We were lucky to catch up with Jillian Holper recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jillian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
Without a doubt, my deepest desire is to be a change agent in overcoming toxic and/or unhelpful generational patterns and trauma. Being a better mom and human for my children started me on this journey and is at the core of everything I do, both personally and professionally. In addition, I find immense joy in supporting adults and children to connect to and cultivate a sense of intrinsic wellbeing.
It is incredible to witness what challenges people of all ages can overcome given a safe container that creates space for them to realize they hold the key to their own wellbeing. Although I used to work exclusively with 1-on-1 clients, and I plan always to do so, I have shifted into focusing my sights on supporting others – be that practitioners, parents, and caregivers. Doing so with the intention of supporting them create that type of container for themselves and the individuals they care for. I cannot imagine a more meaningful or rewarding legacy than fostering wellbeing and generational healing.
Jillian , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
After pursuing my first degree in Psychology, I continued my corporate path with a career at a large brokerage firm until some health issues arose that forced me to take some time off. During this time, I experienced some significant healing with the help of Hypnotherapy, Coaching, Body-based therapies, and Nutrition. At this point, it was clear that my heart was being called to follow my passion for being of service to others, and this was the path for me to fulfill that.
I focused my sights on a 2nd degree in Occupational Studies in Holistic Health Care with a Concentration in Mind-Body Transformational Psychology. This enabled me to study various healing arts and holistic modalities, including Clinical Hypnotherapy, (Advanced) Life Coaching, Holistic Nutrition, Polarity principles, and more. I soon developed a passion for supporting those with trauma – primarily through Subconscious, Somatic (body and nervous system), Attachment, and Play Therapy approaches. I now hold various certifications and am registered with accredited associations in each area.
Today, and for the last several years, I am doing what my soul had always longed for. I feel honored to focus my practice on Clinical Hypnotherapy and Somatic/Trauma Healing, Empowerment Life Coaching, and Play Therapy – from a Trauma-trained and attachment perspective by assisting and empowering clients to reach their goals.
I take a whole-brain approach that resources and rewires the conscious and subconscious mind by supporting resolution of unprocessed emotions, unmet needs, and traumas that create unhelpful thoughts, feelings, behaviors, beliefs (etc.). In addition, I further incorporate knowledge of nervous system regulation techniques to support the physical wellbeing of the body coming back into balance from tension(s) that can be held from unresolved stress/anxiety/trauma for more complete integration.
Facilitating and offering various workshops, training, and classes, including a monthly PEER Group (for parents/caregivers) – as well as mentoring options and programs for other practitioners, is something I find significant meaning in. My long-term goal includes normalizing the benefits and awareness of trauma-informed Clinical Hypnotherapy, Mental Health, and Coaching practices informed by nervous system awareness and holding space to draw out others’ innate intelligence from a place of compassionate neutrality. I am also a published internationally best-selling co-author of the book Inspirations and published blog author.
Last, when I am not working or learning, nothing beats spending time with my incredible family. They are such an integral part of who I am, personally and professionally, and I owe so much to my two sons and my incredible husband. Without their love, support, and grace, none of this would have been fully possible!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
This has been my ongoing journey with various areas of parenting – which informs my practice and plays into my area of specialty. So much of the environment we grow up in gets subconsciously wired into our brain, thereby informing our nervous systems and relationships for the remainder of our lives. While this can be great in some areas, it can be not so great in others.
When I was a first-time mom 18 years ago, I found myself reacting to things I swore I never would and therefore spending a great deal of my time at the end of the day feeling guilty and wanting to do better. Of course, the information available in my parent’s generation was vastly different and more limited than has become available within the last 10-20 years. The general knowledge was far more limited when I was a child about neuroscience, relational neuroscience, and relational neurophysiology – or essentially the study of how our environment and relationships inform our brain and our physiological responses. Because of this, much of past advice given to parents we now know has proven a hindrance for optimal relationships and to be dysregulating for the autonomic nervous system. Flash forward to me being a first-time mom and wanting to do things differently but finding it incredibly challenging to actually do it differently.
Unlearning the fear and compliance-based practices that were common when I was growing up and learning connection-based methods that are actually effective has been the journey of my entire life as a mother. It has been a whole rewiring of my brain and nervous system that has made me who I am today. I started as a young mom who was fiercely loving but insecure and reactive. Today I stand almost an entirely different person altogether, centered more and more in calm, confidence, compassion, and humility.
I can say without a doubt it is the greatest privilege of my life to support parents, children, and young adults in their journeys to becoming the best versions of themselves in a way that honors and harnesses their past experiences for empowerment and a deeper sense of wholeness.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
This is hard since I know many factors undoubtedly play into this. However, my business’s foundation has been built on doing my best to be fully present, authentic, accountable, intentional, and ethical in all I do; I feel this reflects my reputation. As a therapeutic practitioner, I’ve found everything I do informs the container of my practice – and thereby the level of support and benefit my clients are met with.
The ongoing intention I’ve held throughout has been to strive to be impeccable while also granting myself the utmost grace when things fall short. I could certainly credit training I’ve done, marketing strategies, or the effectiveness of client sessions as well – and yet, even that would not be possible if I hadn’t remained committed to the intentional foundation on which all these things were built upon.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.EleMentalHealingCoaching.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/EleMentalHealingCoaching
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/EleMentalHealingCoaching
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jillian-holper
Image Credits
Rachelle Davis Photography and Aspire Photo Studio