But, who is johanna?
Hello! I am her, she is me! I’m a little loud, nerdy, passionate, and funny (I’m hilarious, trust me). My desire to help those around me was born out of being a people-pleaser as a child. When I got to college, I realized I could make a career out of helping others. I was drawn to growth and change in the face of adversity. I started as a preschool teacher, watching little tiny minds blossom and grow right before me. I loved it. But, I felt I wanted more. I was ready to level up.
So began my work with veterans and their families, running individual and couples retreats. Time and time again, I noticed that despite the military title, these people overwhelmingly had childhood traumas that their time in the military was exposing, not necessarily creating. This realization is what helped me not only help service members, but their significant others as well. How we behave and interact with the world is a learned behavior, starting from watching our parents/teachers/authority figures and morphed into our own interpretation on how to handle the world. The problem is if our childhoods were filled with strife or adversities, what kept us going then isn’t working for us now. For music fans, as Warren Zevon once said, “the shit that used to work don’t work now.”
My goal is to use all of our experiences, and not just get past them or work through them, but learn to live alongside of what has happened to us.
so, why me?
No, I am not going to bring you in, hold your hands, and sing Kumbaya with you. I am going to dig, and that means some internal discomfort. But I am also going to laugh with you (not at you…or maybe sometimes, I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep), listen to you, and hold you accountable. Together, we will forge the best path to help you challenge the labels you’ve taken on over the years, learn how your past effects your present, and how to consciously react to yourself and challenging situations.
You’re Harry Potter, I am just Dumbledore, setting the quest. I’m the Gandalf to your Frodo. The Captain Miller to your Private Ryan. The Genie to your Aladdin. The Goose to your Maverick. The Ursula to your Ariel…wait, no, not that one. You get the idea.