About Mark Tapnack
Who this is for
This work is for people who are outwardly capable but inwardly under strain.
You may be:
• Carrying leadership responsibility in uncertain or demanding systems
• Facing burnout, difficult decisions, or a loss of meaning at work
• At a professional or personal crossroads where old certainties no longer hold
• Functioning well, but sensing something needs to be thought about rather than pushed through
Many of my clients are senior managers, partners, founders, clinicians, or professionals in mid-to-late career who do not want therapy, but do want depth and seriousness.
How I work
I offer confidential, reflective conversations that support clear thinking under pressure.
This is:
• Not therapy
• Not performance coaching
• Not motivational or solution-driven
Instead, the work creates space to think carefully about:
• Decision-making without guarantees
• Burnout, limits, and responsibility
• Authority, guilt, and expectation
• Meaning, work, and survival in uncertain times
The pace is deliberate. There are no formulas. The aim is not optimisation, but clarity, steadiness, and more liveable ways of carrying responsibility.
Ways of working with me
1:1 reflective coaching
Ongoing or time-limited work for individuals who want a confidential space to think about work, leadership, and life under pressure.
Sessions are typically 60–75 minutes and offered in structured blocks.
⸻
Small group programmes
I run occasional small groups (6–8 participants) for professionals and leaders, focused on thinking, meaning, and decision-making in uncertain conditions.
Groups run for a fixed period and offer a contained, serious space for shared reflection.
⸻
Organisational work
I occasionally work with organisations through:
• Short leadership programmes
• Workshops on burnout, decision-making, and authority
• Confidential coaching for senior staff
This work is selective and relationship-based.
About
My background includes postgraduate training in psychoanalytic theory and several years of clinical work in liaison psychiatry within the NHS, where I worked closely with professionals under acute psychological and organisational pressure.
I now work independently with individuals, groups, and organisations.
My approach is shaped by psychoanalytic and existential thinking, but expressed in plain language and grounded in real working lives. I work discreetly, carefully, and without diagnostic labels.
I am based in South Africa and work both locally and online.