We will choose a mutually agreeable time during the day or evening for our coaching sessions.  For ease of scheduling we will meet at the same time each week.  If on a particular week, our regular time does not work for you, you can reschedule, so long as you give me 48 hours notice.  If we can't find another time that week that works for both of us, we will push the session to the following week.  Except in the case of an emergency, if you cancel without 48 hours notice, you lose that session.  Please also note that I am on the east coast, so if you're in a different time zone, take that in to consideration.

Our sessions occur on the phone.  This may surprise some, but it's amazing what a strong and focused connection we can build.  It also allows you to be in your own environment while we coach, rather than taking you outside of your natural habitat.   I am also able to meet via Skype. 

Phone sessions also make sense because it gives you more flexibility and requires less of a time commitment.  A 45 minute session where we sit down face-to-face would require you to set aside time to drive to and from your office or home.  You also have the flexibility to meet me from anywhere in the world.

I provide clients with a phone number to call me and at the appointed meeting time, you will call me.  You can be anywhere, but I find that the coaching works best if you are in a private location where you are able to talk freely.  If you are late, please do still call in rather than miss your session.  I'll wait for you for 20 minutes.

Occasionally it is advantageous to meet in person.  So I do offer in-person sessions at my home office in Washington D.C. to existing clients.  In person sessions are 1 1/2 hours in length and are $150.  Please also see my page on Body Focused Coaching/Massage Therapy Sessions.

At the start of our call, we'll spend a couple of minutes connecting.  I will ask how you are and if you have any follow-up thoughts from our previous discussions and how your work from the previous week went.

During the call we will employ a variety of tools and discussion for you to achieve clarity and insight into whatever you choose as your coaching topic of the week.   We do is build an experience of resonance from which to create plans for your life.  Often people create their lives from a sense of anxiety, fear or pressure, which doesn't necessarily create the best outcomes.   With coaching we explore your underlying motivations so you can create from a more powerful, connected and joyful experience of life. 

You get to decide what the topic of our call will be; however over time I will follow through with you on previous topics.   Sometimes a call will focus on one topic, but often we'll talk about multiple aspects of your life - particularly when there are thematic intersections and patterns.

At the end of the session, we will co-create items for you to carry out between sessions.  It's in your life where the real work of coaching takes place.   You may have practical matters to attend to, or we may create inquires for you to think about.

Coaching can focus on any aspect of your life you choose, any challenge you face, any project you want to tackle, any piece that feels missing.  We start where you are, whether you have a specific goal in mind, or just a sense that your life isn't quite what you want it to be.  We move you to explore your motives and options and values, and to make empowering choices.  Relationships, transitions, parenting, finances, retirement, happiness, health, aging, spirituality, fulfillment, intimacy and dating are some of the areas we can address.   The list of possibilities is endless.

There are little topics that relate to the day-to-day of your life and there are bigger topics that relate to your long-term goals and aspirations.   Topics may also relate to how you show up emotionally, intellectually and/or spiritually in your life.  While coaching addresses your entire life, many clients come to coaching because they want help in specific areas.  Here are some examples:

Retirement - The entire idea of retirement has changed radically.  Retirement is now experienced as a new beginning to a new stage of life.  As with all major life transitions, preparation and planning activate a successful outcome.  Retirement coaching helps you understand what you want to create and how to actualize the next steps in your life, to create your own plan for a fulfilling and happy future.

Body Awakening/Sensuality - Remember when you really looked around you and saw the world, tasted life, and experienced joy in your body.  Rediscover your senses and your body's own inherent intelligence as you deepen your awareness of your 5 senses to more fully experience your life.   Sensuality isn't only something that happens in the bedroom, it's an approach to life that integrates your body and your mind.

Relocation - Moving to a new home or city can be both frightening and exciting.  Relocation can be be voluntary or compelled for a variety of reasons and are often loaded with complex emotions as you leave established friends and explore the prospect of making new ones and as you consider what parts of your life and identity you want to pack up and take with you and what you want to leave behind.  Your new home will offer a new environment, terrain, culture and community.  How do you want to maximize your opportunity  for exploration and new experiences as you recreate your life in your new home?  Our discussions will explore these and many adjacent topics.  This is an opportunity to be creative about your future while holding space for what you currently love and enjoy in your life.

Transitions - Change happens.  It's an inevitable part of life.  There are many life changes we welcome with open arms and others that we resist.  Most people are always in a state of transition in some area of life, and each day brings new challenges.  Students graduate and begin a new phase, adults change careers, some women reenter the work force after raising their children, new relationships develop as others are torn apart.  People become parents, loose loved ones, get married, raise children, get divorced, relocate, adjust to an empty nest, take on more responsibilities at work.  How do you deal with change? Are transitions scary for you?  Or do you navigate effortlessly?  What keeps you from moving ahead?  How much less stress would you feel if you had the support and courage to embrace change head-on?  Coaching helps you navigate your life, drawing upon your inner strength and values.  You will be empowered to overcome obstacles, break resistance and experience personal growth and satisfaction.  I believe major life transitions free up an enormous amount of energy that you can use to create with.  You have the power to recreate your life in the way you've always dreamed of, and to make your transitions work for you.

Dating -  Get clear about what you want in a relationship and in a partner rather than approaching dating from a perspective of lack or need.  It's important to know what kind of relationship you're looking for, what you truly want in a partner, what boundaries you heed to hold with yourself an others to manifest your ideal relationship, what develops your confidence, and where and how to meet people that are the kinds of people you want to meet.  Coaching helps you develop confidence as well as a game plan - and most importantly to enjoy what is one of the most magical processes of life.

Divorce - Divorce is an intense time, with major life-upheaval.  It's a major undertaking to say goodbye to the past and navigate through negotiations and transitions while holding on to your sanity, dignity, compassion and clarity.  And then you get to discover what your next steps are as you embark on the journey of being a single person again.  How do you want to move forward in a way that is in alignment with who you are and what you want to create in your life?  How do you want to learn from and release the past and activate what you want to create next?  Do you want to manifest the love of your dreams or take some time to focus on you and what you want as an individual?

Regardless of the reasons that led you to divorce and whether it was your idea, your spouse's or mutual, there are complex emotions to sort through - guilt, remorse, anger, sorry, hope, forgiveness and fear.  Coaching is a context to experience your feelings and learn what you need to learn from the process and then move on without the emotional "baggage" or scarring that can occur when people either hold on to the past or push it away without first taking a good look at it.  What is there for you to learn from the end of your marriage before you're ready to move on?  What do you want to take with you?  What do you want to leave behind?  How are you a different person now than when you fell in love with your spouse?  How do these changes impact what you're looking for next in your life?  What is most important for you now?  How does this divorce affect others around you?  How does it impact relationships with other family members and friends?  What kind of relationship do you want to create with your former spouse? 

Therapy focuses on issues of healing and unresolved psychological issues in a person's past.  And some view a person seeking 'therapy' as searching for a cure.  In my coaching, I work with you on the today and moving forward.  I want to help you set goals and develop techniques and habits to reach those goals.  I want to co-actively work with you to discover what may be blocking you from moving forward.  It's a skilled partnership.

Those who have experienced both often say that their coaching sessions had more humor in them while at the same time they felt less coddled and more challenged.   Those seeking coaching do so because they want to and not because they need to.  It includes successful people from all walks of life.

There are only two requirements during our discussions - that you be as honest and present as you are able.  My clients have found that trust comes with time and as it builds they're able to make greater progress as they open up more.  Coaching works best for clients who show up and keep an open mind, who work for greater authenticity and who follow up on what they intend to do. 

The focus is on you - your values and goals.  You're completely free to explore and to dream and to share.  I do not have an agenda for you as is often the case with friends and family members - I just want for you to be confident and empowered to create your best possible life - being the most fulfilled, happy person you can be. 

As a coach I am your confidante, someone who is in your life purely for you, to listen and to help you remain clear and aligned with your values.  My role is to be a support just for you.   The most important thing you can do is be honest with me, because that represents being honest with yourself.

I do require a minimum of a three-month commitment from new clients.  At the end of the three months we'll celebrate your successes and assess how we want to move forward in our coaching relationship.

We start with a 3-month commitment.  The majority of my clients have been working with me for years, others for shorter amounts of time.  Many people find that having a long-term coach or mentor is valuable because life continues to happen and our relationship continues to deepen over time.  And many people also find that after the initial three months, shifting from meeting once a week to meeting every other week is a good balance for them.

My rates are $325 a month for 4 telephone coaching calls of 45 minutes each.  This also includes two group chats a month and email support between coaching calls.  By comparison, a number of life coaches charge $400 to $500 per month for four 30 minute sessions.

Payment is due at the beginning of each 4 session coaching series.  Discounts are available if you wish to pay in advance for longer series of sessions.  Payment is by personal check or via google checkout.

Refund Policy:  Unused portions of coaching packages are refundable, minus any applied discounts under the certain circumstances such as injury or illness.  I want you to be thrilled with our coaching relationship, and If you are not and wish to terminate, your package is refundable as stated above, with two weeks notice given to Jen (and the deal is that you must continue to coach during those two weeks.  See the next question below for the reason why.   If unforeseen incidents in my life prevent me from coaching you, the unused portion of your coaching package is fully refundable.   If you need to postpone coaching for a defined time period (say for travel), that's no problem, so long as you inform me two weeks before the postponement.

On occasion, as people grow during the coaching process, they confront an issue that inhibits them from realizing the self they want to actualize.  In coaching we talk about your saboteur - the part of your self that wants to keep you small.  Once you start moving forward and growing, often your saboteur will begin to feel threatened and will pull all the stops to prevent you from moving forward.   While this doesn't necessarily feel good, it's actually a sign that the coaching is working.  The problem is that the saboteur really wants you to give up.   So for some, as they reach this growth edge, they shy away from it and feel frustrated and do exactly what the saboteur wants - sabotage the coaching.  If this happens I will hold space for you, encouraging yet challenging you to move forward.

For those of you who are athletes or perhaps practiced yoga, you understand the growth and improved skill that comes from confronting, embracing and then pushing in to the boundary in a controlled manner.  That's when the training occurs for an athlete.  That's when a tight muscle can be stretched just a bit further, when you exhale and push against what limits your movement.

As your coach and confidante I am dedicated to helping you move through your limitations in a constructive and loving manner.

So if you feel like the coaching isn't working, I absolutely encourage you to come forward and to talk about it.  Let's be transparent with each other.  This is an important relationship for you and I want our coaching relationship to be what you need.

My favorite clients are complex people who yearn to be true to them selves - to be authentic - in their lives and relationships.  I enjoy working with men and women who are in major relationship transitions - working with men who are going through divorce or ending long-term partnerships has been a focus of my work.  I also love working with individuals who resonate with the idea that the work they do in the world is an expression of their creativity, heart, and desire to create a better world.  Even if you do feel that over the years your ideals were set aside to achieve professional results, if that dream is still inside of you,  I want to partner with you in calling it forth.

I love this question.  There are two short answers.  First, I've been on a process of self-discovery and coaching has been instrumental to that.  Second, coaching evolved very naturally as my career progressed.  The bottom line is that it's the most powerful modality I've found to help people live balanced, happy lives.

The longer story goes back even farther than architecture.  In my 20s I was an environmental activist working for organizations like Greenpeace.  I felt that the environmental movement, while serving an important purpose, were too often in an energetic of opposition, bringing awareness to what's wrong, rather than leading people in living harmoniously with the earth and those around them.   I became involved in green building because I thought that our build environment shapes our perceptions and architecture could be a means to create a world where people live more in alignment with the earth.

While studying as a graduate student and later working in the field, I came to realize that these professionals are also very much out of balance.  After spending workweeks at my drafting table, I developed torticollis (wry neck).  In my last year of studio-practice my head literally was not on straight.   So I studied massage therapy and stepped up my yoga practice as a way of bringing myself back in to balance, and found that the work resonated with me very deeply - both in terms of my capacity to be of service to others and for me to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle.   For us to create a balanced world, we need to be in balance as well.   As a massage therapist I also realized that when I touch a person, there is an energy exchange that goes deeper than muscles and bone.  Those who have practiced yoga understand about intending to open our pure, authentic self to others aroudn us and to ourselves.  These experiences organically showed me the potential to help people through dialogue as much as through physical interaction, but I couldn't see that working purely on the level of the mind could be as effective.   Even though coaching is talk, it's conversation that is rooted in being in relationship to one's body.

Yes, to the extent allowed by law, our coaching is strictly confidential.  Unless you indicate that you intend to do harm to yourself or another person, what you share in our session is private, and will not be shared with any other person.  I maintain the privacy of my clients.

No, I have no background in law and as a coach do not offer health advice.  In fact, as a coach my role isn't to offer advice in general.  My role is to create safe space for you to explore what is important to you.  I employ techniques and offer questions but the answers but the ansers that will work best for you are going to be your own.  If I see things that you seem to be resistant to looking at, I'll invite you to shine a light in that direction, but I'm not here to judge you and I'm not going to tell you how to live your life - however I can provide a process through which you discover what path is right for you.  Coaching gets to the heart of the matter - to what is most important to you.

My persona is kind, gentle and approachable, so I work very well with men who are intimidated by talking with women and who need support expressing themselves, but who could really benefit from talking with a supportive female confidante.  However, that doesn't mean I'm a softie - I'm very good at lovingly calling people forth when it's needed.  Two of my core values that I like to bring forth in my coaching are creativity and playfulness, and I feel inspired for my clients to bring a sense of joy and exploration to their lives.   We can make stuff that normally feels stuck and hard feel lighter, more free and even fun!