{"id":174,"date":"2018-02-08T09:32:40","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T17:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marymorrisconsulting.com\/?page_id=174"},"modified":"2026-04-14T19:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:45:39","slug":"about-me","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marymorrisconsulting.com\/index.php\/about-me\/","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hey there! I’m Mary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s a quick snapshot of my journey and my style. Let me know<\/a> if you have any questions!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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On a TRULY<\/em> miserable day many, many years ago, a coach saved my life.<\/span><\/h2>\n

At the very least she saved my sanity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I’d spent the better part of a year going through \u2026 \u00a0let\u2019s call it … a series of\u00a0<\/em>unfortunate events.\u00a0<\/span>Events that resulted in (among other things) my developing PTSD. (<\/em>PRO tip:<\/em> PTSD sucks. 0\/10, would NOT recommend.<\/em>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I tried a LOT of things to get even a little bit better. But the little remote area I lived in had limited access to health care, so … yeah, it was bad.\u00a0<\/em><\/span>When an intake<\/em> appointment (read: the first chance you have to even TALK with a provider) I\u2019d already been waiting three months<\/em> for was suddenly cancelled \u2013 and could not be rescheduled for at least 10 months<\/em> \u2026 well, turns out there are levels<\/span><\/span><\/em> of despair<\/span>. NOT my favorite life lesson.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually I remembered that my employer offered an EAP \u2013 Employee Assistance Program \u2013 something I had never before thought to use.\u00a0<\/span>And working with the life coach the EAP connected me with right away (because I was a WRECK<\/em>, and I suspect they thought any wait of more than a minute might do me in), I felt the first small glimmer of hope I had encountered since the PTSD symptoms began.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did my life progress from that moment in a seamless movie montage of success after shining success?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

NOPE!\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

But having any hope at all, after having precisely none<\/em> for too long?<\/span>
\nThat changes things.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, that experience made me a life-long, hard-core advocate for EAPs! <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It also left me fascinated<\/em> by the concept of personal coaching.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At that point, let’s be real: pursuing anything more complex than surviving each day was far<\/em> beyond my capacity. So, I just did the surviving. Then, eventually, the healing. At some point, I managed ‘kinda functional’ (there was absolutely cake for THAT celebration) and thankfully, kept inching forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You ever have that THING<\/em> that nags at the back of your mind, though? Never really intrusive, but never not there?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That was coaching for me.<\/span><\/h3>\n

It wasn’t until 2023, when I was working with a client group run by an ICF master coach, that I started to really consider coaching. <\/span>It started with asking my client if I could interview her sometime, separate from our project, to ask questions about coaching, because it was something I had long had an interest in.<\/span><\/p>\n

And she surprised me by saying, \u201cI mean, sure, of course … but \u2026 you’re \u2026 already coaching …\u201d with a slight air of confusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Further discussion ensued, and she taught me that I was already asking coaching questions and posing coaching scenarios in my work with her team. I was leading her and others on her team through our work together in same way she worked with her clients. HUH.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Over the two years of our project together, she graciously supported me to really explore what coaching already looked like in my work as well as talking time to answer my questions about her training and processes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AND I WAS HOOKED.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Training, certifications, and a lot of ups, downs, and in-betweens later, and I got to move into coaching full time. <\/span><\/p>\n

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In 150 words or less –\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

In taking the goals, projects, processes, efforts that aren\u2019t working the way you want them to, and collaborating with you to figure out WHY they don’t work<\/em><\/span>\u00a0and HOW to change that<\/em>,<\/span> so that you get most success out of each unit action, effort, blood, sweat, tears \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n