Please reach out to me by email (KarinaTheBrainCoach@gmail.com) if you are interested in working together or if you have any questions. You can also use the contact form on this site. I offer a free 30 minute discovery call so we can see if we are a good fit. I work with people one-on-one in 50 minute coaching sessions. If also run group classes. If you’re interested in being notified about the next group class, please send me an email.

I believe wholeheartedly in the power each human possesses. That we are better off connected than disconnected from one another in self protective patterns. I want to help clients reconnect with themselves as powerful lovable beings—agents of creation in their own lives. To help them engage with life from a place of authenticity, self trust, self compassion, and an ever expanding capacity to hold the complexities of life. To feel safe enough and resourced enough to feel their emotions and treat them as the valuable information they are. To get out of the rat race, pressure, and self critical patterns that drive so many of us, and ground into a deep knowing that they are enough, exactly as they are. To feel safe enough to give and receive love, the energetic force that animates and connects all life. These are the deeper layers of creating safety in the nervous system, and a sustainable recovery from chronic symptoms. 

Knowing the tools used in brain retraining is a very different thing from applying them to your own unique self and life. As a coach, I help people work through challenges as they come up, apply brain retraining techniques and principles to their specific circumstances, and provide insight, support, and accountability along the way. Having a coach can jump start your brain retraining journey, help you through a road block, and/or keep you motivated and on track in your healing journey. Noone should have to walk this path alone. I’m here to support you. 

The following conditions commonly respond to brain retraining:

• Post-viral symptoms such as fatigue, pain, dysautonomia (including long COVID)

• Chronic pain (pain lasting for three months or longer)

• Dysautonomia

• Slow digestive motility

• Migraines

• Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

• Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

• Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

• Sound sensitivity

• Widespread food intolerances

• Fibromyalgia

• Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

• Electric hypersensitivity syndrome

• PTSD

• Anxiety

• Panic Attacks

• Mold Illness/CIRS

• Chronic Lyme

When the body experiences a very intense stressor, multiple stressors at once, or a high level of stress for an extended period of time, the brain can get stuck in a protective response. The limbic system is the part of the brain responsible for triggering this protective response. The stressor could be physical, mental, emotional, or some combination of the above. A protective response that goes on for too long can negatively impact physiological function and your ability to engage in life. The brain can start misidentifying neutral or safe things as threats. Over time, the brain can get better and better at mounting this threat response. That means it takes less and less to trigger the threat response, and the number of things that trigger the threat response can grow over time. This is an unconscious process, and can happen without any awareness that it’s taking place. Symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and food sensitivities are the brain’s way of alerting us to danger and trying to keep us safe. Your brain is trying to protect you, but it’s gone too far. Thankfully, it is possible to undo the changes in the brain that have lead to these symptoms.

Neuroplasticity is a drug-free approach to changing your brain. The brain is constantly forming new connections when we learn and create new associations, getting rid of old connections we don’t use anymore, and strengthening the connections we use most often. It is possible to become intentional about this process and create new pathways in the brain that re-establish safety and balance in the nervous system, leading to better mental and physical health. The brain has a strong influence over hormone production, immune function, autonomic function (heart rate, vasoconstriction and dilation, breathing, accommodating for position changes without dizziness or fainting), detoxification, and our perception of sensations such as pain and fatigue. When we reestablish safety in the nervous system, these physiological systems normalize. 

A neuroplasticity or “brain retraining” approach involves education to understand how the brain can cause the symptoms you have. You then learn how to give the brain messages of safety through changes in thinking, intentionally and strategically create positive emotional states, make behavioral changes that rebalance the brain, make new associations that help your brain understand that your current triggers are safe, apply cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) specific to limbic imbalance, and re-engage with life in a joyful, authentic, and connected way. There are many possible tools that can be used in the process, and together we will find what works best for you. There are several excellent brain retraining programs available online, such as the Dynamic Neural Retraining System, The Gupta Amygdala Retraining Program, and the Primal Trust Academy and Community. I am not affiliated with any of these programs, but they do an excellent job of teaching the basics of brain retraining. My role as a coach is to support people as they go through these online programs to apply the tools they learn to their specific circumstances and fine tune the approach to get the results they want. If you’re new to the concept of brain retraining, I encourage you to explore these online programs and choose the one that resonates with you most. I am also happy to help people choose a program that’s a good fit for them. If you do not want to do an online program, I am also happy to teach you the ropes one-on-one. I will also be offering in-person group classes to learn how to rewire your brain if you feel like you would learn better that way. Please email me if you would like to be notified about the next group class.

If you see yourself reflected in my story, and/or have or suspect you have any of the diagnoses listed on this page, you might benefit from brain retraining. Unlike many medical therapies, with brain retraining, healing is in your hands. Healing occurs through your own active changes in thought, behavior, and emotional state. If you are open to shifting your understanding of the cause of your symptoms and willing to put in self-directed effort on a daily basis, this could be a great approach for you.

If you’re looking for someone else to fix you, this is not for you. If you have severe depression and cannot access any positive emotions, this is not the right approach for you right now. If you have attempted suicide within the last two years, I would recommend you seek other supportive mental health care first to establish enough stability to safely engage in this work. Brain retraining involves challenging your current ways of thinking and behaving, and sometimes deep emotional work. While it can be part of a comprehensive long-term recovery from depression, it’s important to have enough stability and capacity in the nervous system that the challenges involved with brain retraining are safely within your capacity. I require that people with severe depression, suicidal ideation, psychosis, and/or bipolar disorder also have a therapist or psychiatrist who they actively see on a regular basis. This ensures that you are getting the support you need as you go through this process. I am also happy to collaborate with your mental healthcare team if they are on board with doing that. For the majority of people, brain retraining is very safe to engage in. If you have any questions about contraindications, feel free to email me at KarinaTheBrainCoach@gmail.com.

This varies widely depending on the person. Some people heal within a few months, others engage in brain retraining for a few years. Neuroplasticity takes time, repetition, and consistency. It takes the time it takes. If it’s taking on the longer side of that range for you, it doesn’t mean there’s anything special wrong with you. Everyone is unique. I recognize that it takes a special kind of trust and resolve to be on this path for multiple years, and it would be an honor to support you no matter where you are on your brain retraining journey. 

For clients who are new to brain retraining and are doing a program such as DNRS or Gupta, I recommend a minimum of 4 sessions either weekly or bi-weekly to start out. If you are feeling well equipped to lengthen the time between our sessions, we can go down to bi-weekly or once a month. For clients who have already done a brain retraining program and are struggling, I would also recommend at least 4 weekly or bi-weekly sessions to start out. This keeps the momentum going so you can really feel supported and start improving. For clients who have already done a brain retraining program and are seeking coaching to help with a specific issue but otherwise feel well equipped to continue independently, I can offer coaching sessions as needed. 

I chose the name “Intuitive Rewire” because a big part of healing and reestablishing safety in the nervous system is rebuilding trust with yourself, your intuition, and moving through the world from a place of authenticity.