my story

Rather than giving you a detailed CV, I would rather share with you my own “story” - my own life experience which I believe is the most important thing that has made me a credible counselor, coach & therapist for my clients.

Things like expatriation, getting integrated into Switzerland, to the HQ environment of a multinational company, restructuring, changing jobs, overcoming burn-out, surviving unemployment, career reorientation, getting back to work after pregnancy, healthy work-life balance with kids, starting own business, separation, etc. are all things and challenges in life I have been through myself!

So here is my story, here is how it all began...

My first passion... People

I was one of those lucky people who discover their passion when they are still young. At the time I was a 17-year-old high school girl who was sitting in her psychology class and listening to the teacher talking about different areas of psychology. It was when he started explaining about “work psychology” when I felt a strong impulse going through me and a kind of an “illumination” happened – and at that very moment I realized what I wanted to do...

I wanted to work for the happiness and satisfaction of people at work.

After graduating high school I entered Bogazici University in Istanbul to study Psychology. Although I was attracted to all areas of psychology, especially to clinical psychology, I still chose to explore deeper the organisational dimension. I was interested in corporate environment and problems of people at work, their motivation & fulfillment with their jobs, therefore I further studied organisational/work psychology and human resources management.

Then through a Rotary International Scholarship I went to the USA in order to do a Masters degree in Business Administration where I continued specializing in organisational development. I also became one of the founders of the Human Resources Management Club and even won an award from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) for my “commitment” to this area...

My USA experience is one of the most valuable periods of my life.

My second passion...Cultures

An important part of it was my being elected a “Goodwill Ambassador of Rotary” to represent my country. I was chosen out of almost one thousand candidates from all over the world into a group of 80 where everyone would represent their own culture. I made presentations and speeches about Turkish culture and cross-cultural communication & challenges in many Rotary clubs in the whole state of Georgia, USA.

I also made a final presentation about “Peace & Cross-cultural understanding" with my Greek - Armenian friend, who has become my best friend since. We were a symbol of acceptance, respect, tolerance and understanding, and these are the keys when interacting with people from other cultures.

It turned out as the most fertile period in my life, because I came to realize the importance of cultural diversity. This is how my second great passion, intercultural exchange, flourished.  

At the end of my 2-years stay I felt like the richest person on earth, because I had gained an invaluable experience with various cultures and had learnt a lot about their people's habits and traditions. This way, I ended up "having homes" in at least 80 different countries. 

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After that my life went on with accumulating valuable corporate life experience in different Human Resources Management roles. I had the privilege to work in various international organizations with highly qualified professionals, to get involved in many interesting projects and work again with people from different cultures at a world-wide level.

As an ambitious, career-minded achievement-oriented individual I accomplished a lot. I would work hard, stay overtime, take risks, aim at and conquer positions, and everything necessary to go ahead. I really loved to progress in my career, but I was neglecting a very important point – my health. I had started having headaches and repeated coughs, had become overwhelmed with emotions and stress. I tried to cure myself with classical medication, but there were no real results. I would keep working at maximum speed... and then in 2004 I had a “burn-out”.

My third passion...Health & Wellbeing

Although the burn-out seemed like an unfortunate event, it became one of the biggest turning points in my life and one of the biggest chances life has offered me. I not only managed to overcome it in a relatively short period of time but also discovered my new passion - Coaching (progress) and Relaxation (without stress).

I have been privileged to experience myself the “magic” of Coaching, Breathwork, Relaxation, Reiki, Sophrology, Yoga and to find out that they are powerful tools that if used consistently and with professionalism can direct one’s life into a very positive direction.

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Discovering them and applying them on myself was not enough. I wanted to do more and make a difference also in other people's lives. I actually become certified in ALL of these methods to be able to fulfill my life's mission and purpose and help people live healthy, balanced and fulfilled lives. Today with all these personal and professional skills and experience I have acquired, I still work with people from different cultural backgrounds. I want to help them stay aware of their own resources and powers to accomplish their goals with total respect to themselves including their bodies, their minds, their souls as well as their environment and ,of course, whole universe. 

Today, I feel happy and fully rooted in the country where I arrived as a single expatriate ten years ago.

I have a wonderful family with 2 lovely (trilingual) daughters and their loving father.  As I watch them grow I try to give them the notion of universal love & well-being and try to encourage them to reach this first through "self-love" & "self-care".  

Today I am happy to have my dream job where I address all my passions – I help people and their families from different cultures to feel at home and get happily rooted in Switzerland. I coach and encourage them to develop both personally and professionally, and teach them how to live a life without stress and stay healthy. The great thing is that my clients and I have become life-time learning partners. Our relationship continues no matter where we are in the world. I stay as their coach/therapist life-long and we continue working through Skype when they feel the need. 

I feel privileged to be able to offer a flexible, completely mobile approach and create customised programs according to the specific needs of my clients.

You can read client testimonials in the HOW section... and if you feel a little urge telling you that this may be what you need, It is for free to try...

You can fill in an inquiry form in CONTACT section and get an appointment for a free-of-charge information session where I personally receive you in the center.