meet jen
Hi, I’m Jen.
I'm a trauma-informed coach for women who overthink, second-guess themselves, and struggle to trust their own judgment, especially when relationships get difficult.
I know these patterns well. I've lived with them for much of my life.
Growing Up, Getting It Right Mattered
As a child, I worked hard to be good, do well in school, and avoid making mistakes.
Being perfect wasn't really about achievement. It was about keeping my parents in a good mood and staying out of trouble. I learned to pay attention to their moods, anticipate reactions, and try not to get anything wrong.
I got a lot of practice looking outside myself for signs that things were okay.
What I didn't develop was much trust in my own judgment.
A Lot of Time in My Head
Those habits followed me into adulthood.
I could be responsible, capable, and hardworking while feeling anxious underneath it all.
I could wake up at three in the morning, panicked about something I'd said or done, wondering whether I'd made a mistake.
When I needed to make a decision, I used to ask a million people what they thought. Eventually, I stopped relying on so many outside opinions, but I could still spend a long time weighing possibilities on my own.
I worried about other people's reactions, struggled with uncertainty, and sometimes froze when I didn't know what to do.
I didn't have a strong sense that I could make a decision, get something wrong, and still be okay.
A Different Chapter
When my marriage ended abruptly, my life changed in ways I hadn't anticipated.
The choices I made as I navigated healing after divorce, and the lessons I learned along the way, eventually became the foundation for my book, Brave Wise Woman.
It was later that I began to recognize how perfectionism, people-pleasing, anxiety, overthinking, and freezing were connected to my struggle to trust myself.
Learning to Recognize the Pattern
After making big strides, I'm still practicing trusting myself.
A big part of that work is recognizing in real-time when I've slipped into an old pattern and taking steps to respond differently.
Sometimes that means noticing when I'm overthinking because I'm afraid of getting something wrong. Sometimes it's recognizing when I'm taking responsibility for someone else's feelings or when I'm freezing instead of moving forward.
I'm learning to notice those moments and take a step instead of staying stuck.
For me, self-trust isn't about always feeling confident or making the right decision. It's about moving forward without needing certainty that I won't get something wrong.
Why I Do This Work
Today, I work with women who recognize these patterns in themselves.
Women who replay conversations, worry about disappointing people, struggle to speak up, or spend far too much time questioning their own decisions.
I understand how exhausting it can be. And I know that being told to "just trust yourself" isn't particularly helpful when trusting yourself has never felt natural.
My work is about helping women recognize the patterns that keep them second-guessing themselves, understand how those patterns show up in their relationships, and begin practicing something different.
Not perfection or certainty, but a growing ability to listen to themselves and take the next step.
My Training and Experience
Trauma-Informed Master Coach — Elementum Coaching Institute
Integrative Wellness Coach — Integrative Wellness Academy
Specialized Trauma & Relationship Work: Level 3 — Relationship Recovery Process
Study in Working with Shame — Program with David Bedrick, founder of the UnShaming Way
Certified Yoga Teacher
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
I've spent hundreds of hours coaching women and continue learning about the ways our experiences shape how we relate to ourselves and others.
If You Recognize Yourself Here
If parts of my story sound familiar, you can learn more about working with me, 1:1, in a coaching experience.
