I grew up in a small rural community where I faced bullying daily for being perceived as different.

Those experiences stayed with me. Over the years, I’ve worked in education, research, and leadership roles, and I’ve seen the same story repeat itself, when good people are silenced by bad systems, compassion is mistaken for weakness, and the pressure to fit costs people their authenticity.

My own turning point came when I realized I wanted to make a difference for others after and not just passively sit on the sidelines and watch. This led me to do my own inner work to unlearn what I had been taught, unblend from the parts of me that initially protected but were no longer serving me, and to unleash my own true self out into the world. In a sense, it was about coming back to myself.

That realization shaped the foundation of Blackwood’s Brave Coaching. And let me tell all of it has been easier said than done!

I created this space where I can combine the insights of psychotherapy, neuroscience and coaching. Using evidence-based tools to help you understand how your mind and body operate and to educate you to help you. Dr. Grand - the founder of Brainspotting - just taught me this comet analogy:

The head of the comet is you, who leads the healing journey, and the tail is the coach, who follows closely and supports the client's direction without dictating it.

Because learning to think differently, feel differently, and live differently…
is easier said than done.