Have you ever considered how you would feel if you woke up one day and didn’t know why you were wherever you were?  I’m not talking about waking up after overindulging in some substance or forgetting where you slept.  I’m asking if you’ve ever been betrayed by your memories?

All of a sudden, you find that you’re unable to do what you remember you could do.  Your life terrifies you.  You trust no one and you can’t remember needing the assistance that you now require.   What do you do?  How can you SURVIVE and CONTINUE TO PROSPER?
That was my situation before I decided to enroll in ICA.  I suffered a severe closed head injury as a result of a car accident, while I was in my senior year at the University of Michigan in 1971.

I crawled-out from under some horrendous circumstances, completed my undergraduate education and acquired a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin in 1976.

I worked briefly in the field of alcohol treatment and found that I couldn’t function the way I wanted to, in a mainstream position.  So after a lot of thought, acquiring professional certifications and time spent working on my own recovery, I created job for myself.  I became a brain injured peer counselor and worked for out-patient mental health clinic programs that served brain injured clients.

I stumbled upon coaching by accident.  I was reading a book.  I learned that the skills needed to coach were ones that I was using as a peer counselor.

What I have learned from being a coaching

I combine my life experiences as a nearly 39 year survivor of a severe brain stem injury and Disability Life Coach with my Social Work education, to provide modeling, motivation and support services to those who have experienced trauma & those who support them.

My experiences with people from all over the world are what makes being a student of the International Coaching Academy so very special. I love communicating with people from other continents. Rather than being confined to my house, I’m able to make contact with people that I’ll never meet because they live in another city, state, or country. I’m very satisfied with my decision to become a part of the ICA community. Attending classes has given me a purpose. I will graduate in December of 2010. Taking a full two years to complete my studies, has allowed me to participate in multiple communities of practice and do my peer coaching at a relaxed pace.