About Annie Young, Certified EGCM Coach
What Qualifies Me to Work With You
I was a professional who walked along side many parents which had lost sight of who they were in their journey. Their dreams changed. Their excitement with life shifted and sometimes dimmed. My role then was to focus on the child, yet I found myself longing to hold the hand of the parent who needed to know they were so much more in the world.
I am a parent who became a different person through my journey. My spark in life wasn’t the same after kids. I knew I was not being all I was meant to be, and I did not know where to begin again. I’ve been there. Gestalt Coaching helped me rediscover my value. Let me guide you in rediscovering who you are. Let me help you find your worth.
Before Coaching
Parenting is something you cannot really prepare for. Oh, sure, there are books to read…one contradicting the next…and maybe at some point you realize that you can take something from each one and make it your own. There are even books on how to retain your own individuality. How to have balance between parenting and your individual needs and desires. What I found is that for every book written on that, there is one that says you have no right to that part of you as long as you are raising a child. You decided to be a parent and you should sacrifice for the sake of that child.
As someone who fought hard and with conscience effort to keep something that was uniquely mine aside from being a parent, I still found myself lost. I was lucky enough to have children that were able to begin taking care of them selves and I STILL found myself wondering who I was aside from being a parent. How do I give back to the world…or even MY world.
Sigh….My dreams had changed from before kids. They had changed so much I did not know what they were. I wanted to be valued for more than a “Yeahbutmomma” (a story you should totally ask me about).
My Story
How I Got Started
My first day back to work after my first maternity leave my boss saw me in the hallway and swiftly walked to my side welcoming me back. Then suddenly he stopped, turned to look me in the eye, and he said, “Congratulations! You are now an even better pediatric dietitian because now you will get what it’s like for the parents you give instructions to. You will understand why, many times, after giving the simplest things for them to change or incorporate into their world, they cannot make it happen right away. You have just become even more valuable to our clinic and the patients you serve.”
That’s Right, I was a Registered Pediatric Dietitian
My career was one I continue to cherish, and fondly look back upon. It was with great pride to serve the children and the families that struggled. My specialty was feeding difficulties with the medically complicated and failing to thrive. It included the autistic, premature, and the highly sensory disorganized…to name a few. I started inpatient at a hospital and quickly shifted to outpatient. I loved helping families, in their every day life, make progress.
And then it was my turn.
I am the mother of three. Two girls and boy. I did not feel like I was a very good toddler mom. Impatient, tightly wound, never sure I was doing the right thing. Judging myself and feeling like others were judging me as well. My first born had feeding issues. I kid you not! Luckly I knew a few people in the field.
Parenting has been a gift. And it is sometimes the hardest thing I have ever taken on. It is something I gave all of myself to the second I dove in. Whether the journey is smooth and typical or when it is completely challenging, one thing is FOR SURE…I am not the same person I was when I started.