your goals, it informs work on noticing habitual reactions, responding to self-criticism and creating more space to choose how you act.
It doesn’t have to be difficult.
Client-Centred, Holistic and Practical
I consider the mental, emotional, physical, cultural and social factors that shape your life and wellbeing. My work is cognitive-behavioural and solution-focused, with a particular interest in emotional intelligence and helping you understand and harness your emotions.
You bring your experience, strengths and knowledge of your own circumstances. I bring a supportive space, thoughtful challenge and approaches informed by my training.
Space to Think More Deeply
We explore what is happening, what matters to you and the assumptions influencing your choices. My questions help you consider perspectives and possibilities you may not have seen.
Support and Thoughtful Challenge
I am warm and compassionate, and I will challenge your thinking when I believe it will help. We examine patterns such as perfectionism, people-pleasing or self-doubt with curiosity and honesty.
Practical Work Between Sessions
We connect insight with action. After each session, I send a personalised email recapping our work, sharing relevant resources and continuing the goal-setting process.
Progress We Review Together
We establish what you want to achieve and review your progress throughout the engagement. Pre- and post-engagement assessments support that reflection, alongside your feedback about what helped.
I’ve Been There
Like many of my clients, I have felt more at ease giving to and caring for others than prioritising my own wellbeing. I have been a people-pleaser and have been scared to speak up and use my voice. I have settled in jobs and relationships that did not fulfil me. I avoided conflict and lacked the assertiveness to stand up for myself when I needed to. I dreaded making decisions because I did not trust myself.
I have a lot in common with the women I coach, because I have faced many of the same questions. That is what led me to this work and what keeps me in it.
Based in Dubai and working with women internationally, I deliver coaching online with complete privacy, so we can work together wherever you are.
My passion is helping women make empowered decisions, live their best lives and not settle for less than they deserve. We each get to decide what that means — if we are brave enough to take the first step.
Help is there for you.