After 30 years of working as a self-employed electrician and teacher, I returned to college & graduated in 2010 as a counselor. Since then, I have been educating & coaching people who are challenged with stressful situations.
I’ve been there, feeling like my relationships suffer because of the workload, transitions, and disabilities I have. Often the only way to deal with it is by neglecting self-care, eating the wrong things, and never feeling like I can get ahead. Folks offer easy answers that miss the mark. Others discount your frustration and hurt, saying - it’s not that bad - yet. Be grateful for what you have (and You ARE... but, it’s hard to sleep and the future seems threatening. The weight of stress and worry is crushing you.
Maybe you’ve wished you could find those professionals who know both the reality of your situation AND the solutions.
There is hope. My own challenges brought many opportunities to successfully adapt. My experiences, resiliency skills, and formal education allow me to develop the ability to pinpoint the root of a challenge and what strategies have worked in the past. Solutions to promote independence and a sense of competency, whether you are in the midst or are the family member or professional who supports those with progressive vision and/or hearing loss. I have helped hundreds of clients and professionals gain the skills and knowledge to achieve confidence in their relationships and goals.
Solutions
I have the keen ability to adapt my teaching and coaching style to fit your unique needs.
I offer services:
Cultural competence for families & professionals
Stress & emotional release through mind-body skills groups & workshops
Career exploration
Coaching through Systems & barriers
Plus, my background working with people with diverse cultures, beliefs, and education, offers you my honesty, openness, and willingness to learn. Together we explore the possibilities and next best steps towards your desired future.
My Mission
Facilitating transformation is what gets me up in the morning and I treasure the trust clients like you place in me.
Your Next Step
Ready for a coach who can tackle complex situations and help you cope and thrive? Please call me for a complimentary 15-minute consultation.
My Backstory of Adaptability
When I said I’ve been there, I meant it. Just like you, I have been in this place. Wanting to feel OK again, with a plan for action, while weathering a season of unwanted transition, unexpected challenges, with losses.
Born with significant hearing loss, ADHD, and extreme nearsightedness to wounded parents, I had to navigate many challenges from the beginning. Since I didn’t know any better, I just kept finding solutions. I did not want to miss out on hearing what people said, so I got hearing aids. With many years of speech-language lessons, almost no one has a clue how bad my hearing is.
This rather difficult childhood allowed me to develop many strategies so I could survive and thrive in spite of my situation. I am a pragmatic, stubborn person, and I am going to find a way -somehow. I am forever trying to learn something new, either from someone else or through experimentation. Sometimes though, I get a bit muddy or beat up in the process, just like you. I have learned that this adventure called life is not always pleasant or controllable. The most valuable lesson I learned early enough was that connection to someone with an understanding ear without judgment or prejudice is so important to recover and continue on. That allowed me to learn the concepts of healthy interdependence and realize that requesting help was not weak but rather took courage and is a sign of strength. Yet, I admit that is a work in progress, still.
In my 20’s, while working in a novel career, a female in the trades as a licensed electrician, I suddenly found myself the boss of a family business with 5 older electricians - who were not open to a female boss. At the same time I was the primary caregiver for my dad in his wheelchair after a stroke. Of course, I was there for my mom and helped her through cancer treatments, depression, and substance abuse issues. Then, there was raising my 3 children and a few community activities for my sanity.
Ten years later, I was diagnosed with progressive legal blindness from RP - Retinitis Pigmentosa, which restricts the field of vision and markedly slows the dark/bright light adaptations. So I was forced to quit driving. Talk about a challenge. We lived out in the country, and Lyft was not a thing yet. I am so thankful for those apprentices who had some strange tasks on their work assignments, like going to find my daughter’s lunch or shoes she left somewhere in the house! Imagine my surprise, that some almost 30 years later, in spite of the predictions, I can still see colors, and faces and read regular print! And after much training and fancy technology, I can use a computer and work like anybody else, even on the bad eye days.
As my responsibilities to business and family continued, the process of quickly adapting and innovating ways to accomplish tasks became an intense learning experience. Unfortunately, as we all hear in the news these days, chronic stress takes its toll. Maybe for you, too?
I developed my first autoimmune disease, Fibromyalgia, which was quite a show-stopper. However, with more adapting, experimenting, and learning, I was able to return to a fairly normal work life. Later in life, this lead me to seek out training in mind-body medicine, which teaches how to not stay in that intense chronic stress, even if the outside stressors are still there. Ways to make safe spaces and express those strong emotions safely even if the answers are not heard yet.
If you need a scientifically researched way to help you cope and thrive, consider joining a mind-body skills group with others like you. Individual services or online courses are also available.
For more information email deb@adaptabilityforlife.com
