Cathy Olson VanderPloeg, CPC

Certified Holistic Stress Management and Lifestyles Coach, Speaker, Author, Certified Laughter Yoga Leader

A Little Background

Although I've only been a professional coach for a little over a year, and mostly in group settings, my love of coaching has been growing for a very long time. I feel that above and beyond the certification I have in both holistic stress management and professional coaching, my life experience has given me much to give back to my clients.

My career in advertising prepared me well for my role as a coach, especially in the area of stress management. I was — and occasionally, still am — an art director, a writer, a producer, and, although I didn't realize it, often a coach of sorts for my colleagues.

When they'd come and chat with me, I didn't solve their problems or come up with life altering plans for them. Yet, they'd often thank me and leave with a sense of relief as if something had been resolved. I never understood what it was they were thanking me for. I would just listen, ask a few questions and then, listen some more.

I later learned that this is also the basis of good coaching — an instinct I probably learned from my mother who was a master teacher extraordinaire.

Thoughts On Coaching

You see, coaches don't offer solutions for their clients (just as teachers don't do the work for their students or give them all the answers.) Instead, they hold the space for their clients to do the work and find their own solutions — solutions that fit with their own unique needs, goals and lifestyles.

By believing in their clients, coaches create an environment of possibilities and maintain it until their clients develop a belief in themselves. Coaching provides a safe space to dream big and to take the actions needed to realize those dreams.

Stress Management Coaching 

My advertising career also taught me that not all stress is created equal, and I became extremely interested in the ways people actually use stress. Certainly, the downside of stress is very apparent, as well as, the dysfunctional ways we often deal with it.

But what about the benefits?

Stress can actually help create a keen sense of focus, a heightened sense of awareness and creativity — the adrenaline rush of 'creative juices' that we've all experienced at one time or another. For some, it can add spice to otherwise mundane tasks, or create a competitive edge if only with themselves.

I hold the belief that stress is not all bad. Life, itself, is stressful in one way or another, and stress is a form of energy. It's how we manage that energy that's important.

My intent is to help clients reclaim the energy they lose through stressful and negative thinking and put that energy where it can be instrumental toward developing healthier, more balanced lifestyles... and more joy. My work also incorporates energy work, laughter and a spiritual component, as well, wherever appropriate.

By helping people identify and pull forth the resources that are available to them in their relationships, their work, their finances, and their physical, as well as, spiritual lives, I guide them to see stress in new ways and to use that energy for supporting themselves, their dreams and their goals.