We were lucky to catch up with Marianne Breneman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Marianne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

Sometimes when working with tweens and teens, you wonder if you’re making an impact, being helpful, or if the parent is having to drag their child to the appointment. So when I get positive feedback, even just one little nugget, I really hold it close to my heart. I have two favorite stories that I go back to after I’ve had a hard day:

The first is regarding a middle school age client who wasn’t particularly talkative for the first several sessions (like 4 or 5 sessions – it felt like a long time). I was conducting a parent review with her mother and because I’m big on open communication, I told her that I wasn’t sure I was making any difference. The mom was shocked and said “Oh Marianne, you’ve moved mountains for this child! I know she’s quiet with you but she hears you and the improvements we see are huge.” My heart almost burst because I wanted that to be the case and without her mom saying it, I wouldn’t have known.

Another situation that makes me smile is a message I got on a group text from two clients who are friends. I keep my clients confidential but sometimes clients figure out that they both see me and they discuss it together. These high school girls sent me a message that they’d been talking about me and how much working with me had helped them. They thanked me for never judging them and always allowing them space to be heard.

Marianne , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I had been gradually making the shift from my former career as a musician/music teacher to opening a practice dedicated to the health and emotional wellness of teens and their families. I first became a certified health coach through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, working with people on their nutrition and exercise goals because I knew from my own experiences that when your body is healthier, you function better in all areas of life. I added a meditation and mindfulness practitioner certificate since meditation and quieting my super active mind had been a game-changer for anxiety. Then the pandemic came and I had time to reevaluate my life as a musician, determining that while I loved the interaction with kids, my time teaching an instrument had come to an end. I found an excellent certification program for life coaching of teens and dove right in. Upon completion of that course, I opened Mindful Health and Harmony LLC, focusing on coaching tweens, teens, and young adults (and by extension, their parents too).

Depending on the client’s needs and wishes, we’ll work on the following: meditation and breathing techniques for anxiety, reprograming of negative thought patterns through role-playing and by using affirmations, communications skills and how to set boundaries and stand up for oneself, and so much more. We often discuss social media use, substances, and executive functioning skills and life skills that will help them grow into adulthood more successfully.

My goal is to help my clients gain confidence, manage anxiety, learn skillful communication, and identify their standards, values, and boundaries while making self-honoring and self-respecting choices.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Competition and drive were build into me from a very young age. I come from a long line of people who worked hard for their success and who followed “the rules” that led to a good career and financial stability. Combine that with my initial field of classical music, which is very competitive, and I was never able to relax. I was always pushing myself to the limit both physically and emotionally while comparing myself against the successes of others. I worried not only about what I was doing but what others were doing too and that was exhausting! I had to unlearn that mentality for my well-being and when I finally did, I reaped the benefits. I’ve been able to take my history of competition and comparison and work it into my coaching practice, hopefully saving my clients the years of personal discomfort that I experienced.

I don’t feel that all competition is bad – it’s important to stretch yourself and sometimes seeing others achieve the things you want can serve as motivation. But when you’re using someone else’s achievements as a measuring stick for your own worth, then it’s a problem. I feel the same about comparison; if you can notice the differences in your situation versus someone else’s with detachment and curiosity, that can be beneficial when you need to make your own choices. But when it affects how you feel about yourself, it’s time to shut it down! Doing your best, making your own way, and trusting that you are right where you need to be in the present moment helps you stay on a path that is truly your own. Run your own race.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I certainly think that my place in the community as a former music teacher has contributed to the relatively easy switch from teaching to running Mindful Health and Harmony LLC. Families with kids knew me already because I was around in that capacity so when the subject of wellness for tweens and teens came up, people would mention me. Word of mouth was great in the initial stages of building my practice and I’m grateful to the people who share what I do with those who might need it.

The biggest thing that continues to build my reputation is that I’m consistent. My website is clear around what I do, I keep my social media pages updated with relevant information, and I do what I say I’m going to do. My policies are reasonable and well-thought and the scheduling system is easy to use. I vet my clients prior to taking them on and if I believe they need more than I can provide, I refer them to another practice. My only goal is helping families and if I’m not the right person for their situation, I will always recommend someone else so they get what they need.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mindfulhealthandharmony.com
• Instagram: mindful_health_harmony
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindfulHealthandHarmony
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannebreneman/

Image Credits
Wendy Jade Photography Tovah Coats Photography