Wellspring Coaching:Motivation, Focus, Transition, Relationships, Career, Stress Management

In my first life, I worked as a psychotherapist for a pain management program in the Chicago area after completing all the coursework and internship requirements for my doctorate in Counseling Psychology through the University of Notre Dame. Alas, a tragic denial of tenure for my academic advisor threw a monkey wrench into my dissertation efforts from which I never recovered so you can't call me Doctor. And please, I beg those of you who still feel tempted, don't call me "Dr. Laura."

Not completing my Ph.D. was the best thing I ever didn't do. That little "Dr." title probably would have been the deal killer in changing my career. Not that I'm a status junkie, but it would have felt like too much to lose. It wouldn't have been, but I wasn't always as smart as I am now.

I worked in the Pain Management Program for 10 years, but I was only burned out for about half of them. Unfortunately many of our clients were injured workers forced to attend the program and see me as part of it in order to receive their wage reimbursements. And, of course, most folks were in litigation, which meant I was sitting in depositions when I wasn't trying to help people. While I was able to do good work with many of the clients I saw, the adversarial vibe really wore on me over the years and shifts in healthcare away from a focus on the client in favor of business and profit did not do much to improve my disposition.

For those of you with The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron sitting on your shelves still untouched (how does she know these things?!), I have to tell you working that book started a mind shift that was a crucial part of my being where I am today. Namely, I started to consider that just because I had a career didn't mean I wasn't going to leave it. It took 5 years from reading that book before coaching landed on my radar screen, but when it did I recognized it had the potential to bring together all the fragmented parts of me that I knew needed expression and that could be focused on truly giving people a hand in making their lives better and more joyful.

Terrified and yet unable to stop myself, I founded Wellspring Coaching in 1999. Now I can bring you the benefit of 25 years of professional experience including extensive background in the fields of psychology, wellness, personal development coaching, martial arts, meditation and yoga. I am a dedicated student of both Eastern and Western philosophy. I have a strong interest in the field of creativity which has been fueled by my repeated personal and professional observation of the transformative power of story and the power of creative expression to promote wellness.

Having worked extensively with both healthy and chronically ill adults, I have had a unique opportunity to study the nature of “wellness” holistically and have gained an understanding of why many “self help” models ultimately fail those who attempt to use them (that unread stack of self-help books on your nightstand aside). Traditionally, self-help and stress management techniques focus on ways to improve self-care. We may journal in private, post affirmations on our mirrors and light scented candles but often these techniques do not translate into how we are to live day to day in relation to the complex demands of home and career. The techniques often become little more than bandages and temporary escapes from larger life problems.

Clearly, effective wellness models need to move beyond the mere promotion of self-soothing and self-understanding. Being able to stand outside oneself to gain understanding of one’s life challenges and reactions to them is a critical piece of living a healthy, balanced life but is not sufficient.

Wellness creates a sense of connection and meaning in life. We are all part of a larger world. You may have a family, friends, co-workers, a church or other community. Beyond our human connections, we also have connections with nature and many have a sense of spiritual connection to something greater than oneself.

Wellness is mind-body-spirit integration that promotes self-care and self-understanding and connects one’s life to the larger world. It is a state of being joyfully and enthusiastically engaged with one’s life, even when it doesn’t turn out exactly as one had planned.

As a coach, I am profoundly interested in the overall wellness of my clients. Of course I want you to make the money you want and to have the best looking mate and the most hot looking body and the neat and tidy desk you have always dreamed of. Nothing wrong with that. I just want the inside and the outside to match. Without a solid center, all the rest is just window dressing.

If you have been struggling with keeping your sense of center in the midst of life pressures or have an interest in deepening your own understanding and practical application of wellness principles to promote an ongoing sense of joyful engagement with your life, please feel invited to schedule a private introductory consultation. To arrange, please e-mail me or call 630-562-1877.

For rate information and further information on services, including the private introductory consultation visit this page.

Want to see something really, really sad? I was a teenaged Greg Brady. Really.

relationships * life purpose * personal development * stress management * motivation * focus * wellness * communication * integrity * midlife transitions * career satisfaction * happiness