As a transition & wellness coach, I guide individuals through significant life changes while focusing on their overall well-being. My approach starts with understanding each client's unique situation and goals, whether they are experiencing a career shift, moving to a new location, or undergoing a personal transformation.
Together, we create a personalized wellness plan that includes strategies for stress management, self-care, and maintaining a balanced lifestyle. I help clients set realistic goals and develop actionable steps to achieve them, ensuring they stay focused and motivated throughout their transition.
I understand that transitions can be challenging and stressful, so I offer a safe space for clients to express their fears, anxieties, and hopes. Through active listening and empathetic guidance, I help each client to find their own unique path to process their emotions and build resilience.
In a previous life I was a former Senior Executive & CEO for a software development business I started back in 1998. While I was the CEO of my company I had annual success building it from the ground-up while achieving revenue growth, profit, along side of recruiting and staff development with talented individuals. My past experience included a focus on technical industries including software development and wireless telecommunications.
As a trained coach, I can play a crucial role in helping each client process their own experience with alternative types of therapy like psychedelic and ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) to forge new beginnings in their lives. My role as a coach is to help clients build practical wellness strategies, such as mindfulness practices, regular exercise, and proper nutrition, to maintain their health and well-being.
I do not administer, nor am I a direct part of any client psychedelic or talk therapy sessions. Instead, I focus on supporting my clients before and after their therapy sessions to explore the positive space created by alternative therapies. The areas we explore in a coaching relationship are for growth, new beginnings and goal setting.
My ultimate goal is to empower each client to navigate their transition positively and turn challenges into opportunities to improve their overall well-being. I assist by helping clients create a holistic support system that enhances the benefits of alterative therapies, promotes their overall well-being, and helps them achieve lasting positive changes in their lives.
Administering psychedelic therapies is a specialized practice that requires specific training, qualifications, and adherence to regulatory guidelines. The professionals who can administer psychedelic therapies are licensed medical professionals such as:
The role of a coach is not to be a therapist, nor an advisor. Coaching focuses on facilitating personal and professional growth by helping people unlock their potential and achieve their goals through self-discovery and empowerment.
A coach is having an outside of the box trained professional asking questions and being curious to help you form your own answers and life journey. The goal is to be focused on the person and their experience with understanding and empathy. The purpose of a coach is to help guide individuals to overcome a challenge by finding deeper issues that are holding them back.
The role of an advisor is to provide expert guidance and recommendations to individuals or organizations based on their specialized knowledge and experience in a particular field. They help clients make informed decisions, develop strategies, and navigate complex issues to achieve their goals. Advisors often serve as trusted partners, offering insights and advice to support long-term success.
An advisory relationship is having an outside subject matter expert be there to assess issues and offer recommendations or solutions.
An on-going talk therapist helps their clients address and manage mental health issues, emotional challenges, and behavioral problems through various therapeutic techniques. They create a safe, confidential space for clients to explore their feelings, thoughts, and experiences, fostering self-awareness and personal growth.
Therapists provide support, coping strategies, and interventions to help clients overcome difficulties, improve their well-being, and achieve healthier, more fulfilling lives. They may specialize in areas such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis, or family therapy, tailoring their approach to the client's specific needs.
In 2023, after years of trying traditional therapy and medications, I knew I was stuck in a cycle of anxiety and depression that I couldn’t find a way out of. It was explained to me that my amygdala (the part of the brain that controls "fight or flight") was stuck in a negative cycle where I was constantly in a state of anxiety. My default mode 24/7 was to overthink or overreact to situations most people would describe as typical, normal, or common.
As someone who has explored various treatment options in the past, I chose ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) as an alternative form of therapy because of its rapid and profound effects on depression and anxiety. KAT offered a new approach that could quickly improve my mood and help me break free from negative thought patterns. The supportive and guided environment also allowed me to process deep-seated emotions and gain new insights into my mental health.
Through my journey of experiencing alternative therapy, my negative cycle has now been disrupted. I am no longer overthinking and worrying about things I cannot control. When things come at me that were once stressful, I now take the information in as neutral, and more often positive.
There is no magic wand to create wellness for an individual when they feel that dead-end. Many people start out on January 1 planning to lose weight by joining a gym only to find out they give up a week after they start their diet, exercise and/or wellness program. Sometimes a journey to improve mental wellness can have similar results.
In addition to working with a therapist and a licensed professional who administers a psychedelic, I discovered through my own journey there is an opportunity to embrace a path forward to form a better life by engaging a team of skilled individuals to create a holistic wellness plan.
As part of my experience with KAT I discovered the space where I did the most of my deep work was not during the psychedelic "ride". Ultimately, the deep work needed to done by me, for me and through me. My deep work occured in what I call the "in-between" space where I still had some of the psychedelic effects, but was cognitive enough to spend time processing things.
The "in-between" space included taking time to embrace the therapy and creating a path forward. While in my "in-between" space I chose to be mindful of the '(mind)set' and the 'setting' after each psychedelic sessions. Being mindful meant I spent time creating my intentions prior to my therapy, as well as building in the space and time as part of my life after each therapy session to get the most value out of it.
Most important for me, being mindful after the psychedelic effects wore off is where I set goals, as well as make adjustments around my overall health and wellness.
Whether through me or another wellness coach, I invite you to be curious about what you get to choose to be a part of your new journey when experiencing alternative therapies to find balance with your mental and overall wellness.
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