Empowered Journey

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About

Hello! I'm Arya. I look forward to meeting you. *Folks finding me through Thumbtack receive a 60-minute consultation session at no cost. A lot of value with little risk* *A bit of my background* > 10+ years in private practice > Several qualifications/certifications in the areas of counseling, life coaching, leadership, etc. (see my profile for a detailed list) > Top-ranked in my field on Yelp for Berkeley area (search Empowered Journey to see all of my reviews) > Just started on Thumbtack so slowly building my presence here I have spent the past 10 years helping individuals successfully design and co-create the lives that they truly long for. I offer three types of personal counseling and coaching services to meet various needs: 1. Path of Purpose: for individuals seeking a richer, more successful life through a blend of life coaching and counseling 2. Path of Wholeness: a more therapeutically focused counseling program that supports healing and whole-self integration 3. Path of Spirit: spiritual counseling and coaching for those seeking to develop and deepen their spiritual relationship with life Not sure which Path is right for you? Strike up a conversation and I'll be happy to better inform you. (I also run a 'marriage and relationship' counseling and coaching business called 'Choosing Heart' which is also on Thumbtack, supporting couples and singles around themes of relationship, intimacy, communictation, trust, etc.) *I hold a range of trainings and certifications including:* > Counseling (InterChange, 200 hours) > Life coaching (CTI, 200 hours) > Leadership training (CTI, 205 hours) > Mindfulness meditation/Buddhist psychology (Theravada/Vajrayana, 500 hours) > Stress management and personal resilience (SMART, 285 hours) > Grief and bereavement training (Josie's Place, 100 hours) > Transformational NLP (NLPMarin, 72 hours) > Authentic Feeling (Adam Gainsburg, 100 hours) > Somatic/process psychology (Process-Oriented Psychology, 200 hours) > Ritual and initiation practices, expressive arts practices (200 hours) > Hatha yoga (Ashtanga/Shivananda/Kriya, 500 hours) I work with my clients to claim their life, lean into the human condition, and choose with courage to experience and express more of their life. I use tried and true methods of habit change and achievement, while also addressing the underlying personal obstacles that tend to limit wellness, success, and satisfaction. Helping individuals thrive as people and professionals is the most satisfying work in the world to me. I am both incredibly honored and humbled to be allowed into the inner life of my clients, and I hold this responsibility and mission with the utmost respect and reverence. Because of this fundamental approach, I am fully committed to my clients, and strive to over-deliver value in our work together. It is not an easy job to walk with a client through their very real and raw ups and downs, but it is my calling and thus extremely fulfilling. I look forward to working with you. *Please see my yelp page for the largest collection of positive reviews by searching for 'Empowered Journey'*

Overview

Hired 4 times

Background checked

1 employee

16 years in business

Business hours

Sun8:00 am - 7:00 pmMon8:00 am - 7:00 pm

Payment methods

This pro accepts payments via Cash, Credit card, and Square cash app.

Services offered

Coaching topic

Career

Positive habits

Stress management

Relationships

Subject age

Under 18

18 - 25 years old

26 - 44 years old

45 - 64 years old

Work location

My customers travel to me

I travel to my customers

I work remotely (phone or internet)

Projects and media

Reviews

Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, responsiveness, and professionalism.

Exceptional 5.0

25 reviews

5

96%

4

4%

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Read reviews that mention:

Henry A.

Nov 9, 2018

•

Hired on Thumbtack

Therapy and Counseling

Dana B.

Aug 26, 2020

I've started and stopped writing my review of Arya many times over the past several months. How do I even begin to reduce the work we've done together and a person like Arya to a few sentences in a little box on Yelp? He is far more than a counselor or life coach, although he is definitely those things. I came to Arya about a year ago not because I was having any major life crisis, but because, like many people, I was feeling some sort of existential angst about how I was showing up in life. I felt like I had done everything I was "supposed" to do but life still felt fairly flat and unsatisfying. I was the kind of person who wanted to understand and analyze everything, mistakingly thinking that if I just "figured it out" I would find happiness. I also struggled with feeling like I had another, wilder, more authentic person inside of me who was pacing restlessly, unsure of how to get out of the cage, or even what the cage was. The early days of working with Arya were confusing and unsettling - he was gently and intelligently leading me through the process of breaking out of who I was, noticing and consciously examining my old thought patterns and whether they were serving me. But he patiently stayed with me, and eventually, I trusted myself enough to stay with myself, too. The bottom line is, I am a different person now than I was when I started working with Arya. It's like each cell in my brain reoriented themselves and now function more smoothly, without the junk and debris they were stuck in previously. It's hard to articulate all of the impacts Arya's coaching has had on my life. Overall, I show up more clearly as myself. I am not overwhelmed by my own thoughts or emotions. I can deal with difficult things without shutting down and giving up. I can speak to others about what I need and want. I trust myself and the world a lot more. I am much more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity because I realize that my "ok-ness" is not based on something out there, but what's inside of me. I've grown and worked through many challenging moments, uncovering deeper and deeper "layers of the onion," understanding who I am, what I believe, and what I am capable of. All of this has translated into better friendships, a deepening and evolving relationship with my fiance, more confidence at work, and most importantly, a reintroduction to my own creativity, vitality, and authentic contribution to the world. Arya, as a person, is unlike anyone I have ever met. He meets you exactly where you are - I am endlessly impressed by his ability to intuit and perceive what you're showing up with, so he knows how to meet you. He is attuned to subtle shifts in your energy - even ones you are not even aware of. He fully experiences your journey while still standing in his own space on his own journey - he has laughed and cried right along with me many times and has told me that our work together has helped him understand and grow in his own journey, too. He is a real person in there with you, not some analyst across the room unpacking you like a specimen. He's available (is responsive over text) while maintaining his own boundaries, which inspires you to show up similarly. Bottom line, I can't say enough about Arya and what he can do for you. If you have too many voices in your head and aren't sure which one is real, or if you feel like there's something just out of your reach that you're capable of, or if you just feel flat and angsty, call Arya. If you want to show up brighter, more vital, and more at ease in the world, call Arya.

Jay O.

Jul 22, 2020

Working with Arya was an experience like I could never have imagined nor expected. Coming into the relationship, I was not a fan of "counseling" and only slightly more tolerant of "life coaches" who, in my past experience, would carefully listen to my issues, then offer a neat opinion on what to do, with some pages of homework due next week. But then I read about an interesting dude out in California with a different take on things so thought I'd give his way a try. Our sessions opened a new path of my thinking. As if there was a fork to take when making decisions, A or B, but now there is a new carved choice because of our work... a rigid "C path" that is still new and being explored, but it wasn't even on the map before. That's cool to me. It wasn't about "tell me what troubled you this week" or "how is work going" or "let's explore why that specific event is causing you issues." It was more of learning about tools and about how humans interact with ourselves, our spirits, our environments and becoming more in tune with that and less in control of the outcomes of it all. Yeah, I know, it's way out there... If you're not ready for some heavy lifting then go to the next guy and put your name at the top of his homework sheet. This deep work is lasting and won't have you filling in bubbles on random personality quizzes... but you'll know more about yourself when you're done than you ever thought possible (and that will help you relate to the ones you love in a more full and enjoyable way, I promise.) I can't say enough about Arya. His genuine nature and caring attitude guided me on a fresh journey that was perfect for the moment in life that I needed right then. Daily I think of something he taught, always aware of keeping my aperture open and accepting, and I'm thankful for what he brings to this world. I'm so grateful for the time I got to spend mentoring under him and am happy to call him a friend and brother.

Isa C.

May 13, 2020

Before I met Arya, I was locked in tight spirals of anxiety, depression, and self hatred. I used to think of my life as stumbling through a dark room, looking for an object I had never seen before. I walked into this work looking for things I had no belief in finding. When I started working with Arya, what he offered was a gentle, profound deconstruction to a mental script. He challenged me to re-envision an imaginary isolated room as infinitely expansive terrain. He encouraged me to release the death grip on "what I know" and to be vulnerably open to everything I do not know. I was asked to seek self kindness in the same vein as self cruelty. This process left me raw. It took time to understand the pain I had to endure, and I eventually did. Over months, as I evolved, my view of myself and the world braved a fundamental reshaping. As a life coach, Arya is deeply receptive, sharply intuitive, wholly present, and personally invested. His keen insight into a person's innate nature is his subtle power. It allows him to shed light on ingrained layers of self-sabotage and seek ways to gently redirect to a more free, essential self. His sessions are a safe space to hold the full, uninhibited range of a person, including habits of shame, discomfort, or trauma that may otherwise never see the light of day. Arya has an unnerving ability to pick up on nuance, and he can easily adapt from moment to moment, holding you precisely where you need with care. What begins as micro-shifts, over repeated sessions, ripples out into larger patterns of personal change. I do not see Arya as a coach who will impose a "correct" lifestyle, tell you how to achieve something, or give you a rubric to follow. He is not interested in imposing beliefs, nor "good" or "bad" judgments. He's interested in bringing forth what is innate, genuine, and particular to you as the client, and this is how his counseling reaches a core level. It requests skin-grazing honesty and direct intimacy with your defense patterns, your stubborn beliefs, and your genuine wants. One of the traits I value most in Arya is his honesty. He wholeheartedly believes in his approach and actively practices what he preaches in his life. In this way, he relates to his clients with humanizing sincerity and empathy. He brings himself to the table while patiently challenging you to do the same. His candidness means he will call you out on your BS, holding you accountable for yourself rather than letting you take the easy way out. With kindness, he always encourages a more honest self to come forward. I have worked with Arya for a year and four months. Over this time I have become fuller and more self-honest, filling into spaces that are deeper and lighter. I am more personally empowered than I have ever been, and what I have learned is, there is much, much more to me than I will myself to believe. Today, I am better equipped to build upward in capacities that were impossible for me a year ago, and better equipped to handle when I find myself in familiar difficult places. The freedom offered in this work is a chance to ease the layers of confinement placed upon yourself -- who you are or aren't, what success looks like, what love feels like, how you should or should not be. At its simplest, the goal is to love, cherish, and foster 'you', unconfined by personal conditioning that has trapped you in place for ages. Over time, my relationship with Arya has only gotten richer. In my sessions, I look forward to laughing with him, crying, and everything in between. To me, this trust is the mark of a truly effective coach. Arya is my dear friend and trusted ally, and my gratitude is boundless.

Sue N.

Feb 28, 2020

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Justin Sarno

FAQs

What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Folks finding me through Thumbtack receive a 60-minute consultation session at no cost. If we decide to begin working together, my hourly rate is $150. I work with couples in shorter sessions (75 minutes totaling $187.50) or longer sessions (90 minutes totaling $225). I offer month packages (ususally 2 to 3 sessions per month), which come along with a small discount. *Additional Services* I offer an 'additional services' option, which includes between-session text and email support and detailed session notes, and is billed as an additional $75 per month. I also offer a premium service option of 'on-call support' for clients wanting short phone calls as-needed between sessions. This service is billed as an additional $150 per month. *Making Payments* Payment is made in full for the upcoming month's sessions (like a gym membership) *Financial Hardship* For those in financial hardship, I offer two scholarship positions and one pro-bono position. These offerings are only considered after a consultation and conversation about your financial hardship.
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
We begin with a 60-minute consultation at no cost to you. In preparation for the consultation, I have you fill out an intake questionnaire, as well as a short personality assessment. For the consultation, I can meet in-person in Berkeley or Marin, or remotely over the video conferencing software Zoom (free and simple program/app). If after our consultation we decide that we are a good fit, we will co-create a program, and begin meeting that week or the following. I recommend meeting every week or 3 times a month, depending on available time and finances. I am very outcomes-oriented, and expect that you are receiving value within our very first session. We will work in our first sessions to establish rapport, explore a vision of where you want your relationship and lives to be longer-term, and create short-term goals to begin working towards these outcomes. We will also explore the personal/relationship obstacles that have historically gotten in the way of these outcomes, including habit patterns, beliefs/perspectives, emotions, reactions, history, trauma, etc. We will identify and practice better alternatives to these obstacles, until they are available as behavioral (not just intellectual) options. We will consistently be checking our work against the bigger map of your long-term visions, adjusting our approach as needed. Though there is no standard amount of time I work with a couple, I suggest setting an initial expectation of 2-4 months. Typically I work with my clients for somewhere between 3 months to over a year or more. There is no ongoing contract you must agree to; we work on a month-to-month basis.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
> Counseling (InterChange, 200 hours) > Life coaching (CTI, 200 hours) > Leadership training (CTI, 205 hours) > Mindfulness meditation/Buddhist psychology (Theravada/Vajrayana, 500 hours) > Stress management and personal resilience (SMART, 285 hours) > Grief and bereavement training (Josie's Place, 100 hours) > Transformational NLP (NLPMarin, 72 hours) > Open human heart (Adam Gainsburg, 100 hours) > Somatic/process psychology (Process-Oriented Psychology, 200 hours) > Ritual and initiation practices, expressive arts practices (200 hours) > Hatha yoga (Ashtanga/Shivananda/Kriya, 500 hours)

Empowered Journey

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