Marie Morice is a Clinical Sexologist who qualified with the Animas Accredited Diploma in Transformative Coaching in 2022 and went on to complete a Clinical Sexology master-level course with SCU (Core Certified Sex Coach™ Training – Sex Coach U) in order to become a certified Sex Coach.
Marie has since started her own business, Lilith Your Life with the mission to help women navigate midlife sex and empower them to reconnect with their sexual selves, needs and desires. Marie is an advocate for sex-positivity and pleasure-based sexual health and believes that it all comes down to power, autonomy and agency. Her practice is flourishing and with many satisfied clients, her ambitious goal is to become the top online platform and app for women’s sexual pleasure and wellbeing, through educating, advocating and promoting sexual wellness to women and men in a safe, scientific and mainstream way. So, in her own words, “watch this space!”
What follows is a wholesome conversation with Marie about her coaching journey with Animas and beyond, into the world of Sex Coaching.
Where did your coaching journey begin?
“My friends and family have always said that I’m a good listener and so I thought, why not?” I worked in the sustainability, ESG and Sustainable Finance space for more than 25 years,
with and for global organisations in senior roles, including the UN. I noticed there was a huge gap in mental health, wellness and wellbeing in large corporations and realised what I was able to bring to that space. I found myself informally advising and coaching leaders on a regular basis and so I decided to train as a Transformative Life Coach with Animas to get the tools, structure and practice.”
“For me, coaching is a mindset. I talk about the coaching principles, which can be applied to
all areas of life: evidence-based, practical, positive, goal-oriented and future-focused. That’s
what I love about coaching and, specifically, the Wheel of Life. It’s a tool which enables clients
to decide which area of their life they want to focus on, transform and set goals for, including work, family, health and relationships.”
How did you decide to train with Animas?
“I liked the variety of the course, including philosophy, psychology and other disciplines which really appealed to me. I really wanted to capture the transformational aspects of what I was going through, or had just been through, and what I wanted to do for my clients. The ICF accreditation for the course gave me even more confidence in Animas as a training provider.”
What was your experience of the course?
“The course was actually a lot better than I anticipated, with small cohorts and a good combination between theory and coaching practice. I loved the peer coaching! The only thing I struggled with was trying to come up with new topics to be coached on but otherwise, I thought the technique and tools were brilliant.”
Did you encounter any challenges on the course?
“As someone who likes to be physically around people, as opposed to on a screen, I sometimes found the virtual classroom challenging in terms of creating intimacy and connection in the coaching relationship. I read recently that 80% of communication is nonverbal, such as body language which is easier to pick up on in person.”
“I also found the course to be more of a commitment than I expected, in terms of the amount of work and time required when working full-time alongside the course. I think it’s important to be really clear on what’s required before starting out on the coaching journey.”
How did you decide to become a Sex Coach?
“As my life coaching practice grew over time, I noticed an increasing number of my female
clients wanting to focus the coaching sessions on their relationships; specifically their intimacy and sex lives. It made a lot of sense: we set goals for all areas of our lives, but why not for our sex lives? I wanted to train and qualify to hold that space for my clients in a safe and knowledgeable way; the sex coaching industry is not yet regulated, so I was curious to see whether there were any certifications in clinical sexology and sex coaching out there.”
“As you can imagine, it’s not the most mainstream topic! I was very excited to discover Sex Coach U’s certified sex coaching program, a year-long clinical sexology master-level course with 750 hours of theory and practice, founded by the pioneer of sex coaching; Dr Patti Britton. I applied for the course and was thrilled to get through! The next year was hard work, but I loved every minute of it. It’s been another incredible chapter in my own transformational journey and one in which I’ve learnt SO much (and still continue to). I’m very proud to be an SCU grad.”
What do you enjoy most about your coaching?
“What I love about being a certified sex coach is that I get to work on topics that I’m truly
passionate about: sexual health, rights, justice and pleasure. I also focus on women, especially women in midlife (which covers a wide demographic, 40 to 65 years old) and can see the direct impact of my work every time I get the chance to help my clients reconnect with their own joy and pleasure – it’s an incredibly empowering experience, for both of us. To witness the transformation and the shift in energy is the most rewarding feeling.”
Who’s your biggest inspiration?
“Gillian Anderson from the Netflix show, Sex Education! This is a topic that is very close to my heart. I liked how a difficult topic was made so accessible for people. Being a coach is about holding a space for people to go and discover what they want to discover. To see this in action when it is happening is what keeps me going!”
What obstacles do you face as a Sex Coach?
“One of the strange things about sex is that it’s everywhere and on everyone’s mind and yet, it’s hard to have an open and mainstream conversation about it. It’s surrounded by
so much noise, so many myths and taboos. I see my work as debunking such myths by
providing sexual education to my clients as part of our sessions. I help them to focus on their
pleasure first, especially when they lose confidence in their midlife years. I also lend my
voice to advocacy on sexual health, rights and justice issues for the many women who don’t have the chance to access SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights).”
What’s next in your learning and development journey?
“I believe in the value of ongoing learning and development. Alongside completing my Masters in Clinical Sexology with the SCU, I’m a member of various industry associations including the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) which promotes and advocates for sexual health and sexual rights globally. At a more personal level, I see life as a series of deep experiences which transform us, so I’m constantly on the lookout for new challenges and experiences; I am currently preparing for an upcoming trip involving trekking in the desert!”
What are your future plans?
“As part of growing my business, I’ve just launched a podcast ‘Killing the Taboos’, I’ve written a book which just came out and my next steps might be to coach other coaches, for example divorce or menopause and corporate wellness coaches!” Marie’s book is a novel exploring female sexual desires, liberation and empowerment at midlife.
If Marie’s story has inspired you and you’re thinking about beginning a journey to become a transformative coach, you can learn more about our Accredited Diploma in Transformative Coaching on our course page.
