In today’s fast-paced world, where stress and distractions abound, cultivating wellness becomes paramount. It empowers individuals to navigate life’s challenges with resilience, fostering a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Noozhawk’s annual Wellness Guide celebrates this diversity and provides a platform to explore and enhance wellness in all its forms. Our aim with this guide is to equip our audience with the tools necessary for enhancing their wellness routines.
Through a series of interviews with various local wellness businesses, Noozhawk brings you insights and resources to support your journey towards improved well-being.
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Kathy Gruver, ACC Certified Coach and Psychedelic Integration Coach of Kathy Gruver Coaching to learn more about her services.
Kathy Gruver Coaching
Question: What motivated you to start this health and wellness business, and what inspired the specific services or products you offer?
Answer: I started out many decades ago as a medical massage therapist. I quickly realized that my clients were looking for more well-rounded wellness than just putting an elbow in the spot where it hurt. I started studying more and more, adding more offerings to my practice such as Reiki, pregnancy massage, massage Doula work, homeopathics and herbs, and eventually pursued my Masters and PhD in natural health.
About nine years ago I added hypnotherapy to my practice and through my work with that decided that life coaching was the next offering on my buffet of wellness choices. I realize that the more I know the more I can help others and that inspires me every day to expand my knowledge and reach more people. I most recently added psychedelic integration coaching, recognizing that the next phase of healthcare was going to involve plant medicine. It’s been my true honor to help people with prep and integration of their sacred medicine experiences.
Q: Can you provide an overview of the unique value proposition of your business and how it distinguishes itself in the crowded wellness market?
A: Though life and executive coaching has been around for a while, given the mental health crisis that we’ve been facing for the past decade, coaching has become more main stream, helping to fill in the spots where psychology cannot reach. I customize all of my sessions to what my client needs as they sit in front of me, whether it’s better communication as a couple, goal setting, values, removing blocks or maximizing their lives, I’m there to help.
Given my vast background in health and wellness I have a tool on hand or the perfect question to ask to help them reach their goals and clarify what they want out of life. As a former actor, I inevitably incorporate humor or even an improv game to help dig deeper. I rely not only on all of my book learning but also my deep intuition and observation of human behavior. I’ve worked with thousands of people in so many different fields and I learned from every single person that crosses my path.
Q: How do you ensure that your services or products align with current health trends and consumer needs?
A: I pride myself on continuing education. I’m a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and I take that membership seriously. I’m also a membership of the Institute of Coaching through Harvard (IOC) and through those two organizations I keep up on the ethics and the trends in our field and make sure I adhere to the current rules, regulations and values. I do have a number of hours that are required of me as well as me completing my own personal coaching. Included in those hours are a certain number of ethics courses and classes specific to the tenants of the ICF.
Q: What strategies do you employ to maintain a high standard of quality and consistency across your offerings?
A: Coaching is such a unique profession. I literally have no idea what each session is going to look like. As much as I want to plan it out, it’s really about dancing in the moment and meeting the person or couple where they are during that session. I personally hold myself to a high standard of performance and ethics, with all of my sessions being of highest quality. Presence is really the key.
Q: How do you approach customer feedback and incorporate it into improving your business?
A: Feedback is so incredibly important especially with such a personal business as coaching. In my intake form I ask each person how I can best serve and support them and I get such a wide variety of answers. I check in with my clients regularly to make sure that I’m meeting their expectations and that we are still a good fit. The last thing I want to do is keep someone returning if they are no longer receiving value from my services. It’s about building relationships.
Q: What measures do you take to ensure the safety and efficacy of your products or services, particularly in areas such as ingredient sourcing or service delivery?
A: I am very specific about not crossing into the field of psychology. It’s a tough line to walk sometimes. But I do not diagnose or prescribe. I am very quick to refer out if I feel someone is not a good fit and I’m a trauma informed coach to help people recognize when deeper work might be needed.
Q: How do you stay informed about regulatory changes and industry standards relevant to your business?
A: The ICF, not only the international organization, but also the local (Los Angeles) chapter sends out consistent emails and newsletters about changing regulations. I also follow a lot of the standards that psychologists and counselors adhere too. I’m constantly reading psychology books and magazines to keep up on current trends and the latest information.
Q: What role do partnerships or collaborations play in your business strategy, and how do you select potential partners that align with your brand values?
A: I do not currently have any partnerships, but I do have a list of practitioners that I refer out to if something is out of my scope of practice. I always welcome referrals to my practice if my services would fit.
Q: Can you discuss any plans for expansion or diversification of your health and wellness business in the future?
A: Right now my latest offering is the psychedelic integration coaching. I am really diving deep into that and excited about what changes statewide and federally about regulations. I am trained to help people prep for journeys, goal setting and trying to figure out what they really want from their experience and then following their journey I can help with integration, helping to figure out how to incorporate their experiences into their everyday lives.
Q: How do you envision your business evolving to meet the changing needs and preferences of consumers in the health and wellness industry?
A: This is exactly why I have expanded into the field of psychedelic coaching. With the addition of a fabulous Ketamine clinic here in town and so many people seeking mental health and consciousness expansion through the use of plant medicines, I really feel like I can help people prepare for and then integrate their experiences.
Whether someone headed to Costa Rica for a psilocybin journey or visited Northern California for a Ayahuasca ceremony or comes back from Burning Man or a music festival having had an incredible experience, (or a not so great one) I am there to help people make sense of the experience and incorporate it into their daily lives. I believe plant and these natural medicines are the future of mental wellness and consciousness expansion. I also see more and more people relying on a life or couples coach and I’m happy to be in that arena as well.
Q: Finally, what do you believe sets your health and wellness business apart from competitors, and how do you maintain a competitive edge in the market?
A: I’ve spent pretty much my entire life coaching people. Even before it was officially a thing people shared with me their fears, their struggles, their blocks and have relied on me to help them make sense of their lives. I’ve committed my life to helping people, whether through massage or hypnosis or coaching or now through psychedelic integration. I don’t look at it as competition. There are plenty of people who need our help, who could use a hand in navigating this crazy world. None of us are handed a guidebook when we are born. And it’s my honor to stand with people and help them figure this out. If I’m the right fit, people find me.
Click here to learn more about Kathy Gruver!