About Michelle
Hello you.
Lovely to find you here. Let me share a little more about why I do what I do and how I look at my work. Perhaps it will help you in deciding whether I'm the right person to work with.
My intention is to safely guide you back to love. That's ultimately the best I could do for you. Whether you're looking for support for yourself individually or for you and your partner, my intention stays the same.
Love, as I see it, is pure. Simple. Unconditional. Formless. Endless. Abundant. It's kinda like a spiritual experience.
Relationships are a whole different ball game. They're messy, complex, conditional (that's a good thing), structured, and they wíll end one way or another. They come with abundance and loneliness. They are a human experience.
As a relationship therapist & coach, I love the mess and complexity. I'm 100% here for you if you want to learn a new way of being in a relationship with another human, where you can both experience the pleasure of safety and connection while simultaneously honoring your own autonomy.
I use a blend of Relational Life Therapy® with Havening Techniques®, conscious sexuality training, knowledge of polyvagal theory, an MA in communications, and embodied wisdom to take you there. Science and some 'je ne sais qoui'.
We won't just talk; we'll experience.
Through science and non-science-based teachings, constellational work, somatic practices, various forms of bodywork, shadow work, potentially a shamanic ritual or ceremony, me bringing my intuitive magic, and also old-school verbal therapy and coaching, you'll create new imprints.
I'll laugh with you, cry with you, lovingly confront you, and build you up.
The work we do is deep, embodied and transformative.
The best I could hope for you is 'You living in integrity with You'. Not betraying yourself or another any longer, but getting real. Sometimes that means giving your relationship a new chance, sometimes it means letting go. Yet, it always means strengthening the relationship with yourself and turning to love.
I will take you on a delicate path. A path for the brave. I'm there to hold your hand. Shall we?
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." – Nelson Mandela
If you're curious about my story...
“I’d rather be Raw than wasting time waiting for perfection. I’d rather be Real than protected by a layer of fake varnish. I’d rather be Rebelicious than stuck in a boring life that isn’t mine.”
From the disturbing grip of a Christian cult to a warrioress of love and liberty. People sometimes wonder how these two extremes can meet each other in one lifetime or assume that one has led to another.
Regardless of the limitations the church tried to impose, I always kept a deep desire to think for myself, to be mindful of what I take on as truth and live life on my own terms.
When I look back on my childhood, I'm very thankful I had the resilience to step up for myself and my values when I was 16 and escaped the Christian dogma.
Yet, as you can imagine, choosing my own path had quite some consequences. I was shunned and shamed and learned that I wasn't safe with the people I had hoped would protect me. That in itself massively influenced my ability to relate to others in my adult life.
The dance between feeling free and feeling safe turned out to be a very layered one. Genuinely, deeply, and vulnerably relating to others did not always come easy; it took (and still takes!) lots of awareness of my trauma and imprints.
We're a work in progress, after all!
And so am I. I am not here to claim that I know it all. I am no better or worse than you are. I am a fellow traveler on the path of love and mature relating.
I have mostly learned, though, that the field of love is where I am home. This is within me, and I am in it. It's a deeply spiritual experience that I can then deepen through the relationships I am part of. Romantically and otherwise.
As humans, we are wired for relationships. Freedom lies in getting rid of the masks and layers that stand between us and others. Reconnecting to love itself is the medicine that liberates us.
"True liberation is freedom from our own automatic responses" - Jiddu Krishnamurti
Credentials
- Certified Havening Techniques® Practitioner (2024)*
- Certified Practitioner in Relational Life Therapy ® (2024)
- Polyvagal Theory for Therapists with Deb Dana (2023). Deepening course in 2024/2025.
- Sessions with Esther Perel (learning community for professionals in couples counseling) (2023)
- Senior Dakini of Temple Arts at Beyond Mystic School (2022-2024) and other retreats
- Shadow Tantrika at School of Erotic Mysteries (2021)
- Professional Speaking at Professional Speakers Academy 2017-2020 (multiple awards)
- Tony Robbins UPW (2019)
- Private Mentoring journey at Sparkwise Academy (2018)
- Communication & Information Sciences, Master's (MA) degree at Radboud University (2004-2008)
* Michelle Coops is a certified practitioner of Havening Techniques. Havening Techniques is a registered trademark of Ronald Ruden, 15 East 91st Street, New York. www.havening.org
Themes & Influences
- Love & relationships
- Nervous system & regulation
- Sexuality & (erotic) intimacy
- Self-confidence
- Sovereignty
- Trust & surrendering
- Conscious kink with therapeutic purposes
- Archetypal work
- Communication
- Shadow work
Can I support you on your journey?
Why I do what I do
I think we can all agree that
we need a little more love and less hate in this world.
More equality, less dominance.
More listening, less convincing.
More understanding, less righteousness.
I may not be the one to change the world, perhaps neither are you.
But you know what?
We can choose Love in our own little worlds: our homes, our workplace, our friendships.
When your teenage daughter is crossing the line once again, testing your patience.
When your partner betrayed you and it seems beyond repair, yet giving up doesn’t ring true.
When you’ve had to put up with your friend’s judgments for years, and you feel ambivalent about the friendship.
When you yourself are exhausted and easily triggered, perhaps not being the kindest one either...
How will you show up? What will you choose?
Loving kindness is a choice, my friend.
Even, no, espécially when it’s hard. And sometimes love means loving from afar. Let’s start within and choose more Love. For ourselves, others and the world.
Connect with me
Is there anything I can support you with? If booking a Discovery Call isn’t the right fit, please send me a virtual note. I’d love to hear from you!
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