Meet Teri
I’ve always been curious about people, including myself, and what makes us who we are: what shapes us, what’s innate, and how we make sense of our lives. That curiosity has led me to explore psychology, counselling, neuroscience, and trauma-informed approaches through courses and independent learning. These studies have broadened my understanding of the human experience and inform my perspective as a coach.
My professional scope is Life Coaching, and I do not provide psychological, counselling, or clinical treatment.
I discovered coaching in 2005, and it immediately resonated with me. I was fascinated by the approach and the possibilities it opened up. From 2006–2007, I completed a year-long, in-person coach training program through Erickson College, before it became Erickson International. The program was ICF-accredited, and I’ve continued my professional development ever since.
My training, diplomas, and certifications include Solution Focused Coaching, Professional Coaching, and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, along with studies in natural health, nutrition, and film. What can I say? I love variety.
Although I only recently started my own coaching business, coaching skills have been part of my work for 20 years. I’ve used them throughout my career in nonprofit organizations, medical settings, and physical rehabilitation clinics, supporting people through change, challenge, and transition.
But coaching is about more than training and experience. I’ve experienced my own share of the challenges, uncertainties, changes, and joys that make up a human life. These experiences have shaped my belief in self-compassion and in the importance of having space to navigate life’s inevitable ups and downs.
I don’t believe we need to fix ourselves or become someone “better.” I believe there is value in slowing down, becoming curious about ourselves, and making space for what is here, rather than always trying to change it.
That’s the kind of space I aim to create in coaching: a place where you can be yourself, explore what’s really going on, reconnect with your own wisdom, and discover what feels right for you.
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When I’m not coaching, you’ll usually find me walking the North Shore trails, cold plunging or swimming with my group, hanging out with my dog Cali, spending time with my partner, trying to get my teenage son to hang out with me, connecting with friends, reading, going to the gym, taking yoga or dance classes, or, apparently, accumulating more house plants.
And yes, I built this website myself. It's been a learning experience, to say the least! I have real admiration for anyone who's tackled the same thing and made it look effortless. For now, I'm choosing function over polish. I'd rather be able to update this anytime than wait for it to look perfect.
The Fullness of Being Alive
Serava (Seh-RAH-Vah) was inspired by my maternal grandparents' family name. When I said it aloud, something about the sound felt like an exhale. That feeling stayed with me, and became part of what the name came to represent: the breath of life, and the possibility of making a little more space to simply be.
For me, that means making room for the fullness of being human: the joy and the difficulty, the uncertainty and the possibility, the messy and unfinished parts alongside the beauty, connection, love, and wonder. All of it can exist together.
This is what I hope to offer every person who walks through my door: a space where every part of your experience is welcome, and where nothing about you needs to be hidden, fixed, or pushed away in order to be worthy of care.
So many of us carry the invisible weight of trying to hold it all together. We strive, perform, please, and push away the parts of ourselves that feel painful, difficult, or too much. Yet life isn't about eliminating difficult emotions. It's about learning how to support ourselves more fully as we move through them.
I am here to support you in cultivating a more compassionate relationship with yourself. Together, we'll explore what becomes possible when you meet yourself with greater curiosity and self-trust, creating more space for resilience, presence, connection, play, and meaning.
It's not about becoming someone new. It's about coming home to yourself, so you can experience the fullness of being alive.
Serava is a coaching space rooted in compassion, curiosity, and respect. It welcomes women, trans, and non-binary people who are looking for space to reflect, explore, and grow in ways that feel meaningful to them.