Heather Shaughnessy-Cato, NBC-HWC

Heather Shaughnessy-Cato
Coaching & Self-Compassion

You’re capable. You’re thoughtful. And you’ve hit something hard.

Maybe it’s a period of change — letting go of one role, or stepping into another. A shift in health, or life stage. A wish to feel less tired, to enjoy your life more fully, or move in a new direction. Or that project you keep circling back to, without making headway.

Whatever the particulars, it often brings some familiar company: guilt about even focusing on yourself — is this selfish? Self-criticism — I should already know how to do this by now, why haven’t I figured it out? Or the gap between knowing exactly what you want and still not doing it, no matter how hard you try on your own.

It might also be that you’re used to being the one who offers support — not the one who needs it. So when you could actually use some help, it can feel awkward. Vulnerable. Even a little embarrassing — even though you’d never think twice about offering the same to someone else.

That’s what coaching is for: the thorny problems that are hard to work through alone.

This coaching is a thinking partnership grounded in mindfulness and self-compassion — practical tools, not just theory. Self-compassion softens the self-criticism so that you can actually think clearly about what you’re wrestling with: what’s working, what isn’t, what you want, what you value.

From there, we get practical. We try on new perspectives, test out tools, and experiment with them in your real life between sessions — not just talk about change, but actually build it, one step at a time. Slowly, that closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be, in a way that still feels like you.

Coaching can include:

Working toward a specific goal
Reducing stress, and building overall wellbeing and satisfaction
Practical support through a change or transition
Lessening burnout
Standing more fully in your strengths and values
Closing the gap between what you know and what you actually do

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I’m Heather — a coach grounded in self-compassion.

I’m a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach, a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, and I hold a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

I’ve been through hard, ambiguous stretches myself — periods of change where I was surprised at just how stuck or self-critical I felt. That’s part of what I bring to this work: deep listening, empathy, authentic relationship and connection, and grounding in evidence-based frameworks to help us discover the insights, tools, and possibilities that help you move forward.

What my clients are saying:

“With your gentle and insightful guidance, I was able to shift some long-ingrained patterns of harsh self-judgment — and got so much more out of it than I could have possibly imagined.”
— Chris

“At the end of every call I felt seen and heard, and always walked away with some type of valuable ‘aha.’”
— Sam

“I was able to overcome a feeling of frustration and helplessness, which resulted in me feeling more creative again — writing more, building a newsletter and community, and getting a clearer sense of what actually matters to me.”
— Max

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