We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tanya Cole-Lesnick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tanya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Trading My License for Creative Freedom
For three decades, I held the title Licensed Clinical Social Worker. It was more than a credential—it was an identity, a source of pride, and a trusted doorway into meaningful work with countless clients. But when my renewal came due in the spring of 2024, I paused. And in that pause, I felt something shift.
I realized the very thing that once empowered me was starting to confine me.
After 30 years of sitting with people in their deepest struggles and longings, I began to notice a pattern—not in what therapy offered, but in what many people were able to act on. Week after week, they were gaining valuable insight, but often felt too overwhelmed by life to translate those insights into meaningful change. The reflection was happening. The clarity was coming. But the follow-through? That’s where things would stall.
It’s not that people didn’t want to grow—it’s that life between sessions could swallow up their intentions.
I started to imagine a different kind of support. One that wove growth into the fabric of daily life. One that honored insight, but also helped build momentum. One that still drew on everything I knew from my years in the therapy room, but gave me the freedom to work more creatively and meet people where they are.
So I made a bold decision: I didn’t renew my license. Instead, I stepped fully into a new identity—as a personal development coach. Not because I’m leaving my past behind, but because I want to build on it in ways that feel truer to who I am now, and to the kind of transformation I believe is possible.
Since then, I’ve created The Unlimiting App, a tool to help people track and clear the Energetic Clutter that weighs them down. I built a course and have a couple more in the works. I host a free book+ club called Stories & Screens. I’m planning a Tarot-for-Personal-Growth workshop with a Scottish medium. A “Mini-Me, Mighty Me” doll-making workshop where people can create tangible symbols of their inner strength. An accountability group. A personal storytelling workshop. And more.
What ties it all together? Creativity. Play. Depth. And a belief that personal growth shouldn’t require you to put your life on hold. It can—and should—be part of your life as it’s unfolding.
After years of watching clients feel soothed in session but still stuck between them, I knew I wanted to offer something that could help carry that spark into real, sustainable change. That’s what led me here. By shifting into coaching, I gave myself room to design offerings that are not only impactful, but also doable and engaging. From story-based groups and tactile practices to tools that support follow-through, my work now meets people where they are—and helps them move forward, one meaningful step at a time.
Letting go of my license was a risk. But in doing so, I gave myself permission to reimagine how growth can look. I opened space to merge everything I know from decades of therapeutic work with the creative, soulful approaches I had been yearning to explore. My mission now is to make powerful, life-changing inner work more approachable, more integrated, and yes—more fun.
Because personal growth isn’t a detour from life. It is life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi, I’m Tanya Cole-Lesnick. I’m a personal development coach with a background as a licensed clinical social worker. For 30 years, I worked in a range of therapeutic settings—including day treatment programs, hospital-based care, a wellness center, and private practice—supporting people through some of life’s most complex and tender challenges.
In the spring of 2024, I made the difficult decision not to renew my license—not because I no longer believed in the value of therapy, but because I was being called to work in a different way. It was a choice that asked me to do exactly what I ask of my clients: to listen closely to the truth that’s emerging, and to make the brave, aligned decision that honors it. I knew I couldn’t keep asking others to walk toward change if I wasn’t willing to do the same.
My current work blends everything I’ve learned from decades as a therapist with more flexible, integrated, and imaginative approaches to personal growth. I support people in identifying and clearing what I call Energetic Clutter—the mental, emotional, and energetic noise that keeps them stuck, disconnected, or chronically overwhelmed. That might look like limiting beliefs, old patterns, unfinished grief, or the inner pressure to keep pushing through—even when something’s clearly not working.
My offerings include individual and group coaching, a course called Your Brilliance in Action, and a free personal development app called The Unlimiting App. I also run topic-based workshops, like ones on limiting beliefs and sneaky self-abandonment, and host Stories & Screens, a free Book+ Club that uses media as a jumping-off point for meaningful conversation. I’m currently co-creating some more tactile and immersive experiences too, like a Tarot-for-Personal-Growth workshop and a “Mini-Me, Mighty Me” doll-making workshop that helps people connect with their inner strength through creative expression.
What sets my work apart is its ability to help people not just gain insight—but actually take action. Insight is powerful, but without follow-through, it often fades in the background. I help people bridge that gap. My work is grounded, creative, soul-nourishing, and deeply human. It’s about weaving growth into the fabric of daily life, not just pausing life to reflect in a weekly session.
What I’m most proud of is that I gave myself permission to evolve—and in doing so, created space to help others do the same. I want people to know that meaningful change doesn’t have to feel like a massive leap. It often starts with one clear, aligned step—and I’m here to help them take it, with support that’s both impactful and sustainable.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
If I could go back, I think I would choose the same profession—because becoming a therapist gave me such a rich foundation for the work I do now. It taught me how to listen deeply, hold space, and help people explore the stories that have shaped their lives. I don’t regret the path I took, but I do wish I had questioned its structure sooner.
Even though the work itself was meaningful, the larger framework of traditional therapy remained fairly fixed. There were professional guardrails about what was appropriate to bring into sessions, how much of ourselves we could show, and what the process should look like. Eventually, that structure—despite its many strengths—started to feel like a box that limited how I could show up, both for myself and for others.
I came to understand that it wasn’t just the structure of the profession that felt limiting—it was also that I was denying a core part of myself in order to fit into it. Before I became a therapist, I worked as a graphic designer. Creativity has always been part of how I think, communicate, and connect. But that part of me got pushed to the side in service of professionalism, regulation, and the culture of traditional therapy. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I felt the call to bring it back—and how essential it was to honoring the full truth of what I have to offer.
Letting go of my license was a difficult decision, but it was also the most honest one. It allowed me to reclaim my creativity, and to build a new way of working that is more aligned with my voice, my values, and the lives my clients are actually living. It’s work that supports action, not just insight. That meets people where they are, not just where the session starts.
I do sometimes wish I had made the leap sooner. But I also know that the journey—through traditional structures, deep therapeutic work, and back to my creative roots—helped me arrive here with the clarity and purpose I needed to do this work in the way that feels most true.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Authenticity—without question. In personal development work, people don’t just respond to what you say or what you know—they respond to how your energy feels. Even if they can’t name it, they can sense when something’s off. That’s why it’s so important to show up from a place of alignment, trusting that what we offer from the truth of who we are will land more deeply than anything we try to present for the sake of “looking professional” or “sounding right.”
Letting go of my license was a powerful step in that direction. It wasn’t about rejecting the field I came from—it was about giving myself permission to check in with myself first, instead of always filtering my choices through an external set of professional guidelines. That shift has helped me stay attuned to whether the way I’m working still feels honest and alive, both for me and for the people I’m here to serve.
Ultimately, I believe the most transformative work happens when we lead from that place—where our presence, our process, and our offerings are all in sync.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tanyacole-lesnick.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanyacole_lesnick/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanya.cole.lesnick.2025
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tanyacole_lesnick
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tanyacole_lesnick
