Empowered by Courage - Renee Cage

#054 - Today we talk to Renee Cage.  Renee is a coach, a licensed mental health clinician, and a lifestyle strategist.  She helps ambitious women get ahead in their careers while achieving their ideal work-life balance.  In simple terms, she helps women design the life they want.

In her mental health practice, she works with particularly women leaders in a variety of leadership positions, but they typically come to her with issues around depression, anxiety, and grief & loss.

She received her training in mental health through Alameda County where she’s worked for 22 years.  She started a private mental health practice when she noticed there was a need for more Black female clinicians.

“when I got clients to come to me, they had been to a therapist before or maybe they didn't connect right because they were from a different ethnicity or something.  And it was just like, you gotta get through the layers to start to connect and the understanding. And once they were with the Black clinician or Black woman was just like, okay, we're speaking the same language, I feel comfortable, I feel safe to talk about this,  I don't feel judged.”

The coaching business was a natural extension of her mental health practice.  After her clients got to a baseline, they began to look for the next step.  That is where Coach Renee steps in by helping them get clear about what's important to them and getting clear about how to create a life of balance.  The biggest part is she holds them accountable.  Her coaching clients are…

“women that are really ready to lean into themselves, like really are ready to step out of their comfort zone.”

“for my coaching clients, you have to be ready and willing to be uncomfortable. I don't work with unmotivated people.”

Be sure to listen to the whole interview to hear Renee’s advice on deep breathing and why it’s so important to put your oxygen mask on first.