Trauma-Informed Creative Coaching
What’s standing between you and your most creative life?
If your writing or artistic self is blocked by past wounds, chronic stress, or coping mechanisms that no longer benefit you, trauma-informed creative coaching might be for you! Let’s find out together in a free, 30-minute consultation.
3 Areas of Trauma-Informed Coaching
I work with clients to rediscover the creativity, strength, and insight that past challenges and wounds so often blind us to. No one can change the past, but through coaching, clients develop skills to reconnect with their desires, take action, and ultimately move toward what is most life-giving for them.
I offer coaching in three main areas, each with slightly different aims and outcomes.
Trauma-informed creative coaching
for writers, artists, and other creatives
Regain creative vitality and voice
Since 2013, I’ve been helping with fellow writers and creatives reconnect with their creative voice, set healthy goals and limits, and cultivate wholenss as they move forward in their work.
ESPECIALLY INTENDED FOR: Professional or semi-professional writers or artists whose present capacity has been limited by chronic stress, burnout, or past wounds.
General
trauma-informed coaching
for wholeness and healing
Actionable strategies to find balance and get unstuck
Since earning my trauma-informed coaching certification in 2021, I have worked with a growing number of clients as they identify challenges, gain insight into their needs and desires, and move towards meaningful outcomes.
ESPECIALLY INTENDED FOR: Individuals whose experience(s) of chronic stress, burnout, or past traumas have become obstacles to fully realizing their potential and desired goals in the present. Trauma-informed coaching assumes a baseline level of mental wellness and functioning, and is not a substitute for working with a therapist or licensed trauma specialist (e.g. therapist).
Trauma-informed coaching
for religious and spiritual healing
You’re not alone
Since 2021, I’ve walked alongside fellow survivors of spiritual trauma as they move away from high-control religious environments and recover spiritual expression and community that are safe and life-giving – whatever that looks like for each client. Although I am happy to work with survivors of any spiritual background, most of my work in this area has been with individuals coming from fundamentalist Evangelicalism, purity culture, Orthodox, and monastic contexts.
ESPECIALLY INTENDED FOR: Individuals who have experienced trauma in the context of religious expression or community in a way that now limits their capacity to engage religious/spiritual parts of themselves.
Disclaimer: I am a certified coach, not a licensed mental health professional. Trauma-informed coaching is not therapy. All forms of coaching assume a baseline level of mental wellness and functioning. Trauma-informed coaching is not intended for mental health crisis events. If you have questions about this distinction, or are unsure whether coaching is the best fit for you, I am happy to discuss this during our consultation.
Coaching FAQ
How did you start coaching?
I began working coaching other writers in 2013, as I approached the last few years of my PhD in European History.
At the time, I mainly worked with fellow graduate students and academics who desired added structure and accountability as they completed dissertations or monographs.
Gradually my clientele became more diversified. As I continued working with academics, I also started working with writers in a variety of genres. I increasingly noticed that even when trying to work on seemingly superficial aspects of the writing process (e.g. goal completion, time management), the elephant in the room was always the deeper emotional vulnerability of creative work, particularly for writers who had been through trauma or were writing about deeply distressing topics. This is part of what led me to seek training in the trauma-informed approach.
What prompted the shift to trauma-informed coaching?
A few years into coaching, I began to sense the need for added training and skill-building to better serve my clients. I was particularly intersted in learning how to maximize the writing experiences of people engaging difficult emotional and spiritual topics in their writing.
I had to put this desire on hold, however, for several years as I dealt with some traumas in my personal life. In doing so I began to recognize the importance of the trauma-informed approach.
Then the pandemic hit and took us all by storm. Somehow as I came out of the rubble of that era, I knew I wanted to learn more about trauma and how to help people who had experienced it – including myself. In 2021, I completed my trauma-informed coaching certification with the Moving the Human Spirit institue, which was truly a life-changing experience. It’s expanded and enriched my work with clients in ways I never through possible. Practicing the trauma-informed approach has also deepened my personal life and creative work tremendously.
What training and experience do you have in trauma-informed coaching?
Literally anyone can call themselves a coach, so I’m glad you’re curious!
I completed my trauma-informed coaching certification (TICB and TICC) in 2021 from Moving the Human Spirit, an ICF-accredited coaching training program based in Canada. I learned a lot from this program, but possibly the most valuable training I received was when/how to refer clients elsewhere when their needs exceed my level of training. As a coach, I’m not a licensed mental health professional, and I’m not afraid to connect folks with others when it’s necessary.
What about your group coaching programs?
I typically offer 1-3 group coaching programs each year on various topics. If you do not see an advertisement for a program at the top of this page, it means I’m not currently offering one. Connect on Instagram or subscribe to my Substack blog to receive updates and special offers on programs as they open up!
What happens during a consultation?
Well first, we start by asking the most intense questions possible! Just kidding. Consultations are pretty relaxed conversations. They last about 30 minutes. We will spend the first few minutes on some basic info-gathering questions (where you’re based geographically, how you heard about me, etc.). Then we’ll talk very generally about the challenges that led you to reach out and what you’d hope to gain from coaching. I’ll close by explaining how the process of trauma-informed coaching works and whether it seems like it would be a good fit for your circumstances. Consultations are a completely no-obligation chance for both of us to get a sense of whether working together would be a good fit!
How does scheduling coaching sessions work?
I have an automated booking system through my client portal on Honeybook. This means you simply sign up for your sessions through my calendar once we’ve gone through all your introductory paperwork.
My availability is typically M-Th 1:30-4:30 PM ET, and Friday mornings between 10AM and 12PM ET.
How long are coaching sessions?
Coaching sessions are a billable hour of 50 minutes.
Are pets allowed?
Pets are more than welcome to join us on the coaching call (my beagle Felix often pops his head in from time to time!). To respect the privacy of the coaching environment, however, human guests are asked to remain outside the room when you are in a coaching call.
Wondering about something in particular?
Let’s have a conversation!
Not ready for coaching yet?
Maybe you’re in the mood for personal reflection instead. Check out my free resource, 31 Journal Prompts for Healing and Wholeness.