How I Coach
My coaching work is all about healing through relationship/relatedness. I believe that you already have everything that you need to live a fulfilling, pleasure-centered, and meaningful life. I listen and relate in a way that draws out both your intention for yourself and that which gets in the way of your intention so that we can work with these forces in powerful ways.
I start each coaching session by asking what your intention is for the session, this allows us to settle into a framework for our time together. Often the intention relates to a larger change that you would like to see in your life/self. I will also say right here that this can be difficult and frustrating. For some people naming desires for the larger context of their life as well as hour-long sessions comes readily and easily. For others of us being asked so directly what we most want for ourselves can throw us off balance-possibly leading to confusion, disassociation, and even anger. All of this is entirely welcome and I am here to meet you and all of your feelings with love, warmth, and compassion.
When this difficulty arises in session, I slow down, moving at the speed of trust(1) is a core value in all of my work. We take as much time as we need to listen to the emotions, body sensations, and thoughts that come up with the inquiry into what it is that you most want for yourself. By allowing space for these spirits to roam while we observe we are able to receive their gifts. They can provide insight into the difficulty and ultimately help us get to know your intentions and desires for your life/self.
Once we have a better idea of what you most want for your life/self we explore what gets in the way of that for you. The goal here is not to find and knock down obstacles, rather it is to enter into a relationship with yourself and the forces (stories, traumas, emotions, limiting beliefs, survival styles, etc.) that have held you back. All of these are valuable sources of power that can be tapped and drawn up into your life/self so that you can cultivate that which you most want for yourself.
As we move forward in this exploration I utilize consent practice, you are always in control of which direction we take in session. Exploring what gets in the way of what you most want for yourself requires bravery and so it is of utmost importance to me that you feel safe enough in order to be brave. So we take the time that we need, I will frequently ask you to check in with your internal experience: thoughts, body sensations, emotions. In this way, our work together nurtures the relationship you have to yourself and your own experience. As you relate to yourself in a more compassionate and allowing way you strengthen your ability to move towards that which you truly want for yourself (your intention).
I want to emphasize how powerful and disruptive this work can be. Many of us have learned to think of ourselves as inherently bad, unworthy, and unable to have what we want and be who we want to be. We have learned this through complex relational trauma and cultural programming. We all have the power to reclaim our agency from these experiences and change the story of our lives by moving forward toward what we want for ourselves. This is how my work is centered on spiritual and creative recovery: we take loving and compassionate stock of where you have been and cultivate the power you need for creating the life you most want for yourself.
