I hesitate to say you need a coach — you have all the agency you need to make your life look the way you want it to. And frankly, I bristle when anyone says I need something.

BUT, that being said, I find it helpful to work with folks who can help me hold space for changes I want to make, but don’t quite know how to yet.

It can be thrilling to move into uncertainty, in every sense of the word, filled with excitement and fear. A coach can help you grow into that space and feel more safety moving into the unknown, because there’s someone to talk it out with, who can offer a different perspective.

I will also say, I have experienced a deep sense of acceptance and belonging in working with people who want to witness me as I am, not who I have been or who I need to be to keep the balls in the air. Who notice my progress and remind me of it, and who hold me accountable to the things I want most dearly in my life. I need those reminders, and maybe you do too. A coach can help here too.

To hold this kind of space for others is a deeply humbling and gratifying experience for me. It feels like a calling, to expand a person’s view of their own abilities and help them take steps towards realizing their most heartfelt goals. As Ram Dass says, we’re all just walking each other home.

Coaching has been called many things — being a thought partner, a provocateur, a cheerleader or champion.

I see my role as holding space in uncertainty and being with what arises for you. It’s my job to manage my nervous system and hold space for yours to grow as you decide what path forward feels inviting, delicious and true.

Together, we can craft a story + design practices that support your ability to find new possibilities that are uniquely your own.

That can mean having more capacity for discomfort, can mean quieting your inner critic or imposter, can mean more ease and pleasure and S P A C E in being able to name and pursue what you want from this big ol’ world we’ve found ourselves in.

It means being backed by a Mary Poppins with a big bag of tricks who has just the right tool for the job.

It means a good friend who can be with your dreams and wounds and yearnings that feel tender, unformed and unseen.

It’s being seen as a whole person, not just the parts you’ve been rewarded for until now.

Although the term “coach” has been in use in its current meaning since 1830, coaching has been thought of as a distinct industry since about the mid-nineties.

One distinction that was helpful for me in understanding the difference is that therapy helps people build capacity they may not yet have, whereas coaching helps you harness capacity you already possess.

A coach is less likely to focus on healing trauma as a specific goal, for example, although repatterning trauma responses within a specific realm (like work or relationships) may be part of their work.

An important additional distinction is that coaching is currently a self-regulating profession, whereas therapy is regulated in many countries around the world.

If you’re considering coaching, you may choose to work with a certified coach who has taken appropriate training.

You can also choose to work with a credentialed coach who is accredited by a governing body and is bound to uphold a Code of Ethics. (Hot tip: If you’re looking to use your workplace’s professional development budget to work with a coach, they will likely insist it’s with a credentialed coach.)

You might also just choose to work with a coach whose approach resonates with you, designations be damned! But this kind of stuff matters to me, so it might matter to you too.

I am a Certified Integral Coach® through New Ventures West, and I am currently in training to become credentialed with ICF, the largest self-regulating body for coaches in the world. That means I hold myself to the standards of both organizations. You can find the ICF Code of Ethics here.

I’m online, baby! I moved out to the suburbs as part of the great pandemic migration from cities. I love to welcome clients into the Zoom room of my home office.

That being said, I live in Kitchener/Waterloo, Canada and am often in Toronto. If we can meet up in person for coffee or a session, I’d love to make that work.

That is a-okay, my friend! Just drop me an email or let’s grab coffee and I’d be happy to help.