My Journey

I have all the credentials and letters behind my name you might expect after pouring myself into this work since childhood. I have a Master’s Degree in Applied Behavioral Science – Systems Counseling – from Bastyr University in 1995. I’m a nationally board certified mental health counselor and a nationally board certified life coach.

I’m an author, former newspaper columnist and radio talk show host. And one of my favorite things (when time allows) is teaching belly dance. Yep, you heard that right. Check out this delicious interview: Dance as a Metaphor for Life.

Want to fire up my creative problem solving powers? Tell me something probably can’t be done.

I’m tenacious that way.

I earned a B.A. in Humanities at Seattle University when I was 18 – “too young,” right? Nope. I dove into life coaching certification many years after grad school because, despite conventional wisdom, I didn’t think I should have to choose between being a mental health counselor or a life coach. Why NOT have the largest available treasure chest for creating change?

I began teaching belly dance for transformation and wrote The Belly Dance Prescription: Shake Your Hips and Depression – partly out of the joy of sharing, partly because people told me I “couldn’t be taken seriously as a mental health counselor and a belly dancer at the same time.” Blew that theory!

My Mission

It turns out I’m not just tenacious in my own life – I’m tenacious about helping my clients feel more alive, motivated, connected, supported and creative again – even when they’ve almost given up.
You see, I know what it is to almost give up. I’ve been there. Multiple times.

During an intensely painful postpartum experience in 2002, I couldn’t find the resources I desperately needed. I’m still not sure how I survived it, but I knew there had to be a better way. I poured myself into creating a wealth of resources that would give other moms a better chance, cofounding MommyMuse.com with my mother, Linda Semrau, launching a radio show on VoiceAmerica’s Health & Wellness Channel – The Mommy-Muse is In, and writing The Essential Mommy-Muse Toolkit: 11 Empowering Keys for Your Journey into Motherhood.

Want to know a secret? Every time I’ve emerged from intensely soul-testing experiences, I’ve done so with a fierce determination to distill the alchemy that allowed safe passage through the trials, and offer it with open hands to ease their paths of the next travelers.

I know what it takes to survive the dark times and come out the other side. I’ve learned what it takes to feel strong, motivated and energized, even on days when hiding under my favorite Amish quilt is especially inviting. I’ve figured out how to feel congruent with my inner reality and outer experience – so my insides match my outsides – and how to work with the magical potential that is here, underneath everything.

Now I have the incredible honor of being able to help you discover your own worth and reawaken into a life of greater freedom, aliveness and possibility!

If it’s conventional you want, I’m not your girl. You’ll find plenty of that elsewhere.

But if you’re fed up with normal and your soul is crying out for change, sign up and read on. Here are resources I’ve gathered over the last 30 years, gifted to YOU with love. I’ll help you tap into your deepest healing potential and move beyond surviving into thriving. I can’t wait to hear how you enjoy the delicious opportunities you’re about to discover!