How Can I Help You?
Acknowledging that you need help and reaching out for it is powerful. And choosing someone to help you can be difficult. When it comes to seeking professional help with personal growth, often times people are drawn to therapy/counseling or life coaching. Finding the right service for you is the first step.
Therapy/counseling can be beneficial for individuals who are impaired by their mental health symptoms such as but not limited to anxiety, depression, mood instability, etc. and require assistance in processing emotional distress. There is much time focused on healing past wounds and learning coping skills to decrease the impairments in daily functioning caused by their mental health symptoms. Life coaching can be beneficial for individuals who are not experiencing impairments in daily functioning but are looking for a professional to help them with self-exploration, goal development and achievement, accountability, emotional support and guidance, motivation, and/or self-care.
Whatever path you decide is right for you, I often say that finding a good fit with a life coach or therapist is like finding a good pair of shoes. Sometimes you know right away that they are not a fit, sometimes the fit is just perfect from the beginning, and sometimes they work well for a while, but you have to upgrade them to stay moving forward. Sharing your journey is personal so choose someone deserving of this share.
While I am trained and licensed as a mental health therapist, my services conducted through this website are focused on life coaching only. Over the years of providing therapy services to my clients, I began noticing similar patterns coming up in our work together. It wasn’t always problems from the past but rather problems within the present such as lack of self-care and relaxation, poor self-esteem, lack of support, poor problem solving and goal planning, and lack of self-identity and life direction. Many weren’t struggling with mental health diagnoses, but just getting through life. I had been helping people with these issues for years and I had been there myself and had found my way out. As I continued to allow my now free soul to wander and explore, I was continuously pulled to the idea of being a life coach. My professional and personal journeys were finally aligning. I felt home and Wandering Soul Life Coaching was created.
If you’ve decided that life coaching is what you’re looking for, I may be a good coach for you. I pride myself on being a very open-minded, non-judgmental, and empathetic person. I am a strong ally and support for individuals of all genders, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and abilities. You can also view my personal story for more information about me. As a life coach, I use an integrative approach as each individual is unique, and to me, there is no “one size fits all” approach. I like to start off by learning more about you, your strengths, your dreams/goals, and any barriers that may be in the way. I am here to offer understanding, support, guidance, and a safe place for you to become who you want to be. As a life coach with a therapy background, I will utilize some therapeutic interventions to assist with relaxation, mindfulness, and self-care as taking care of you is the first step in reaching any goal. We will then work towards accomplishing your individualized goals by helping you to gain clarity, confidence, and courage to become more authentic and fearless. It is my goal to help you to succeed your own expectations. Below are my areas of expertise:
Boosting Self-Esteem and Lowering Self-Doubt
Do you find yourself experiencing name calling, shaming, or ridicule coming from within? Do you get defensive when confronted with insecurities? Do you feel too threatened by failure or judgment to pursue your wants and dreams? You are not alone. We are all our own worst critics, but we don’t have to be. Together we can explore the roots of these thoughts, learn how to catch and replace them with healthier thoughts, identify your positive traits and skills, and go from “I can’t” to “I can.”
Self-Exploration: Gaining Clarity, Confidence, and Courage To Be Authentically You
Have you ever caught yourself asking “Who am I?”, “What do I even enjoy?”, or “What’s my purpose?”? Or maybe you find yourself questioning your current life path. Sometimes life moves so quickly around us that we lose ourselves in living. We get stuck in our comfort zones or routines because they are safe and predictable. Often times, we just don’t realize that our thoughts and actions are the only things keeping us from being our authentic selves. Together we can explore your values, strengths, and interests, learn how to give yourself the time to explore your true self, tackle negative beliefs or thoughts that have you stuck, and gain the confidence to be your best self.
Work Life Balance: How to Tip the Scales Back to You
As researcher and author Brene Brown has said, “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.” Overworking has become ingrained into our society as a way to show our worth and value, but the cost is often times, our mental health and physical health. Maybe you’re finding yourself consistently working outside of scheduled hours, answering work emails when you’re spending time with family, or cancelling fun plans on the weekends to get “caught up” with some leftover work from the week. Together we can learn the importance of work/life balance, explore your personal values and how they shape your balance, learn ways to manage stress and increase self-care, and get some joy back into your life.
The Lost Art of Self-Care: Relaxation, Mindfulness, and Personal Fulfillment
Many of us are not taught how to take care of ourselves. Some of us may even feel guilty for taking time to prioritize doing things that are only for us. Maybe we know the benefits but blame outside forces for why we can’t: finances, lack of time, other responsibilities, etc. When it comes to care, we give it to others, but forget about ourselves. Not anymore. Together we can review the benefits of self-care, overcome the barriers, develop a self-care plan, learn new skills and techniques, and experience the joy of prioritizing you.
How to Handle Stress and Utilize Emotions
Stress is a natural physiological response. It is our body’s way of communicating that we do not feel as though we have the necessary resources needed to meet a real or perceived demand or challenge. When faced with chronic stress, we can suffer from physical, mental, and emotional concerns. Due to this, many of us find ourselves turning to unhealthy coping skills such as distraction, isolation, emotional eating, etc. because we just aren’t sure how else to manage. These same unhealthy coping skills are also often utilized to avoid dealing with life’s difficult emotions because let’s face it, who wants to feel “bad.” Together we can learn about the natural stress response, identify why all emotions are valuable, increase your ability to express your emotions and cope with stress in healthy ways, and gain confidence in your ability to accept and overcome any challenge or demand.
Life Transitions: What Do I Do Now?
Life throws us curveballs. Sometimes we’re able to hit them out of the park and other times we feel like we are only striking out. Perhaps the life change was expected such as graduating college, getting married, having children, being empty nested as your children gain independence, or maybe it was unexpected such as losing a job, getting a divorce, or moving far away from your supports. Whether the life change is viewed as positive or negative, change can be scary. Together we can work on learning the importance of change, exploring ways to adapt to change, identifying natural supports, and work on building the courage to embrace the new.
Effective Goal Planning and Problem Solving
You’ve identified a goal, but now what? Maybe you want to pursue higher education, start a new business, lose weight, or change your career path. Perhaps you’re in the process of making a change, but find yourself hitting a barrier that you just can’t break through. Whatever the goal, I can help. Together we can work on developing a goal plan, identifying and empowering the use of your skillset, increasing your passion and inspiration, learning tools and skills to effectively problem solve, and gaining the confidence to exceed your own expectations.
Healthy Relationships: Communication, Boundary Setting, and Increasing Openness
As humans, we have an inherent need for social interaction and relationships. Relationships offer us companionship, belonging, affection, support, and resources outside of our own. But relationships can be difficult and cause distress in our lives. Many individuals experience conflict with family members, friends, coworkers, or romantic partners, but do not know how to successfully resolve it. Sometimes it’s due to lack of effective communication, lack of boundary setting, fear of emotional vulnerability and intimacy, or other ineffective patterns that we have developed over time. Together we can discuss your relationship concerns, explore your interaction patterns, learn how to effectively communicate, set boundaries, and resolve conflict, and open yourself up to love and acceptance.
Promoting Healthful Living
Congratulations, you’ve decided that you are no longer willing to put your health and wellbeing on the backburner, but now where to begin? With all the information floating around out there regarding how to be healthy, we can find ourselves getting overwhelmed with all the options. Or perhaps you struggle with keeping yourself accountable because change takes time and who doesn’t just want a quick fix? Together we can identify your health goals, explore your relationships with food and physical activity, learn how relaxation and self-care promotes health and wellbeing, find fun ways to increase your physical activity, and focus on those non-scale victories as you reach your optimal wellness.
If I seem like a good fit for you, please don’t hesitate to contact me to ask questions or schedule a free 30 minute consultation. I’d love to partner with you on your journey. You don’t have to do it alone.