Coaching for Personal Well-Being
& Professional Development
Why Coaching?
As you navigate your life, there is a lot to juggle, both in your personal and work life. Along the way, somehow, you have lost the clarity of purpose or meaning in your life or you are facing a difficult transition. You are struggling, uncertain, or confused about your relationships, finances, physical or mental health, family, parenting, spirituality, or any other important area of your life.
You don’t know why or when it happened, but you are unhappy with an aspect of your life, you feel unfulfilled, lack focus, can’t get organized, and can’t find the discipline to move forward. You are simply put – stuck.
While you could pursue a therapist, your intuition tells you to reach out for a different kind of support – the support of a Coach. But what’s the difference?
Why Work with A Coach (vs. a therapist?)
Coaches focus on your Strengths, Your Present, and Your Future
As your Coach, I will work with you to bolster what’s working well in your life. I will offer you an objective perspective, useful strategies for growth and change, accountability, and support to tackle your current personal growth or professional development focus.
Much like one might seek the support of a personal trainer to get into physical shape, one might seek the support of a Coach to focus on goal setting and develop strategies to improve personal, physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and professional well-being.
As your Coach, I will help you set meaningful goals and identify strategies for successful implementation. I can help you get unstuck, help you think outside the box. I can help you identify your passions, purpose, and unique skills. I can help you examine limiting beliefs and shift from a fixed-mindset to a growth-mindset.
An Important distinction – Therapists often focus on your past with a focus on your traumas, problems, and dilemmas. A therapist or mental health counselor can diagnose or treat mental health conditions. You would hire a therapist or mental health counselor to work through significant traumas experienced throughout your life. Going into therapy is a better choice for you if you have experienced a trauma or are suffering from old emotional wounds or traumatic issues from childhood. It might be beneficial to see a therapist before working with a Coach so that you can work on more significant mental health needs that Coaches do not typically address.
As your Coach, I will be fully present, deliberate, and invested in you and your growth.
I will help you move forward. I am steeped in the practices of Positive Psychology, skilled at asking insightful questions & creating connected relationships. I will help you take calculated risks, create a meaningful personal & work-life, and grow into your best self.
Let’s work together!
Contact me for a free 30-minute consultation.
My Path
From 1991 – 2015, I worked as a social worker in St. Paul Public Schools.
There, I was an innovator, initiating and designing programs to serve our most marginalized students. Primarily in middle and high school settings, I worked with LGBTQ youth, youth living in foster care, youth struggling with depression, youth in corrections, and youth struggling with emotional and behavioral challenges.
Innovation: LGBTQ Youth
In 1994, I designed and initiated Out For Equity, a school-based program serving LGBTQ youth and adults in St. Paul Public Schools. I am especially proud of my work to break the silence and invisibility of LGBT youth so long ago. There is still so much work to do in this area and I continue to train educators about how to create safe and supportive school environments for these youth.
Innovation: Poetry
In 1998, I fell in love with poetry and began to think about how to bring this new passion into my social work practice. I developed my own interest in group work, writing, poetry, and spoken word performance and initiated innovative ways to work with urban youth. I started an after-school writing program at Ramsey Jr. High in 2000. Later, I founded & facilitated Lexicon, a community poetry group for high school students at Lexington Branch Outreach Library in St. Paul from 2001-2004.
My own love of group work, poetry, journaling, and writing for emotional health led me to create The Poetry Lab (March 2004) for EBD students in St. Paul Public Schools. Under my leadership, the Poetry Lab has developed and transformed into The LAB, an arts and wellness-based program for youth with emotional/behavioral disorders in St. Paul Public Schools. I developed strong teams of VISTAs, Creative Arts Specialists, volunteers, guest artists, & social work interns to deliver exceptional services to youth.
The Poetry LAB: Enjoy this video from my work in St. Paul Public Schools when I was directing The (Poetry) LAB, and arts & wellness-based program of St. Paul Public Schools for middle school and high school students. Sadly, The LAB no longer exists in St. Paul Schools, but I continue to train others about how to implement writing circles modeled after The Poetry LAB model I developed in 2004. The Vimeo video found at this link is a video of a project we did with Jackson Elementary School during the 2009-10 school year.
If the video embed does not play, you can watch on Vimeo directly, by going to: https://vimeo.com/12809238
Let’s work together!
Think in Possibilities stands for the work of transformation and well-being: yours & for those you encounter in your work, relationships, community.
