More on Jess

The story.

Corporate career burnout, hustle culture, perfectionism, people pleasing, criticizing my body constantly, and entering the wild rollercoaster of diet culture and overexercising to cope with stress and anxiety…. I know it all too well. While I’d love to say my passion for taking care of my body and mind started with the simple intention to be my best, it was the beauty of crashing and rebuilding the relationship I had with myself and my own definition of what it means to be well that brought me here.

In 2017, I found myself freshly graduated from college and ready to take on the world in my full-time marketing career. The more I demanded of my body to work overtime and move up the ranks, the more my health fell to the back burner. At the same time, I learned this funny thing our bodies do when we’re under so much constant stress. I was operating in autopilot, almost like a robot who could accomplish so much and never slow down. And all of that came at the cost of losing touch entirely with myself, my needs, and my body’s ability to regulate.

I began an interest in health because I thought it was another notch on my belt to  fit in and be enough. I started to move my body regularly, which led to caring more about what I ate, and a bit of an obsession with seeing results come in. I felt capable, and confident, but didn’t know I was only measuring that by the comments people would make to me about how determined and disciplined I was on top of a full workload.

The overachiever inside of me took a fast and furious approach to introducing healthy habits, absorbing everything I heard on any podcast, repeating what I saw from social media influencers, and navigating the confusing mix of dietary approaches in various popular books I couldn't keep my head out of. I thought if I applied everything, I could get even closer to what I wanted to be. The thing is, I never really had that end goal in mind because it was the appeal of changing myself and thinking I could always be better that drove me.

My body sent me signals that I was doing entirely too much to sustain my wellbeing by bringing me crippling anxiety, depleting energy and creativity at work, and a lot of unwanted eating behaviors to cope with my “perfect wellness” routine crumbling around me. I lost sight of actually living my life and with every new thing I did, I felt less and less confident or connected to myself.

As I came home to who I was underneath my health habits, everything opened up for me and I chose to pursue a career that would allow me to be the coach I needed when I felt lost and unsure about who I could trust with my experiences. That led me to a 3-year journey pursuing  certifications across the fields of nutrition and eating psychology, and eventually to leaving my corporate roots to chase my purpose. 

I’ve only continued to learn more about the way our physical health relates to mental health, and the power of true self confidence, compassion, and trust as the keys to a full life. I’ve gotten to know myself in ways I didn’t realize I was missing by continuing my education in areas of mindfulness-based stress reduction, positive psychology, and somatic healing. 

I feel an incredible amount of gratitude to be a coach in this field dedicated to supporting as many individuals like myself to understand the full story of wellness (mental and physical) and the freedom of feeling at home in their body and mind.

My training.

My coaching training started with years of specific study in functional nutrition and eating psychology that goes beyond what’s on our plates, and into the way our lives, careers, relationships, emotions, and stressors play a role in how each of us can create a lasting and fulfilling routine of taking care of ourselves. 

As I worked with clients in these other areas of life, my curiosity was lighting up again and I knew I had to learn more. I pursued further trainings in Mindfulness-based-stress-reduction (MBSR) to ground in times of intense stress and anxiety, as well as EMDR for peak performance and shifting out of negative beliefs. I’ve also explored polyvagal theory and women’s health to expand my knowledge of how the demands of modern womenhood impact the way we care for ourselves and what happens when we shift our mindset with the permission to put ourselves first. 

Lastly, I’ve studied materials and insights that help me show up as a relationship coach, an area I’ve been so passionate about as I bring the concepts of grounding in stress, understanding our stress response, and tapping into what we need from ourselves and others to bring couples closer together.

MY CERTIFICATIONS:

• Certified Functional Nutrition Coach | Mindbodygreen

• Certified Mind Body Eating Coach | The Institute for the Psychology of Eating

• Certified in Functional Nutrition for Women’s Health Care | Integrative Women’s Health Institute

• Educated in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction | Center of Mindfulness at UCSan Diego

• Educated in Polyvagal Theory Principles | Polyvagal Institute

• Educated in EMDR, Positive Psychology, and Somatic Coaching (pursuant) | Mindfulness Coaching School

MY ROLE AS YOUR COACH:

When you begin coaching at Modern Therapy, you’re guaranteed a passionate coach in their dedicated field who will co-create an energetic space to unlock your inner awareness of the bigger picture of life. During the coaching process, you have your coach’s complete attention and focus. 

The coaching process is designed to help you achieve your personal, wellbeing, and professional goals with support and guidance. Your coach is here to help you establish what your goals are right now, and guide you to grow them as life evolves around you. With your goals leading the way, I’ll help you create the mindset and actionable steps to achieve what you want most. 

Everything we discuss will be confidential. Remember, I will always be in your corner with your best interests at heart.

Your coach holds themself to a certain standard to make sure this space is what you need it to be. We bring intentionality and a mindset of transformation to help you maintain momentum in the direction you’re most interested in exploring.

In each coaching session, your coach will ask powerful and probing questions, start new conversations, offer different perspectives and teaching points, offer experimentation and exploration, and always help you choose action steps that move you forward. Our time together is designed to help you reach your goals,  properly evaluate and re-adjust when necessary, and strengthen your confidence to grow in the areas that are most important to you. We’re here to help you learn a way of being that embodies living with intention, self-reflection, self-accountability, and self-trust. 

Coaching services are not to be construed as, or a replacement for  psychotherapy, legal counsel, or medical advice. If either of us recognizes that you may benefit from additional fields of support, I will do my best to refer you to the  appropriate resources.

My commitment.

I am here to be your safe place to land when you want to care for yourself and need the support and graceful accountability of a coach to find your confidence. I’m here to create a safe, compassionate space where you can come exactly as you are and know you have someone in your corner, seeing your full potential. Together, we'll tune out the pressures, embrace self-compassion, and build a path forward with habits, boundaries, and the belief that you are worthy of everything you desire.