Chelsea often holds sessions while walking through the local forest, which she loves.
“I do find a lot of my clients, particularly the spicy ones, talk more freely if they’re doing something. Sitting across the table from each other doesn’t garner as much insight as when we are out bashing through the bush together.”
Workplace wellbeing
While bush bashing is one option for her Rotorua-based clients, Chelsea can also meet online, which works well for organisational sessions.
“I have a few organisations that I do workplace wellbeing seminars with, and there are a couple of companies where I work with their employee action groups. I’ve got an awesome seminar scheduled for November on imposter syndrome,” she said.
Imposter syndrome is a huge part of what we deal with
Chelsea is also a certified imposter syndrome coach. “It’s such a fascinating space. I did that certification last year because I was finding virtually all my clients were having to tackle an element of this, before we could get into the reason they’d come to me in the first place.
“And for those of us who are neurodivergent, imposter syndrome can be a huge part of what we deal with.”
Do you know who you are?
With neurodivergence, imposter syndrome can reach an even deeper level, where people bury who they are for so long they can start to lose themselves, Chelsea says.
“I met a new client, who was in perimenopause, and going through an ADHD diagnosis, and one thing really stood out. As we started discussing her values and goals I asked her, ‘do you know who you are?’
“She looked at me and said, ‘what do you mean?’ and I said ‘when you’re lying in bed at night and the lights are off, and it’s just you. Who are you?’ She looked at me, and her eyes filled with tears, and she said, ‘I don’t know.’"