who I work with

 
 

  • Leaders

    Entrepreneurs & Founders

    C-suite executives

    Marketing & Tech executives

    Spouses, Partners, Parents

    Entertainment industry/Creative Community

    • Musicians & Bands

    • Producers & Songwriters

    • Film industry, Actors & Screenwriters

    • Managers & Agents

    • Tour managers

  • Highly productive and successful at work but less so in romantic relationships

    Knowing that your childhood ‘messed you up’ somehow but can’t quite figure out how it applies to your adult life issues

    Achieved career & financial success but still feel anxious, depressed, and/or stressed

    Discovered or can’t avoid an area of old trauma that is being triggered and causing issues at work or at home

    Alcohol and drug use is now a problem when it never was for you or your partner when you were younger

    Stuck in a long-term relationship or struggling with break up/divorce

  • The entertainment industry is wrought with the potential for traumatic experiences. Whether it’s the travel burnout, late nights, or the pressure & disappointments that come from having the ‘dream job,’ the rock star life can be lonely and isolating. Yet, when you’ve worked so hard to get to where you are, complaining about it seems wrong. All of this can lead to a pervasive sense of overwhelm and a desire to numb out or avoid reality. It’s a vicious cycle that my clients have been caught in, and I provide a safe space for them to sort out the next right steps that lead to a more authentic and fulfilling life.

  • The human brain reaches full development at age 25 which is the youngest age that I will take on individual clients. I work with busy adults in early and mid-adulthood who may have tried other forms of healing (like coaching and counseling) before. My clients are looking to ‘go deeper’ to get to the root of their symptoms and issues. They are looking for breakthroughs around areas in their life where their typical determination hasn’t worked and we work together to remove the constraints to their desired change. Oftentimes, they are burned out or stuck and need a confidential place to sort out their next move while maintaining their leadership roles in their family and business.

  • The quality of your romantic relationship is the single most important factor in determining happiness in adults who are partnered. With the divorce rate at 50% and stress on families at an all-time high, most couples will need support at some point in their partnership journey. Divorce is expensive and separation is life-altering, so the investment in your relationship makes sense on many levels when disagreements arise. I come alongside my couples and help them face what needs to be faced and to say what needs to be said. Often, couples just need new tools and insights to get them back on track. It’s my job to quickly assess what your relationship needs and create a collaborative plan to get it.

 
 

my thoughts on choosing between a therapist and an executive coach?

Why not both? But, if you must choose one…

I like to say that there are excellent individuals in all lines of the helping professions. I’ve met well-trained and talented psychiatrists, energy healers, executive coaches, clergy, and therapists. I’ve met people with these titles that I would NEVER work with too. For me, it’s less about the title and more about the training and the way problems are viewed by the professional offering the service.

I chose systemic counseling/therapy for my training because I have found that trauma is unavoidable and we all experience it to varying degrees. What happens to our lives after traumatic events is shaped by the family we were raised with, culture/society, workplace/school communities, coping skills, religious/cultural influences, beliefs/values, biology/genetics, friends/peers, ancestors, and the uniqueness of each of us. At some point in adulthood, many of us ‘hit a wall’ and need help gaining perspective on all of these outside factors. Integrative Systemic Therapy is the most efficient and evidence-based way to ‘unpack’ all of this and to quickly get to the core issues for my clients. We don’t need to do a deep dive in every area, but when we view your issues from this holistic perspective we have a better chance of treating your complaints effectively. In my experience, when not done from a systemic approach, healing can feel like a ‘whac-a-mole game’ with problems ‘popping up’ again and again — or worse once you learn to cope with one issue a new one pops up you’ve never dealt with before.

Based on my background as a global executive, Nashville Business Journal 40 under 40, and two-time Billboard magazine Power Player list, many people urged me to pursue executive coaching. But it just didn’t feel right to me. Then I read this article from HBR and it articulated so well what I sensed were the potential pitfalls in executive coaching that I wanted to avoid. In my career, I saw many people improve professionally but continue to suffer in their personal lives. And watched others have a breakthrough-year at work, but cry privately about not feeling fulfilled. I don’t really buy into the cliche of ‘work-life-balance’ but I do think that people can lead lives more full of authenticity and integrity. And to do that, it takes some therapeutic work on what is ‘underneath’ some of your personal challenges and patterns. If you’ve done well in business, you're an expert at pushing through, overcoming, and problem-solving. That’s what is familiar and to try to do something different feels weird. Yet, if you’re here it’s likely because you have tried many things and are at a loss for what to do next. I tell my clients all the time ‘if you could have, you would have solved it by now.” That doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It means you need therapy. In my opinion, we all do at certain points in our life.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.”

— Prince