Life and wellness coaching

You are strong and capable, and you deserve to get the most from this short life. Invest in yourself with life and wellness coaching.

Whether you’re looking for clarity, thinking about a change, or dealing with change that’s been thrust upon you, I’ll help you connect to your core values, make sense of your life, and build plans to overcome obstacles and achieve your most important goals.

Picking the right coach matters. See this article about how to choose a good coach for you. You may also have workplace benefits you can use to pay for coaching.

Please set up a no-cost, no-obligation first conversation. Sometimes that one call is all you need. But if you want more, we’ll both know by the end of that call whether I’m the coach for you.

My areas of specialty

My coaching education and certification cover virtually every situation. The coaching skills and mastery of the process are much the same. That said, here are some of the areas I am especially effective:

• Disruptive life changes of any kind
• Personal direction, growth, and living an authentic life
• Career change and career planning
• Personal wellness, time management, and direction
• Family caregiver wellbeing
• Parenting gender-expansive teens and young adults
• Healthy relationships
• Powerful, clear communication

My approach

I got my coaching education at University of California, Davis and hold an ACC certification from the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

I use ICF techniques and coaching approaches, and I adhere to the ICF Code of Ethics. I also serve on the board of directors of my local ICF chapter. Some of the highlights of my personal approach within this framework are

• Strict confidentiality. Everything we discuss is confidential from my perspective. You can talk about it with anyone else, but I won’t.
• Curiosity and inquisitiveness. I am genuinely interested in you and your success. I ask the questions you never thought to ask yourself, challenge views you’ve never explored, and give you insights about yourself you might not be able to get on your own.
• Focus on your core values. You can’t be on the right path if you’re not aligned with your core values. And that means a deep exploration of who you are at your core, both in isolation and within the context of all your other relationships and context.
• Strengths-based approach. It’s better to live a life using your strengths than always trying to fight against your weaknesses. Your strengths will get you to your goals.
• Respectful of your autonomy. All of my rich life experiences have given me a rare wisdom and perspective, but you are you and your life is your life. You are strong and capable, and you deserve to make the most of this life.
• Keep it real, keep it fun. Humor can defuse tension and can shine a new light on difficult situations. I like to laugh with my clients, even about serious and profoundly difficult topics.

Read more about me and my background on my bio page.

Benefits of life coaching

Life coaching is a positive and upbeat way to improve your life, reach your full potential, and live the life you want. Here are some additional benefits of working with a certified coach:

• Increased self-awareness: Gain a deeper understanding of yourself and how you show up with others. Self-awareness leads to greater confidence, self-acceptance, clarity, and effectiveness.
• Improved decision-making: Develop better decision-making skills. Learn tools and techniques to dump the clutter and see clearer paths to your goals.
• Greater motivation and resilience: Get motivated and stay focused on your goals, even during the tough times.
• Enhanced relationships: Improve relationships with family, friends, and colleagues by learning where and how trust, vulnerability, and boundary-setting all make a difference.

For parents of gender-expansive kids

My oldest came out as transgender to her mother and me when she was a teen. She then went through three years of suicidal depression. She’s beyond that now and doing well as an independent young adult.

As a parent, I feel called to help other parents who are struggling with their kid’s gender identity and expression. I’ve helped several parents over the last few years, whether it was a single talk on the phone or a series of coffee meetings.

Every child and every situation is unique. My story is not your story. Your journey will be different from my journey, as your child’s journey is different from my child’s. I just want to help you find your way through it all… whether that’s with me, or through other resources I can point you to.

If you’re a parent of a gender expansive child, please grab an hour on my calendar, and we’ll just talk. If we want to keep talking, we’ll figure that out.