ABOUT COACHING IN TIMES OF TRANSITION
TESTIMONIALS
So, you’re curious about coaching! Maybe, at the same time, you’re wondering, just what is transition coaching, exactly? Or, what makes Deborah different from all the other coaches out there? Or, how does this all work and what can I expect?
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I look at coaching as a collaboration, and a tool to help you to access your own intuition and deep knowing about what is right for you. No one knows you better than you! Sometimes you just need someone to ask the right question, or reflect back to you what you’ve said in a way that allows you to really hear and see yourself differently. To disrupt the automatic, habitual responses.
Are you finding yourself in mid-life, and having or choosing to start over? Are you having trouble making a shift, even though it’s something you want? Are you resisting a change that has been thrust upon you, or having trouble adapting to your new reality? Are you just feeling stuck, and unable to move forward?
Every change, even the ones we want, involve an accompanying loss, whether we’re conscious of it or not: loss of a previous home or neighborhood, loss of a relationship, or relationships that must shift, loss of a job, even a loss of an old schedule or way of life, to name a few. It's possible that you are going through several of these transitions, at once!
I will embark on a journey with you that will take you to a place of growth, increased self-knowing, authenticity, personal power and compassion, where you are able to communicate more effectively and speak your Truth. I will help you identify the loss, and support you in letting go of what is holding you back, so that you can step into the flow of your life.
Let go, step in.
My promise to you is to ask, listen, reflect, challenge, and hold you accountable to what you commit to, all with compassion and curiosity. My aim is to help you move through starting over and making changes – both voluntary and involuntary changes – with grace.
The general flow of coaching through transition with me, which can occur in a single session, or over the course of several sessions, looks something like this:
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What is most present for you? What would you like to work on?
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Uncover the deeper meaning
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Dare to dream
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Acknowledge the obstacles, and get curious about them
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Tap into emotional awareness and intuition for enhanced communication
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Find self-compassion, which inevitably leads to compassion for others
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Mourn the losses
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Grow into and embody your personal power
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Feel gratitude, a sense of positivity, hope and release
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Take an action step, and let me hold you accountable
If any or all of this resonates, you’re in the right place!
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Whether this is another step on your developmental path, or a new path that you’ve never tried before – either way, welcome.
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If you’re open, willing and curious, and want to try something new to get where you’re going, welcome.
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If you’re ready to open to receive, welcome.
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If you want to get to work and start peeling back the onion, welcome!
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Working with Deborah was incredibly supportive during a very transitional time in my life. She was sensitive yet resolute in our sessions, which helped me feel held and also allowed me to see some truths that were holding me back in my life. I saw Deborah weekly for a six-month period and I felt that there was the perfect flow with an opening, a middle and closure. Though I could have seen Deborah for another six months, I feel the way she guided the sessions allowed for plenty of room to accomplish moving forward and there was a sense of completion when our time together ended. Deborah is both professional and personal in her work as a life coach and I am very grateful for our time together.
-Yahna
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Deborah is a fantastic life coach and really helped me prioritize which issues to work on: anxiety, career and overall self-confidence. Our sessions were eye-opening, thought-provoking and challenging. Every moment was meaningful and I came away from each session with a greater knowledge of my authentic self. Deborah is supportive, non-judgemental, kind and provides a true safe space to work on self-care and self-awareness. I highly recommend her coaching services to anyone who is interested in self-improvement.
-Rachel
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Deborah was recommended by a mutual friend who knew I was navigating major career and life transitions. Upon first meeting her (over Zoom), it was clear that she has a special ability to listen deeply, and extensive training in facilitating clarity and awareness of feeling. Importantly, Deborah provided a much-needed toolkit to develop my own practice of mindfulness and open my heart to my own internal wisdom. All of this helped me find clarity and peace during my transitions and empowered me to navigate life more deliberately and with less anxiety. I highly recommend her coaching if you need help navigating change in your life. Deborah is truly a talented, professional, and compassionate coach who helped me greatly.
-Matt
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Deborah has a way of listening and taking in through her heart, processing through her head, and then offering back out again through her heart.
-Jagruti
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​Deborah comes into each session with energy, an open heart, and curiosity. She helps me explore what’s happening in the moment as well the larger issues that we’ve worked on over the 3 1/2 years we’ve been coaching together. In my experience, Deborah doesn’t come into a session with an agenda or lesson plan. She begins by checking in on where I’m at now and also touches on issues I’ve brought up in past sessions. Her questioning week to week helps me zero in on what is holding me back, all while encouraging me to celebrate wins. Time spent talking with Deborah is jam packed and goes fast, and I find that I am now able to be curious about my feelings without self judgment, and more aware of my thoughts and reactions. Deborah has helped me overcome the bitterness of a bad break-up, but maybe more importantly, has given me a toolkit of techniques to use every day.
-Wyatt
MY STARTING-OVER STORY
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I’ve gone through more change than I would have ever imagined I would in the last decade. My unhappy 22-year marriage came to an end right at the same time (coincidentally?) that my soon-to-be ex’s business completely tanked without warning (to me). There was nothing left in his business account, plenty of debt, and nothing in our personal bank account. I realized that we would need to sell the apartment I had expected to stay in, and I found an apartment to rent for myself and my two teenage children, hoping that my photography business and child support would sustain us. Child support never came, and my business earnings were not enough. I remember running out of the middle of a yoga class one day during this time – closing myself in the bathroom, bursting into tears, and asking myself, or maybe the Universe, aloud, “how did I get here???”
I used all the tools I had to try to understand what the Universe was trying to grow me into, and to trust that there was a reason I had landed here.
I looked for full-time work, did odd jobs, worked like crazy on my business, and watched the proceeds from our apartment sale dwindle. I raised my son and daughter on my own, and shepherded them through the high school and college application processes, all while worrying how I would continue to put food on the table. Stressful does not begin to describe that time in my life.
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I kept the lines of communication open to the conversation Spirit was having with me - writing every morning, going to therapy, ramping up my spiritual and energy practices, meditation, yoga, breath work, and seeking out self-help books and advice from friends - you name it – to try to gain an understanding of what was happening, and what I could do to make it better. Why was I having to start over at this point in my life, and how would I ever make it work? I was scared, but tried to trust that I was gaining momentum, that there was movement.
After 2 years of looking for work, and with my savings close to zero, I found a full-time position – what a relief! – which I continued to supplement with my photography business on the weekends. I moved again, renting a less expensive apartment in an area I had never considered before, but felt called to. Ten years after the separation, I have one child out of college and working in Europe, and the other living in Los Angeles after graduating from college. I recently closed on an apartment of my own.
I feel so grateful for the practices I was able to call upon, for the compassion I learned to generate for myself, and for the connection to whatever you want to call it – Self, Life, Love, Tao, Spirit, the Universe – that allowed me to ultimately shift, to let go of what was no longer serving me, and step into my life. Along the way, I learned that self-awareness is the key to effective and authentic communication, and communication is the key to... well, everything.
There are, of course, still things I would like to change and grow into, and I know that life will continue to toss me some unexpected curveballs. Navigating these transitions from a place of self-awareness and a sense of belonging and enough-ness, in order to access authentic communication and personal power, is what I strive to do. And it's what I would love to help you do, too.
PROGRAMS FOR COACHING THROUGH TRANSITION
Weekly virtual sessions to unearth self-awareness and personal power.
Twice/week virtual sessions to find trust, connection, and flow.