About Me

Chere Clark:

Counselor, Life Coach, Educator

A little about me –

 Life challenges can and often do feel more like struggles.  Normal transitions, like a job change, relocating, retirement, or a sudden “empty nest” are sometimes daunting, and might even be overwhelming.

Everyday disappointments, and the bigger issues, like relationship stress, illness, divorce, job loss, work burnout or the longing for more meaningful work—weigh us down, steal our energy, even derail us.

Transforming events, like a friend or family member dying, can take their toll and even take us down for a time.  There can be times of great loneliness.  Then, there is the trauma of life.  You may have had traumatic experiences that continue to impact you, in ways big or small.

I can relate!

I’ve struggled with many of these life experiences.  My growing up years weren’t smooth or easy, and I wanted to run away once (though I didn’t).  There was an episode of family violence.   As a military child, and later as an Army wife, there were frequent moves.  In my marriage, there were four long military-related separations.  There was loneliness, and three of the separations were stressful war-time deployments.  The first was the worst, as my husband went to Afghanistan with Special Forces, days after 9/11.  There were jobs that I loved and lost because we had to move.  I’d have to start over, each time.  I finally landed my dream corporate job, only to be downsized after five years.

As we all do, I’ve had other losses: a house fire, a dear friend who died after early-onset dementia, a family member who committed suicide.  Illnesses, like Bell’s Palsy, a temporary facial paralysis—just as I was becoming a counselor (I needed my face!).  This problem passed (and fortunately, I got my face back after a year).

Ah, life.

Naturally, we respond to distressing life events and big changes, often, by contracting, drawing away from, or resisting them.  In my case, it was no different: first, through withdrawing from the world, and then becoming seriously depressed, more than once in my life.  I found my way through, beginning with my own inner work in counseling; and later by becoming a counselor, myself.

Learning life coaching skills from Dr. Martha Beck proved to be a valuable experience, too.

I’ve gained perspective; there’s ease, freedom, and joy in life, much of the time.  I marvel at the journey, and I look forward to every day.  I know that it doesn’t immunize me against life stress or adversity, either; but I know how to navigate these experiences, now.

How?  I learned the tools to turn struggles into challenges.  It’s about detecting and relating differently to the sometimes-unconscious patterns of thinking that no longer serve (if they ever did!).

Before, things often seemed insurmountable, and I took a life—and myself—way too seriously.  I am now what I call a ‘seriously happy person,’ living and loving the life of my biggest, most exciting dreams

One of the best parts is helping others to take their own self-discovery, healing, and growth journey!

And a little more. What experiences made me who I am?

In many and varied work roles over the decades, I learned about people, relationships, and organizations—and how they function optimally, through highly-skilled teamwork and by honoring the dignity and gifts of each person.

As an adult educator in my first real career, I learned how adults discover their capacity for learning, how they learn best, how to tailor their learning to their needs.

As a counselor, I have learned much:  through my training; then in a year-long internship; and during the four years after, while completing the 3,000 post-grad counseling hours required for licensing. I have the great opportunity to work in private practice.  Through these years and many steps, I grew to understand what makes us humans tick, how we relate to ourselves and others, what happens when we experience loss and trauma, and how we heal and, importantly—GROW.

As a coach, too:  Most recently I’ve added this skill set and have learned how much I enjoy guiding clients to live the life they dream of! 

How I approach my work…

I am always learning, and studying science.  I draw from the research of psychology and neuroscience to ensure effectiveness.  I practice on myself, too!  The tools and methods I use and teach provide a present-and-future-focus, empowering clients to activate powerful shifts, greater well-being, and joy!

This often produces rapid results, and often can be enjoyable!  In these and other ways, I work hard to make Possibility Counseling & Coaching encouraging, inspiring, and highly effective. I am an observer, and I have learned much from my clients since beginning in 2003, in my internship.  I have created, developed, and tested offerings to provide experiences that aim to meet the needs of my clients.

My core beliefs that inform my work:

• There is ALWAYS hope, even when life seems darkest and the path ahead is unclear.
• It is truly NEVER too late to grow, learn, and transform your life.  At its best, life is a journey of never-ending growth and learning.
  • If we can be open and interested and courageous enough to walk that never-ending growth journey, life can become satisfying and fun and rich, in ways almost unimaginable.
• Each one of us has a bright, beautiful life to be lived. What that means for our relationships, work, creativity, our service to and our impact on others is HUGE!  I believe it can make all the difference in one’s life and, just maybe—if enough of us take up the journey—in the future of humanity.