We recently connected with Dawn Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dawn, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

In the last few years, especially during the pandemic, I noticed a lot of couples found themselves struggling, and when seeking professional support, they often found they had no luck– good counselors were hard to come by, and often had 6 to 12 month waitlists. Those who were lucky enough to connect with someone who felt like the right fit would often report back that sessions were helpful in having a safe space to talk about things, but often not much seemed to change on the home front. After 15 years as a premarital counselor and a decade as an integrated career coach, I was realizing it seemed like traditional couples and marriage counselling was often missing the mark. Relationship Coach Dawn offers couples the safe space for deep vulnerable conversations of traditional counseling combined with the real information, tools, and solutions of coaching. We provide an effective short-term solution to couples at a crossroads by going deep quickly on personal challenges, and sharing knowledge about what the foremost researchers in the field have shown as to what makes successful couples work. We offer research-backed tools for decision-making, rituals, prioritizing and effective communication, so couples can work with on their challenges, rebuild trust and deepen connection on their own. I often joke that I am always working myself out of a job because my goal is to quickly give couples the information and tools necessary for them to do the work of building and rebuilding on their own.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I, like so many others, learned that it was important to never go to bed angry. But through both personal and professional experience experiencing and exploring anxiety, problem-solving, and decision-making fatigue, I’ve learned that this, like many other relationship myths, needs to be re-written. We have a very limited capacity for critical thinking in a day– and for most, this block is at its peak in the late morning. By the end of the day, most of us are more tired, anxious, and less able to make clear, empathetic decisions. For years, I struggled trying to resolve things with my partner or children, in the evenings. I now recommend to my couples to recognize that it may not be best to work through everything in the evening– acknowledge that you are upset, that you care about each other, and give a time frame for resolution the next day, so neither partner feels abandoned….

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Couples tend to find me on Google, Yelp, or through word of mouth, and asking for reviews has proven a really effective way for people to notice our listings for those who are not previous clients or coming in from referral. I’ve been very fortunate that individuals and couples who have worked with me for premarital counseling or career coaching are already familiar with the way sessions unfold– feeling there is a safe space for vulnerable discussion coupled with a very practical, hands-on, solutions-oriented approach. Everything is interconnected– so couples going through the transition of marriage or individuals going through career pivots often find that these transitions affect other areas of life as well. I’m honored to have often worked with multiple family members, friends, and colleagues and feel so grateful to have the privilege to do the meaningful work I love every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RelationshipCoachDawn.com
• Instagram: @relationshipcoachdawn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/revdawn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wholelifedawn/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/relationship-coach-dawn-atlanta-2