WHO I AM

I am a Berliner and my home is in L.A. Workshops in trauma healing at the ‘Self Worth Work’ Nonprofit and a plan to go on a world sailing tour brought me to California. My partner, daugther and I embody L.A.’s cultural diversity; we enjoy the ocean and camping trips to the bountiful nature that surrounds us. We frequently travel to different parts of the world.

I grew up as a modern nomad moving many times, because my father worked as a soldier in the German Army. We lived in places throughout Europe and I spent a year in Canada’s Rocky Mountains. I still love to spend weeks at a time on horseback in the wilderness to connect to myself. Life fully immersed in nature taught me the value of nurturing ourselves first, to then be fully available to others.

 

THE FOUNDATION OF MY WORK

In the two decades I’ve been working as a Transformational Coach I learned what tools yield the most sustainable results for each of my clients. Non-violent Communication, Family Constellation Work, Intuitive seeing, Meditation, Yoga, herbology, and gemology inform my practice. This and years of work experience in a war zone enable me to guide you successfully through even the roughest emotional terrain, reliably supporting you through a deep but always safe process.

My education is varied with a Master’s Degree in Modern History, Politics and Social Sciences from Humboldt University in Berlin, choosing academia and coaching because I simultaneously like to dig deep for answers and to see things from a higher perspective. Life continued to pull me away from academia, which can be at times isolating, towards working with people.

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IT TAKES COURAGE

It takes a fearless person to guide others through fear. As a photojournalist I witnessed several violent clashes. Some of which included the second Intifada in Israel, the protests in Beirut, Lebanon in the face of the cartoon crisis, the Green Revolution in Iran in 2009 and four years in a war zone in Afghanistan. These experiences taught me how to cope with extreme stress and trauma. I learned how to stay calm during acute conflicts and support victims of violence.

 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

I’ve always had a very independent nature, looking for what unites people in their individual beliefs, not what separates them. As a single traveler I explored mystical places in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia where saints and sages taught how to realize that we are all part of a cosmic union. In order to understand the ancient spiritual texts I studied Arabic in Syria and Persian in Iran for one year each. My coaching is informed by obtaining strength and true freedom through the Master within us. One agreement that all spiritual traditions commit to is that we can’t avoid shadows on our path; on the contrary our path needs to lead us through our shadows. In the words of Eckhard Tolle: “We are all born with a burden of pain, it’s part of the human condition.” By turning inwards, to your own guidance system – the Master within – you can address blockages most directly. This is where transformational coaching becomes vital, because a second pair of eyes makes it possible to see hidden blockages and blind spots. It’s an indescribably liberating feeling when the weight of the burden lifts and you can say, “I had the courage to face my shadow and came out happier and healthier on the other side.”

 

TRANSFORMATION COMES FROM WITHIN

My Coaching is informed by my training as a pathfinder and problem solver. I worked for the NATO Mission in Afghanistan and for GIZ and the German Foreign Office as a Political Advisor. One of my roles was as a mediator between Warlords, the military and civilians. I was able to interact with Afghan women and men and even the most conservative religious authorities respected me because of my familiarity with their culture and customs. In contrast, a majority of male German soldiers had a problem with the image of a female soldier in their midst. I owe them great thanks for teaching me to stand my ground in an already challenging work environment. Analyzing the war in Afghanistan, seeing people’s personal struggles, and understanding my own challenges, I realized that transformation comes from within. 

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