Christy Mathers

I was going through some big and difficult things, lots of transition. I knew I needed support, and I didn’t think my therapist could help me any more. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Karin or the coaching could help me either, but I had worked with her. I knew she was nice, very professional, dedicated, and that she did nothing half-assed. So I trusted Karin to be the same in coaching.

I wasn’t sure about the PQ program in the beginning. In my mind wiggling my toes and breathing would not have the strength to change my current state of mind. I found that simply slowing down and focusing on just one thing intensely did in fact help. Knowing how to calm yourself down, and realizing when you’ve been sabotaged, that self-awareness is invaluable.

Learning about the saboteurs was what really helped me. I didn’t believe it at first, but they are very real! If something is feeling difficult, there is a saboteur involved. So now, when things feel challenging, I sit down, stop, and ask myself, what’s wrong here? Before, I would avoid and ignore the problem, keep going, and hope it would go away. I finally understood what was holding me back and could verbalize it. Clearly, learning to identify my saboteurs and harness the powers of my sage can be used in all aspects of my life.

What can I say about Karin? Karin is good, no Karin is great, no Karin is mighty talented. Karin can see where you as a client want to be and can help to lead you there. As a result, the challenge becomes smaller and easier to deal with. It also makes me feel like we’ve accomplished something. At the end, I want to know that I’m further ahead than where I was when I started.

Karin understands that she cannot simply give you the answers you want, or you will not learn. Which, as painful as that sometimes is, and on occasion I have wished that Karin would just bail me out, she doesn’t. That being said, she is very good at pointing you in the right direction and guiding you to where you want to be. I can tell from her body language that she feels and understands what I’m going through, but she stays professional and doesn’t try to rescue me.

The fact that Karin was in education is very helpful. She has a full understanding of the stress, the burnout, the doing more than you should because you feel the dedication to the school and the students regardless whether they’re paying you for it or not. However, I don’t think the coaching is specifically for education, it’s universal.

Coaching has made me aware of past patterns that weren’t serving me, and I’ve been able to completely change them. I’m now much happier with myself. I am back to the Christy I used to be. I didn’t realize how much I had changed. I used to feel a big void, and I’d fill it with things that weren’t good for me. And now, I no longer do that. I have set boundaries and face challenges instead of avoiding them, and do things I enjoy and that are healthy for me. My relationships have improved. I feel strong in myself. I feel confident.

I could have probably got to the place I am now, on my own, but it would have taken me so much longer. Without the coaching, I would have still been in the mask phase: happy on the outside, but unhappy on the inside. I have had other therapists in the past, and I am happy to admit that I have made more progress in what I want to accomplish in terms of my mental health within the short time that I have had Karin as a coach than my previous therapist. If someone is ready to work towards becoming a mentally healthy person then I would highly recommend Karin as a guide to see them through.

5/5 stars