Maria · PhD
I spent a lot of time working inside a hospital system: end-of-life care, capacity disputes, family conflict, and cases with no clean answer. Those moments take a real toll, and I built my coaching practice around what's left afterward: the burnout, the moral weight, and the cost of years spent putting the job first.
I hold a PhD in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis. My published research on emotion regulation, self-control, and motivation is the foundation for my approach, and I draw on it, along with the broader research on physician burnout and coaching, to build session materials tailored to what each client is working through.
I have logged more than 300 coaching hours since 2021, working with clients on perfectionism, burnout, identity fused to achievement, and decision-making under pressure.
These are patterns, not diagnoses. They describe where physicians tend to get stuck and where the work usually begins.
The same discipline that got you through pre-med, residency, and boards is now making you miserable. Rest feels like falling behind. This is not weakness. It is a system built for training, not for a twenty-year career.
What we do —Figure out which parts of your discipline still serve you and which ones are just running on old momentum.
ReferenceYou can describe the problem exactly: the schedule, the charting, the weight of difficult decisions. Naming it hasn't been enough to picture anything different.
What we do —Rebuild the part of you that can picture something different, not as a fantasy, but as something you could actually do next week.
ReferenceSome shifts you're sharp. Others, you're on autopilot, and pushing harder only makes it worse. This is not a willpower problem.
What we do —Build a different relationship with effort, one that doesn't treat rest as the enemy of performance.
ReferenceYou are doing the job well by every metric that gets measured. You cannot remember the last shift, or the last dinner with your family, that actually felt real.
What we do —Figure out where the disconnect started and what it would take to feel present again, at work and at home.
You are the one your team calls. Families trust you with their fear and their grief. You carry it home. You are proud of being able to hold it, and it is wearing you down.
What we do —Build the actual skills for putting it down at the end of a shift, not just the advice to "set boundaries."
ReferenceYour sense of yourself is built on being excellent. One hard case, one difficult conversation with a family, and it does not just sting. It threatens how you see yourself.
What we do —Build other places for your sense of worth to stand, so one bad outcome doesn't threaten the whole structure.
ReferenceBetween sessions, you'll get practice tools built specifically around what you're working through, not a generic packet, so the work continues past the fifty minutes.
The work is quiet. The change is not.
I came in able to describe exactly what was wrong and completely unable to change it. Maria didn't hand me another framework — she helped me see the pattern underneath, and for the first time it actually moved.
A. M.
Physician, mid-career
Most coaching felt like being told to try harder. This was the opposite. We took apart my relationship with effort itself, and the work got lighter without getting smaller.
J. R.
Physician, department chief
I'd read all the books. What I needed was someone rigorous enough to sit with the real problem and not flinch. That's exactly what I found.
S. K.
Physician
You describe what's bringing you in. I describe how I work. No obligation.
If we move forward, we start with a longer session to map history and what you want the work to address.
Most clients meet weekly or every other week for 50 minutes, virtually.
Therapy treats clinical conditions and works with the past. Coaching is forward-looking, for people who are functional but stuck, numb, or burned out. My academic training is in the science of how minds and habits work. My ICF training is in how to help you change them. If therapy is the better fit, I will say so.
No. Physician coaching is a distinct skill from clinical medicine. It's about burnout, identity, and decision fatigue, not medical judgment. If it seems like clinical care would serve you better, we will work together to help you find the right person.
No. Coaching is not a clinical service and is not covered by insurance. Fees are discussed on the consultation call.
Most coaching is virtual, so I can work with physicians regardless of location.
It depends. Some clients work with me around a specific transition. Others stay for a year or more. We set goals at the start and revisit them regularly.
Yes. Confidentiality is core to the coaching relationship and to ICF standards. The narrow exceptions (imminent harm to self or others) are reviewed in the first session.
Session cadence and cost, laid out before the first call so there are no surprises after it.
Single session
$175
Core package
12 sessions
$150/session
$1,800 total
Extended package
24 sessions
$135/session
$3,240 total
Deep work package
36 sessions
$120/session
$4,320 total
Choose a time that works for you. The call is brief, free, and meant to see if we're a fit.
No obligation · Held by video · Open in Calendly
If you would rather start with a message, write me directly. I read every inquiry personally and respond within two business days.