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Iris Arenson-Fuller
Life Coach, Family Coach, Retirement Coach
My ideal client:- Someone of any age who feels that he or she is not making the most of a significant life stage change, such as handling loss of any kind, relationship changes, aging, widowhood.
About Me
Meaningful, satisfying, growth-producing relationships… That is what I have always been about, in my personal and professional life. I worked with adoptive families (my work for many years) in a heart-based, client-centered way when those were not just buzz words but were considered radical. I carry this ability over to working with my coaching clients of all ages and situations.
Clients find me deeply caring, down-to-earth and very practical, though I am also a very creative person. I have moved through and beyond a great deal in my life and am realistic, reflective and positive, but not overly sunny or artificial. I enjoy working with people who are honest, real and not caught up in fads. I am, however, open to the depth and breadth of human experiences and to people from all walks of life.
I have combined skills from my backgound in psychology, sociology and the arts, and my life credentials earned through young widowhood, raising a multi-cultural family, losing numerous loved ones, founding and operating a non-profit agency, and years as a caregiver familiar with chronic illness and dementia. I am an expert at starting over!!! These skills and tools and my creative but practical techniques have worked for me and work for my clients. I am both gentle and tough, simultaneously and that is pervasive in any and all work that clients and I do together. I don’t put up with time-wasting or destructive, self-defeating behaviors, but if and when people are truly ready to let go of those, I am there for them and they know how much I care and want to help them.
I believe that the work I do with each client must be tailored to what he or she needs and am not stuck in one method or approach. If you are willing to do the work it takes to change and to meet goals, I am someone you want to have on your team. Though this is serious business for most clients, we can also have fun while getting you the results you are hoping for.
Let's talk soon!
Reviews
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Iris has 11 reviews.
Iris is an insightful and compassionate person and an excellent life coach. She has been of great help to me through some very difficult times.
Ted Myers
Iris is very knowledgeable in her field, with an enormous amount of compassion and understanding for others. I highly recommend her. She has a heart of gold.
April Coburn-Viola
Iris was such a great resource for me when I was going through everything that followed placing my son for adoption....Iris was such a good listener. I felt like she genuinely cared about what I was going through, and helping me come out of it okay. She also checks in on me every so often now, months after our sessions have ended...We did exercises that really helped me see a future beyond my pain and grief...She was one of the major factors in my “recovery” this past spring, and I will always be thankful to her for this. Even the first time we talked on the phone I felt like she was interested and genuinely cared about me.
Julia D.
Iris is a deeply caring individual who is passionate about her work. She has high integrity, working with her clients is a labor of love for her and she is an expert in what she does.
Barbara Rezner, Esq.
I began working with Iris when I was struggling through new widowhood and feeling life would never be ok for me again. I worked with Iris for over 6 months. She helped me not only with my grief and with the insecurities I felt as a widow, but helped me to look at my past in relation to why I make the choices I often make. Iris worked with me on recognizing my inner strengths and building confidence in my own abilities...Iris has pushed me to use my own talents and creativity. As my circumstances and goals changed over time, Iris assisted me in shifting gears and focusing on my new challenges...I would suggest your contacting Iris and hiring her as soon as possible.
Diane R.
It was hard for me to decide if I needed a therapist or a life coach. Iris helped me figure that out first, informing me that she wanted the best possible kind of help tailored for me. I had lost my job, lost a close friend, had some new medical problems and was having trouble relating to my friends, who suddenly seemed superficial to me. Iris was there for me all the way. She was always interested in me and what I was thinking and feeling. She tuned in to the slightest changes in mood and tone. She was tough but caring. She refused to accept my excuses that I had gotten into the habit of giving. She demanded the best from me. I balked at first but started to get on board as we developed actions and plans. When I began to feel and see changes in my life, I started to get excited. I have a new job, am in a better state of mind. I am learning to live with my medical problems but better yet, I have pushed my limits with Iris' help and found avenues to meet some new friends who are much more in tune with who I am and with my lifestyle than the people I used to hang around with. Iris is not all about money either. She helped me find a way to make coaching fit my budget.
Amy C., VT
I think that Iris has an unusually heightened awareness and the ability to break thru "the forest" to see every single "tree". I hope I'm not being too cute
Carol C. New Milford, CT
There are very few people that I trust and respect enough to share my deepest and darkest feelings with so sharing isn’t exactly the easiest thing for me. Iris happens to be someone that I truly trust and respect and enough so that I’m able to let my guard down and actually open up and talk (which is RARE for me). From the first time that I met her I knew that she was a special person…Someone who can be trusted. She has a unique quality about her that makes it easy for people to open up to her and let her see the rawest part of them…That’s a GIFT! I open up to her for many reasons. I trust her logic and perspective, she's level headed, understands and empathize with the struggles that I’m going through, is easy to talk to, I TRUST and VALUE her thoughts, comments, opinions and ability to help me examine my beliefs and actions. Most importantly, I know that no matter what she'll be honest with me and won’t necessarily tell me what I want to hear, but rather what I need to hear.
L.D.-CT
Iris taught me a lot about coaching and how important it is to ask the right questions. My goal was to do more with my coaching business and I achieved that by the time our 12 weeks of sessions were done. I will remember to focus more. I will build on the coaching skills I learned. Iris seems like a very experienced coach with years of experience. She has the ability to encourage and make you jump out of the box. I like that and I need that.
Felicia Hailey, Cedar Hil1, TX
I am a gay male and lost my partner to AIDS some years ago. I want to find a new relationship but am still sick with grief and afraid. Someone I work with told me about Coach Iris. I was skeptical at first about her ability to help a gay person since she is not gay, but boy, was I wrong. She is so open and such a “possibilities person”, as she describes herself. She is very right about that and has helped me to see so many new possibilities in life. I am so pleased at the progress in my life and with my new goals and accomplishments. Thank you, Iris!
Axel B.
Divorce stinks! I thought it was what I wanted and needed when the marriage was falling apart. I thought that my life would miraculously fall into place as soon as it was final. Boy, that didn't happen. I felt lost, like a failure and plenty scared. Iris quickly helped me recognize my grief. She gave me some tools to begin to deal with it. I had lost my sense of self too. She helped me find what I was made of that was good, and that was still working. We kind of rebuilt me together. It was like rehab, one step at a time. as I re-learned how to be me. Soon I was having fun and looking forward to our sessions. My kids noticed a big difference in my moods after only three sessions with Iris. I I have seen some huge great changes in how I deal with things. I stay on task and don't give up right away now. I relate to people much , much better than ever before.
Lisa T., CT