Work with me
Time with me, one to one. No group to keep up with and no material to work through. Just the thing in front of you, and someone who has been there.
I am Jess Drayton, a separation coach based in Wellington. Some women find me while searching for a divorce coach, which is the same work under an older name.
In brief
Three ways to work with me, in the order most women use them. One to one sessions, starting with a free 25 minute conversation, then NZ$150 for one 60 minute session or NZ$450 for three. The self-guided online course at NZ$399. A live group coaching programme, with dates being scheduled.
Everything runs by phone or video, so where you live is not a barrier. Most clients are in New Zealand and Australia, and I work with women further afield as well. Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout.
Option one
Book what you need, when you need it. Nothing here locks you into a package you have to keep paying for.
Free25 minutes, one per person
A quiet conversation about where you are. No cost, no obligation and nothing to prepare. Phone or video, whichever suits.
You talk. I listen. Then I am honest about what might help, whether or not that is something I offer.
Book a free conversationNZ$15060 minutes
One hour on the thing in front of you. A conversation you are dreading, a decision you keep circling, a week that has gone sideways.
If something practical comes up, I send you a short written note on it afterwards, so we do not spend your hour on information.
Book it for this week if that is what you need. There is no commitment beyond the hour.
Book one sessionNZ$450Three 60 minute sessions
The same hour, three times, with a through line. Booking this books the first one, and I send you a link afterwards so you can put the other two in the diary yourself.
Inside the hour
You do not need to arrive with a clear question, and you do not need to have anything worked out. Holding the shape is my job. Yours is to talk.
First five minutes
I ask what has been happening, and what would make this hour worth it for you. I write your answer down, and we come back to it before we finish.
The next ten
You say it in whatever order it comes out. Most women have not said all of it out loud to anyone. Then I say it back to you, sorted into parts, and you tell me what I have wrong.
The middle
We choose the part that matters most this week and work on that one. Steadying yourself. The practical side. Your children. Or what comes next. Going deep on one is worth more than skimming all four.
If the practical side is loudest, we spend it on how things actually work and what to ask your lawyer. I explain the landscape. Advice about your own situation comes from a qualified family lawyer.
Last ten minutes
One thing you are doing this week. One thing you have permission to leave alone. One sentence to hold on to when it gets loud. Anything practical follows in a short written note from me.
How many
There is no right number and no minimum. This is the honest difference between them.
Best when something specific has landed. A letter you do not understand. A conversation happening on Saturday. A week that has gone sideways and you need to think straight by Friday.
We work on that one thing and you leave with a next step. You can book again whenever you want to, or not at all.
Most women who book once book for a reason, not a plan. That is a perfectly good way to use this.
Best when it is not one thing. When you are steadying yourself, sorting the practical side, holding your children through it and wondering who you are now, all at once.
We take them in order, because the order is what makes it possible. Steady first, so the practical decisions are made from a clear place. Practical next, so there is room to be present with your children. Then forward.
Two to three weeks between each one. The gap is where the work happens, and you arrive with something real to bring back. You book the second and third yourself, whenever suits.
You are not locked in either way. If you book one session and then want the through line, you can add the other two. Two to three weeks between sessions is where the work happens, so that is the rhythm I recommend.
Option two
Eight weeks of structured support you move through privately, at your own pace, in your own order. Nobody sees that you are taking it.
NZ$399One payment, ongoing access. Afterpay and Klarna available at checkout.
Option three
The same eight weeks of material, with weekly live online sessions I facilitate. Two hours a session, eight sessions in total, in a small group.
You get the course content, and the part a course cannot give you. Other women in the room who understand it without explanation.
The next cohort is being scheduled. Register your interest and I will let you know as soon as dates are confirmed.
You are not choosing once and for all, and a blend works well. Many women work through the course in their own time and book one to one sessions alongside it, so the material and their own situation move together.
What women say
Some were left independently on Trustpilot. Some were shared with me directly. All are quoted as written and used with permission.
“Jess is one of those people who makes you feel completely safe, heard, and supported from the moment you speak with her. Throughout my own separation journey, Jess was someone I could turn to when I felt overwhelmed, unsure, or simply needed guidance. What stands out most is her ability to empower rather than direct. Every conversation left me feeling lighter, clearer, and more supported.”
“She supported me through one of the hardest times in my life, and I’m so grateful for her. One of the biggest things that helped me was how she guided me to see things from a totally different angle. It really shifted my mindset and helped me move forward in a way I didn’t think I could at the time.”
“Jess is wonderful. Her calm wisdom is very helpful.”
“I found Jess incredibly supportive, understanding and, most importantly, non-judgmental.”
“Her support was unconditional. Watching her navigate the changes gave me the confidence to act.”
The first three were left on Trustpilot, an independent platform. You can read them in full there.
Common questions
You tell me where you are and I listen. Then I am honest about what might help. Sometimes that is something I offer and sometimes it is not.
There is no cost, no obligation and nothing to prepare. Phone or video, whichever suits you. One per person.
A counsellor works with your emotional health, and often with the past. A separation coach works with what happens next. Decisions, structure, co-parenting and practical steps, with enough emotional grounding to make those possible.
Coaching is not clinical care. Many women see a counsellor and work with a coach at the same time, and the two sit well together.
No. I explain how the process generally works here in plain English, so you understand the landscape and the vocabulary. I also help you prepare for conversations with your lawyer, which usually makes them shorter and cheaper.
Advice about your own situation must come from a qualified family lawyer.
The first five minutes set what you want from the hour. The next ten are yours, to put the whole load down without sorting it first. Then we choose the one part that matters most this week and work on that properly.
You finish with one thing you are doing, one thing you have permission to leave alone, and one sentence to hold on to. Anything practical follows in a short written note from me, so we do not spend your hour on information.
There is no set number. Some women book one session when something specific comes up, such as a letter they do not understand or a conversation happening on Saturday.
Others book three when it is not one thing. Those sit two to three weeks apart, because the gap between them is where a lot of the work actually happens.
Yes. Sessions run by phone or video, so where you live is not a barrier. Most of the women I work with are in New Zealand and Australia, and I work with women further afield as well.
Sessions are booked in New Zealand time and the booking page converts to your local time automatically.
Sessions are not refundable and there are no cancellations. You can reschedule with twenty four hours notice.
If you need to move a session inside twenty four hours, you get one exception, and you do not need to explain it. Life during separation does not give much notice, and I would rather build that in than ask you to account for a hard week.
The free conversation has no policy at all. Just cancel it so the time goes to someone else.
Yes. Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout across all three options, so you can spread the cost rather than paying it all at once.
Take the free guide and the free conversation. Both are genuinely free and neither leads anywhere you have not chosen. Money is tight for most women in the first year of separation, and I would rather you had something useful than nothing at all.
Yes, on your side of it. I cannot change how your former partner behaves and I will not pretend otherwise. What we can work on is the part you control.
That means how you communicate, what you put in writing, which battles are worth having, and how you hold a boundary without a fight every time. Many women find the arrangement settles once one person stops reacting, even when nothing else has changed.
I am not a mediator. If you need Family Dispute Resolution or a parenting order, that is a separate process, and I help you walk into it prepared rather than raw.
Twenty five minutes, free, phone or video. You do not need to have anything worked out first.
Not ready for that today? The free self-check takes about ten minutes and tells you which part of this is loudest right now.
This is support and coaching, not counselling, legal advice or crisis support. If you are in crisis right now, you can call or text 1737 free, any time.