Get unblocked.
Clarify your direction.
Take your next step.
Coaching for professionals, leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to stop feeling lost or burned out and create a thriving, fulfilling career or business instead.
Are you feeling stuck or overwhelmed in your life or career?
No matter how good things look on paper…
Or how high you’ve risen on the career ladder…
Maybe you’re feeling tired, unmotivated, or like something’s missing.
For example…
Do you...
- Feel burned out, anxious or stressed out from balancing work and life?
- Feel trapped in your career or relationships like there’s no way out?
- Want more freedom to live and work however, whenever and wherever you want?
- Feel hypervigilant and are always looking out for the next thing that can go wrong (e.g., losing your job, not having enough money to pay your bills)?
- Not believe you’re good enough to have or do what you want in your life?
- Procrastinate or have trouble sticking to the things that light you up?
- Have a hard time trusting your own instincts, or trusting other people?
- Feel like you’re living on autopilot, and lack meaning, joy or direction?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you’re not alone.
Many professionals, leaders and business owners struggle with hidden blocks that impact their ability to thrive in their careers, relationships and everyday lives.
You're In The Right Place If You're In...
Stage 1...
You're a professional or leader who wants to feel more calm and confident in your career so you can raise your pay or climb the ranks.
You’re in good hands!
I had a corporate career in UI/UX design for over a decade, most recently as an Associate Director for one of the biggest consulting firms in the world.
So if you’re feeling burned out or lost, I know the feeling.
Designing the unique things you can do in and around you to get unstuck and feel more balanced within can change the way you live and work forever.
Stage 2...
You're a 9-5er who wants to take your current abilities and make more money in less time by starting your own freelance or consulting business.
Freelancing was the first change I made after I left my 9-5 in 2019 and I still do it today.
It’s the perfect way to create space for healing and rest—AND making a 6-figure income—without having to “start over."
Today, I’m able to work whenever I want, wherever I want around the world, and I make more money in less time in the process.
PS. I just wrote a new book about how to start a thriving 6-figure freelance business. Check it out at: www.embodiedfreelancer.com
Or Stage 3
You're ready to get crystal clear on your purpose for your life or career—aka. what feels meaningful to you and allows you to meet your highest potential.
Perhaps you don’t want to just feel better where you are—you want to live bigger and more authentically.
Together, we can design your life and work with the right combo of intuition and strategy, so you can stop living without a map.
You’ll finally learn how to make everything you think and do lead to your ideal life…
And we'll do it all from the inside-out.
Together, we’ll collaborate to uncover the root causes of your challenges and develop personalized strategies that align with your values and goals.
So how do you start? By getting out of survival mode.
When the patterns and beliefs that kept you safe in the past show up in the present, they could cause you to put up with work that doesn’t inspire you, and relationships that don’t nourish you.
Being in “survival mode” makes it difficult to…
Have a clear sense of purpose or direction in your life…
Navigate conflict and discomfort in your work and relationships…
And take action toward your goals without burning out or shutting down.
Hi, I'm Karoleen.
I’m a certified trauma-informed coach, artist and business growth consultant.
If what I’ve shared so far resonates with you, you’re in the right place. Your patterns, behaviors, and reactions have been your mind and body doing their job to keep you safe.
So even though you may not be feeling great about where you are right now, know that you made the best decisions you can, and it’s never too late for a change.
In my case, childhood physical and emotional trauma kept me in survival mode into my adult life. On the outside, I excelled in my corporate UI/UX design career, but I didn’t feel right on the inside…
That’s because a life that’s built on survival is full of the wrong goals, burnout, apathy, and the endless need to escape.
I never thought I could have a life full of purpose and joy, but I figured out how to make that happen…
And I’ve created a process to walk you through so you can have the chance to do the same. You deserve it.
Real Clients, Real Results
Hear From Jenn...
Check out my interview with my client, Jenn, who went from being a stay-at-home mom with aspirations to figure out what's next for her...
To building on her passion of helping parents organize...
Which resulted in over $10K of revenue in her brand new business only one month after our work together.
"I think the other hesitation was, obviously there's, a monetary investment and I thought, was this going to be worth the money? And it absolutely was. I basically got a brand new career and life out of it. Like, oh, my gosh, it was definitely worth the money!"
Lora
"It is amazing how much I achieved in the three months of coaching with Karoleen. Her gentle compassionate nature made it easy for me to be vulnerable, introspective, and get clarity on what is important to me.
As a result of coaching with Karoleen, I was able to take critical steps toward career goals that felt overwhelming and impossible. Karoleen helped me calm my anxieties, question my self doubt, and inspired me to break through my limited thinking and create the career that I am now totally in love with. I am eternally grateful!"
K.G.
"Karoleen is a caring, patient and thoughtful coach. Throughout our coaching dialogue, Karoleen attentively listened to my feelings, needs and desires. I felt heard and encouraged. The questions Karoleen asked me were provoking and effective, and the coaching guidance she gave me was helpful and practical.
By the end of our conversations, I was able to gain a better understanding of what I was actually looking for, and worked strategically to build a useful action plan to achieve my business goals. I appreciate the engagement Karoleen provided me, and recommend her trauma coaching services to anyone who looks to connect, improve, and build."
Andrea
"Karoleen is an amazing coach! Her calm, grounded presence makes you feel comfortable right from the start.
In our coaching sessions, Karoleen created a safe and trusting space where I could bring deeper issues to the conversation without feeling judged or embarrassed.
Her skillful questions helped me explore problems in my life from different angles and together we worked through layers of emotions as well as thought patterns that were not serving me and replaced them with healthier and more resourceful approaches.
Altogether, I had a very good experience with Karoleen and I highly recommend her as a trauma informed coach to anybody who wants to heal and create a better life for themselves."
Shelly
"What I really enjoyed about working with Karoleen was her presence. I recall how I felt with her: peaceful, safe, grounded, clear, and hopeful. She intentionally creates a space that allows those emotions to be realized. My biggest takeaway was “I am enough” just as I am and “I am capable” to respond to my life. I am more confident about my ability to navigate all the “unknowns” that still exist around an imminent life transition.
Karoleen helped me to identify tools that I can use to restore and/or recreate the peace, clarity and groundedness that I often experienced in our space. In one session, she captured some of the key attributes and values, that I identified about myself and my work.
Her ability to listen and mirror back to me a myriad of beautiful “golden nuggets” was awesome. I recently reflected on the list and was able to use it as a source of inspiration and reorientation of the truth about who I am. Karoleen is trustworthy, authentic, and operates in integrity. She absolutely delivered on her promises to “walk along side of me… help me see… unlock the answers in my heart… co-create what was best for me”. These are not just catchy words on her website. They are foundational values in her practice."
Hear From Mark...
My client, Mark, chatted with me about his coaching experience and how working on his inner world helped support him in his work at Apple.
"I'd say, this is definitely the best mindset that I've been in for a while, and I thank you for a lot of that... There really wasn't any hesitation."
What Can We Do Together?
I work with professionals, leaders, and entrepreneurs who feel blocked in clarity, confidence, purpose and productivity.
These blocks often happen when your nervous system protects you…
But that protection isn’t helpful if it happens constantly and keeps you from moving toward what you desire.
Patterns like procrastination, overthinking and imposter syndrome,which are considered common in our society, are two of the many ways your nervous system protects you.
So, I help you to reconnect with your body…
Befriend your emotions…
And regulate your nervous system via polyvagal-informed tools, trauma informed coaching, parts work and somatic practices.
Whether or not you know these methods above, that’s okay.
I share them with you so you have context about how I coach…
But we always go at your pace, and you have the power to lead how you want sessions to go.
Once we work together…
We go beyond your mindset and cognitive brain so you can break through the surface, address the root cause of what holds you back, and experience actuallasting change.
What kind of change?
Here are just a few examples of what I help my clients do…
Finally get clear on what they want to do in their lives and careers and actually go after it, even if it seems too out of reach (it usually never is)
Finally stop procrastinating on big and scary things while developing the confidence and strength to do those big and scary things
Finally take care of their body and minds and how they speak to themselves so they can develop the skills needed to create long-lasting results
Finally put themselves first so that they can make more money in less time, deepen and strengthen their relationships with themselves and others, and live the one life they have in the biggest way possible
If that all sounds a bit scary, or even exciting, any emotion you may be feeling as you read this is okay, too.
Any personal development can feel challenging…
Which is why we’ll only ever do what feels right and manageable for you in the moment.
I guide you as you lead, as a good coach is meant to do.
Working on goals in isolation can be discouraging and exhausting especially when the persistent feelings of shame and self-doubt can often stop us in our tracks…
That’s why I’m here.
We can create NEW patterns and behaviors that move you toward the ideal life and career that you truly want.
Let’s do this together.
Get Out of Survival Mode and Start Living
I work 1:1 with clients for at least 12 weeks at a time. Whether you want to ease the chaos or monotony in your current career, gain freedom in a new freelance or consulting business, or take a leap into the unknown of a more purposeful life… We can work together to remove your blocks and move you forward.
Common Questions
My goal as your coach is to help you make positive change and take action in the present to set up for a great future.
As a trauma-informed coach, I understand the nuances and challenges of living in the present with trauma and how it may show up in our coaching sessions. This awareness is important since there are many people in this world who have experienced traumatic events, and since any personal development work can feel challenging, I do my best to create a space that cultivates safety and forward motion.
However, trauma-informed coaching can be beneficial for anyone, including those who feel they haven’t experienced any particularly traumatic events.
Unlike therapy, trauma-informed coaching doesn’t typically involve the processing and resolving of trauma or traumatic events.
While coaching is effective on its own, it’s also a beneficial complement to therapy.
If you would like to seek out strategies and tools for accomplishing your goals, coaching can be a great fit for you. We’ll assess what you want to create for yourself, what’s holding you back, and how you can move forward.
Coaching is not a good fit if you are currently experiencing a crisis. My recommendation in this case would be to work with a trauma-informed counselor or therapist.
Unfortunately, no. Insurance does not cover coaching.
C-PTSD stands for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It results from repeated experiences of traumatic events, such as physical and sexual abuse, childhood trauma, bullying, narcissistic abuse, neglect, etc.
Symptoms are similar to PTSD (flashbacks, hypervigilance, etc.) and also include additional symptoms such as poor self-esteem, lack of identity, and difficulty regulating emotions.
Though C-PTSD isn’t currently an official diagnosis in the DSM, many trauma survivors (including some of my clients) resonate with this condition.
While I’m passionate about helping fellow complex trauma survivors, being one is not a prerequisite to work with me. Trauma-informed coaching is beneficial for anyone.
If you’ve experienced abuse or traumatic events of any kind, you have the power to decide whether you identify as a trauma survivor or not. You also have the power to decide when and with whom to share your story.
The most important thing to look for in a coach is whether you feel safe with them, and safety is very important to me.
If you feel ready to work in a goal-oriented way, to create new habits, and identify + pursue what lights up you, get in touch so we can see how we can move forward together!
You can email me at karoleen [at] karoleendcoaching [dot] com.
My Education and Experience:
Coaching
I’m a Trauma Informed Certified Coach (TICC) with training from Moving the Human Spirit, as well as coach training from Lumia, both wonderful ICF-accredited programs.
Additional training includes polyvagal-informed work with Deb Dana and the Polyvagal Institute, and additional somatic parts work with The Embody Lab.
Consulting
Alongside coaching, I’m an independent business growth consultant for local, service and health & wellness businesses.
I admire small businesses' entrepreneurial spirit—their work is why they are the backbone of their communities and I'm passionate about helping them succeed.
Prior to consulting, I spent over 15 years as a graphic designer, UI/UX designer and researcher for healthcare, mental health and education.
I’ve worked at various design studios, tech start-ups in NYC, and McKinsey & Company as an Associate Design Director before branching out on my own in 2019.
Art
I’ve been an artist my whole life. I received my B.A. in Art from UC Santa Barbara in 2008, have shown work in NYC and LA, and continue to sell pieces online.
Healing and CPTSD Foundation
I'm honored to serve on the Board of Directors of the Healing and CPTSD Foundation—a non-profit dedicated to helping fellow trauma survivors heal and thrive through awareness, advocacy and financial assistance.
Get Out of Survival Mode and Start Living
I work 1:1 with clients for at least 12 weeks at a time. Whether you want to ease the chaos or monotony in your current career, gain freedom in a new freelance or consulting business, or take a leap into the unknown of a more purposeful life… We can work together to remove your blocks and move you forward.
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