Who we are
Hi, I’m Brenda McCaskie, founder of It’s A Duck! Creative Coaching.
For over 20 years, I worked in retail banking, often supporting people in moments of deep stress and vulnerability. Alongside that career, I co-founded Support 2gether, a local charity providing education and peer support for families experiencing antenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety.
In 2016, I became an EMCC-accredited Mental Health & Wellbeing Coach, creating and delivering creative wellbeing programmes with community groups such as SureStarts, Care for Cancer, and other local organisations across Tyrone and beyond.
But despite years of helping others, nothing prepared me for my own turning point…
My story
It started subtly - moments of brain fog where my mind would suddenly go blank during work. Simple tasks I’d done for years became overwhelming. Anxiety crept in: a tight chest, racing thoughts, panic I couldn’t control. Every day I felt myself slipping further from the woman I once knew.
At 44, my manager gently mentioned the word perimenopause. I had only ever heard of menopause, and when I sought help, I was told I was “too young.” My blood tests came back “normal,” yet nothing about how I felt was normal.
That’s when It’s A Duck! was born.
The name comes from the saying: “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.”
If the symptoms are there, they’re real and women deserve to be heard, believed, and supported.
My Mission
To walk beside women who feel lost or invisible.
To cut through the confusion and the noise.
To help you find your voice, your strength, and your sparkle again.
Because I know what it’s like to lose yourself and I also know the joy of finding your way back.
Contact us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!