Where This Work Begins
People come to coaching for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes there's a particular problem they want help navigating. Sometimes there's a feeling that something isn't quite right, even if they can't put it into words.
Much of my experience as a coach has been working with people living with chronic physical symptoms. That's where a lot of my work began, and it's where I've spent the majority of my time alongside clients.
But the longer I've done this work, the more I've come to recognize how much our experiences overlap. What brings someone to coaching isn't necessarily where the exploration ends up. And the things we discover along the way aren't always limited to the problem we initially set out to address.
Living With Chronic Physical Symptoms
A significant part of my coaching experience has involved people navigating ongoing physical symptoms, often after they've spent considerable time trying to understand, manage, or find relief from them.
Some examples include:
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Chronic or recurring pain
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Chronic headaches and migraines
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Chronic gastrointestinal symptoms
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Ongoing symptoms following illness or injury
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Physical symptoms that remain difficult to understand or manage
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Symptoms that have begun to affect everyday activities, relationships, or quality of life
Living with persistent symptoms can affect much more than the body. It can influence how we think, what we anticipate, the decisions we make, and how we experience the world around us.
Sometimes we become caught in cycles of fear, frustration, uncertainty, or attempts to regain control. We may understand a great deal about what's happening and still find ourselves struggling with the experience.
My work isn't about diagnosing or treating medical conditions. It's about exploring our relationship with the experience of living with them, and discovering whether different ways of relating to our bodies, sensations, and circumstances might open up new possibilities.
Other Areas We Often Explore
Physical symptoms are often what bring people to coaching, but they're rarely the only thing that matters in someone's life. Through the process of exploring one experience, we may discover other relationships and patterns worth paying attention to.
There are a few areas that come up frequently in my work.
Anxiety, Fear, and Uncertainty
Sometimes we know that worrying isn't helping, but that knowledge doesn't make the worry disappear.
We might find ourselves anticipating problems, looking for certainty, or trying to control things that remain uncertain. Over time, these patterns can begin to shape how we make decisions and participate in everyday life.
Exploring our relationship with fear and uncertainty can help us understand what's happening beneath those patterns and discover different ways of responding.
Difficult Relationships
Our relationships with other people can be some of the most meaningful and challenging parts of our lives.
We may find ourselves repeating familiar patterns, struggling to communicate, having difficulty establishing boundaries, or feeling disconnected from the people around us.
Exploration can help us better understand how we participate in these relationships, what we need from them, and what possibilities might exist for relating differently.
Feeling Stuck or Disconnected
Sometimes the difficulty isn't a single problem. It's a broader sense that something is missing or that the way we've been living no longer feels quite right.
We might feel disconnected from ourselves, uncertain about our direction, or unable to find the meaning and sense of belonging we once experienced.
These experiences can invite questions about identity, purpose, expectations, and the stories we've built around who we are and how life is supposed to look.
We don't always need to know exactly what we're looking for before we begin exploring.
Where Else Might the Exploration Lead?
These are areas where I've developed considerable experience through working with clients, but they aren't the limits of what this work can explore.
The framework behind The Remember Project is concerned with our relationships across three interconnected landscapes: Within, Between, and Beyond.
Those relationships shape virtually every part of our experience. They influence how we relate to our bodies and inner experiences, how we participate in relationships and communities, and how we find meaning and belonging in the wider world.
That means the same approach can be useful in exploring many other aspects of life, from questions of identity, purpose, and belonging to the ways we relate to our communities, environments, and the wider world.
We don't need to begin with a particular problem or fit ourselves into a predefined category. We begin with what's happening in your life and explore what might become possible from there.
We Begin With What's Here
You don't need to have a clear explanation of what's happening, know exactly what you want to change, or be certain that coaching is the right fit.
You might come with a specific struggle. You might simply feel that something needs attention. Either way, we can begin there.
The point isn't to fit your experience into a framework. It's to use the framework as a way of exploring your experience, following the connections that matter, and discovering what becomes possible along the way.
We don't have to know where the exploration will lead. We just need somewhere to begin.