About Heather Shaughnessy-Cato
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher, MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
I am often asked what drew me to self-compassion.
My honest answer: I’m a recovering perfectionist. For a long time, whatever hard thing I was facing came with a second layer on top of it: the hard time I was giving myself about it. The problem was hard. Then how I treated myself about the problem made it even harder.
Discovering self-compassion was like a breath of fresh air — eventually. At first, it felt awkward. It didn’t really land for a while. But when it did, it changed things.
Less second-guessing. More “of course I feel this way.” More “what can I actually do to help myself right now?” More speaking up for myself. More confidence. A real, practiced capacity to soothe and comfort myself, instead of just pushing through. More curiosity about my emotions — rather than something to override. Less willing to swallow something down to avoid conflict — more willing to wade into tough conversations, and to have my own back before, during, and after.
The work continues. It’s not a finished project; it’s a practice.
This is why I love coaching — it brings together two things I care about most: meaningful one-on-one work, and self-compassion. I get to be with people as they navigate their own hard things — present-focused, forward-facing — and help them find a different way through the hurdles: with more perspective, more kindness, more of their own power. It’s remarkable to watch — not just problems getting solved, but people deepening their friendship with themselves along the way.
That’s what I want for the people I work with — to feel more at home in their own lives. To trust themselves more. To move toward what matters with more clarity, confidence, and self-respect.
I have been so drawn, over the course of my life, to understand the human condition. I practice (and love to talk about) meditation, mindfulness, self-compassion, and yoga. I also enjoy fiction and poetry, gardening, biking, and spending time in nature. I try to live with intention — and some humor. And compassion, human rights, and diversity, equity, and inclusion all matter deeply to me too.
Training & credentials
- National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC)
- Certified Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher
- Volunteer and Contract Teacher, Center for Mindful Self-Compassion
- M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, summa cum laude
- Trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness instructor
- Former staff therapist (under supervision during licensure)
My Background
My path here wasn’t linear. I started in fundraising, eventually serving as a Director of Development. I then made a pivot — earning my master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with clinical training in a hospital health center and then at Vassar College.
I then worked for three years at Vassar as a staff therapist — providing 1:1 and group therapy, and facilitating workshops that wove in mindfulness and yoga. It was there that I stumbled onto Kristin Neff’s work on self-compassion, and something clicked. I pursued formal training and certification as a Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, and I now teach the official curriculum in various formats — and weave it into my coaching work.
Alongside that, I trained in the Designing Your Life methodology — a creative, experimental approach to finding more meaning and fulfillment in work and life. I’ve used it in 1:1 coaching, and in public and corporate workshops, helping people treat their own life like a design problem: something to prototype, test, and reshape, rather than something to have all figured out in advance.
Coaching lets me bring all of it into one room: the structure and pragmatism from my nonprofit years, the depth and steadiness from my clinical years, the creative, experimental spirit of Designing Your Life, and the self-compassion practice that changed my own life.
A note on trauma-informed practice
I’m committed to creating spaces that prioritize safety, choice, collaboration, and respect.
While I don’t provide psychotherapy or trauma treatment, I integrate trauma-informed principles into my coaching and teaching. I recognize that past experiences can shape how we relate to ourselves, others, and change in the present.
That’s not a separate framework I add on. It’s woven into how I work.
