Compassionate No-BS Coaching
Tired of fighting your own mind?
If worry, overthinking, or self-criticism keeps dragging you down, this is one-on-one coaching to help you get out of the downward spiral and create a life of freedom, connection, and joy. In 12 weeks.
Let's have a conversation →
Does this sound like you?
- Your mind replays conversations long after they're over, looking for what you did wrong.
- You continually imagine worst-case scenarios.
- You're harder on yourself than you ever would be on anyone else.
- You lie awake at night with thoughts you can't stop.
- You agonize over small decisions until you're exhausted, or put them off altogether.
- You've tried positive thinking, but the moment something goes wrong, you're stuck in fear and doubt again.
You can't think your way out of overthinking.
When you work with me, you'll find that I'm compassionate, honest, and direct. And here's the honest thing: the problem isn't that you think too much. It's that you believe everything you think.
Your mind is a prediction machine. Its job is to scan for danger, replay mistakes, and warn you about what could go wrong. For most of human history, that kept people alive. But it does not know the difference between a lion and an awkward email, so it treats both as emergencies, and you end up living in a constant state of alarm.
So you try to fix it the way you fix everything else, by thinking harder. You argue with the thoughts, analyze them, and try to replace them with positive ones. And the more you fight them, the louder they get.
I know this from the inside. For a long time I was an unhappy, overwhelmed person myself, and some days my mind still gets loud. What changed my life was not getting rid of those thoughts. It was learning that I'm not my thoughts. I'm the one who notices them.
“You are not your thoughts. You’re the one who notices them.” — Doug Hope
In our work together, you'll learn how your brain actually works and why it does what it does. You'll practice stepping back from your thoughts instead of getting tangled in them, feeling what you feel without being swept away, and coming back to the present moment, where your life is actually happening.
We'll also look at the beliefs underneath the negative thinking, the old ideas about who you are and what you deserve, and update the ones that no longer fit.
Your mind will still talk. You'll just stop taking orders from it.
Imagine a life like this
- You notice a negative thought and let it pass instead of following it down the spiral.
- You sleep better because your mind knows how to settle.
- You make decisions without agonizing over every possible outcome.
- You talk to yourself with the same kindness you would offer a good friend.
- You feel your feelings without being overwhelmed by them.
- You spend more of your day in the present instead of replaying the past or rehearsing the future.
- You handle setbacks without deciding they prove something is wrong with you.
- You feel calmer, clearer, and more like yourself.
Ready to get out of your head?
You do not have to keep living at the mercy of every thought that shows up.
12 weeks of private coaching
$5,000
Start with a complimentary conversation.
We'll talk about what has been going on, what you want to change, and whether working together makes sense.
Book a complimentary conversation →People who got out of their heads
Working with Doug helped me get out of stuck patterns and see long-standing problems in a completely new way. His calm, grounded presence made it easy to relax, reflect, and be honest, and our conversations often led to real breakthrough moments. Doug brings warmth, directness, and creativity in a way that genuinely makes a difference.
After working with Doug, I feel less stressed, more present, and more grounded in my own needs. After years of people-pleasing, I've learned to say no, make room for myself, and feel happier overall.
Training and credentials
- 30 years of coaching experience
- Certified Master Life Coach
- Six months of training with the Memory Reconsolidation Elite Coaching Academy
- Bachelor of Arts in Education
- Methods: memory reconsolidation, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), and somatic emotional work
A few common questions.
How is this different from therapy?
Therapy often includes understanding and healing the past. My coaching focuses on what's happening in your life now, understanding what's driving your choices, what you want, and what you're going to do about it. If you're already in therapy, coaching can also work alongside it.
Is this for anxiety or depression?
Coaching isn't a treatment for anxiety, depression, or any other mental health condition. If you're dealing with one, I'm glad to work alongside your therapist or doctor. And if I think you need more support than coaching can offer, I'll tell you honestly and help you find it.
What happens in a coaching session?
I do a lot of listening because I want to understand not only what you're doing, but what's happening underneath it. We look at what you're thinking and feeling, what you're afraid might happen, what you actually want, and what's making it difficult to act on what you already know.
Sometimes that means understanding something you've never seen before. Sometimes it means having the conversation you've been avoiding, setting a boundary, making a decision, or learning to stay with the uncomfortable feelings that arise when you stop doing what everyone expects of you.
How do I know if I'm ready for coaching?
You don't have to have everything figured out. In fact, that's part of what we'll do together.
What matters more is that you're tired of going around the same circle and willing to look honestly at your own part in keeping it going. You don't need to know exactly what you want yet, but you do need to be willing to find out.
Do I have to make a big decision?
No. I'm not going to tell you to leave your relationship, quit your job, cut someone out of your life, or make any other decision for you.
My job is to help you become clear enough about what you want and secure enough in yourself that the decision becomes yours.
Why 12 weeks?
Because understanding a pattern and changing one are two different things.
You may understand in the first conversation exactly why you keep putting yourself last. The harder part comes when someone gets angry, disappointed, distant, or unhappy because you've started behaving differently.
Twelve weeks gives us time to work with those moments as they actually happen, rather than having one insightful conversation and hoping everything changes afterward.
What if I'm not sure this will help me?
That's what the complimentary session is for. We'll talk about what's happening, what you want to change, and what's been getting in the way. You'll experience how I work, and we'll decide whether working together makes sense.
Is everything we talk about confidential?
Yes. What you share in our sessions stays between us. People often bring things to coaching that they've had difficulty saying out loud anywhere else, which makes confidentiality particularly important.
If you're currently dealing with active abuse or a mental health crisis, coaching isn't the right first step. Please reach out to a licensed professional or crisis support first.