Coaching Can Help Women Improve Their Self-Image

Any of these sound familiar?

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• I hate how I feel about myself but I’m stuck with it.

• No one thinks I’m worth much and I think they’re right. 

• I am scared of trying because I’ve suffered so many failures.

• I am alone with no one to support or encourage me. 

• I always make the wrong choices. 

• All my friends are prettier than I am.

When women think poorly of themselves they, unsurprisingly, feel terrible. Feeling bad about ourselves informs how we navigate our lives - harmfully affecting the way we treat ourselves and other people and how other people treat us.  A negative self-image hampers us mentally, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. 

The good news is no one has to be stuck with a poor self-image. A poor self image becomes a bad habit. With the support of focused coaching you can turn your life around and create a positive self-image. Women who learn to achieve a positive self-image are poised to move forward, pursuing their personal, relational and professional goals with renewed vigor.

My Special Sauce

Primarily, I teach women to spotlight the hurt child within and have them feel safe. Most woman’s negative self-image began in childhood and got dragged through life like a perverse security blanket. This is the unhappy child who shares your adult heart. Your inner child wiggles her way into the driver’s seat bravely transporting you to where she thinks you need to go. Sometimes, in her fear of punishment, she brakes precipitously and sends you reeling. She reminds you that you’re scared of doing something, that you should always be wary and distrusting. She warns you that you’re lucky you have what you have. Don’t go trying for more. She tells you the only way you can be safe is not to make waves, not to ask for much, not to want too much. Your rampant inner child may be your guide to toxic shame.

As a coach I will teach you -the adult you- that you are separate from that overburdened child. We strengthen your faith in your adult functioning while learning to cherish the sacrifices you made to get here. You learn to protect and comfort that child. The competent adult woman you have become is now the one commanding center stage. Free of being driven by that stressed and overburdened child, you will be able to take a new look at your strengths and weaknesses. Coaching will encourage you to acknowledge your essential, basic value - no longer focusing on your weaknesses, imperfections, and faults.

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A Positive Self-Image is the Key To Improving Body-Image

Conversely, poor body image is one of the components of poor self-image. I don’t like my body. I don’t like myself.

The good news - Your body image is not fixed. But like negative self esteem in general, having a poor view of your body is also colored  by your childhood perceptions. As your body changes with age you may feel more negative or more positive about your body. When you maintain a negative body image it only adds to your negative self-image. Changing your mind is more important than changing your body. 

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I teach practical lessons that refocus and enhance how you think, feel, and react to your body. Are you kind to your body? Is your body taking care of your needs, physically and emotionally? If your body isn’t healthy, what are you doing, or need to be doing, to make it feel and act better? Are you eating a healthy diet? Are you getting enough sleep?  Are you exercising? In short, are you lovingly looking after your body? 

Just as women need to cherish their inner child, women need to cherish their bodies. A big first step to feeling better about your body is realizing the work isn’t about changing how your body looks so much as it is about making changes to your image of your body.

I coach women of all ages. It is never too soon or too late to hold yourself and your body in high esteem. Together we will examine your self-image and body image history. We will  delve into the strengths and limitations of your present body image. We will separate out what you value in your body from what you think your body should look like. When you build a positive body image you are enhancing your self-image as a whole. 

I bring to you the best of my mental health clinical training, along with a practical philosophy and a sense of humor.

I will coach you to be physically and mentally active, to challenge yourself, try new things, improve your relationships, and take risks. In short, I will help you live your life to the fullest.

I will teach you a range of skills that lead to emotional and physical fortitude and flexibility.