What Is A Psychedelic-Informed Advisor Coach?

What Is A Psychedelic-Informed Advisor Coach?

by Kira Callahan

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Psychedelic-Informed Advisor Coach.?What on Earth does that mean?

The title is an encapsulation of my unique life path, but far from the whole story!?Hmmm…?where to start, where to go??And why should you care?

I suppose, because I coach financial professionals, I should first dispense with the credibility bit.?Since 2002, I have coached well over 6,000 Financial Advisors, Insurance Advisors, Financial Planners, Portfolio Managers, Agents, Consultants, Division Directors, Branch Managers, front-line staff, and the occasional wholesaler, on their Emotional Intelligence and Sales Conversation Skills.?

I am not, nor have I ever been, a financial advisor myself.?Instead, I come to this work from a background in the performing arts.?This unique lens allows me to receive and process all of your communication through the filters of my - and your Clients’ - emotional experience.?

Do they trust you??Do they understand you??Are they engaged and genuinely interested in you and what you offer, or not? If not, why, and what needs to happen to fix it?

This work feeds my soul AND my intellect.??I bring deep presence and 20 + years of expertise to our private coaching sessions.?Advisors feel genuinely accepted and supported, and this connection is as nourishing to me as it is to you.?But as lovely as this is, I wouldn’t have a successful practice if you didn’t get bottom line results.?This is, after all, the income and targets pressure you face every day.

My priority is to make sure that you KEEP YOUR SOUL INTACT while getting the job done!

Which brings me to psychedelics.?As an emerging (and ancient) class of medicines, psychedelics have the ability to help you heal from mental and emotional wounds, and to get you unstuck from patterns that may be holding you back from reaching your full potential.?

The fact is, I lived with a constant, low-grade anxiety for nearly my entire life.?Springing from several early traumas, I could never shake the feeling that there was something wrong with me.?I was either too much or not enough to be loved.?Some describe this as Imposter Syndrome.?So, I exhausted myself with a never-ending Fix Kira project.?Books, courses, seminars, workshops, therapy, podcasts, retreats, and on and on, and on.?But the goalpost kept moving!?I’d achieve or learn something, feel momentarily soothed, and then the anxiety was right back.?No escape.

My story is far from unique, but I felt so much shame about this that I mostly kept it to myself and just kept pushing.?

In December of 2020, while in the midst of taking yet another course, (this time run by a peak performance coach I respected), the instructor shared about his harrowing early-life trauma, and the profound turning point he experienced after participating in a clinical trial with psychedelic medicines.?My fingers grabbed the keyboard before he even finished his story.

You know that saying when the student is ready, the teacher appears...??Within a couple of days, and a few conversations, a friend introduced me to his friend, who introduced me to a trusted underground facilitator.?My journey had begun.

I’ll share more about my actual psychedelic experiences from time to time in the feed, going forward.?Suffice it to say that I have been on the most profound healing journey of my life.?Anxiety is no longer my default experience.?I am more whole, more grounded, and much happier.?I don’t just like myself, I love myself.?I feel good in my own skin!

Psychedelics are not a magic pill, but rather a healing process that takes effort and courage, and support.?For many people, including me, they work!?

So… Psychedelic-Informed Advisor Coach.?What does that mean for you??I’m a coach, not a therapist.?That is important to know.?I am not interested in, equipped for, or licensed to be a therapist.?Good therapy is an invaluable resource; I have a psychotherapist myself, and she is an invaluable partner in my mental and emotional health.???

As always, I will continue to advise and coach you on emotional intelligence, sales skills and sales campaigns AND I want you to know you are safe to be fully yourself in our sessions.

One of the most damaging emotions to the psyche is shame.?The greatest healing begins when you can be who you truly are, with complete acceptance, and without shame.?Our society is burdened with far too much mental illness and shame, and it needs to stop.?This is why I am “coming out of the psychedelic closet” right here on LinkedIn.?

The best way that I can communicate to you that you are safe to be yourself in our sessions is by being fully, authentically, myself.?

I am a real person, a whole person, with talents and strengths and wounds and insecurities, just like you.?I’m very good at what I do, and always bring my full heart and my skills and integrity to my clients.?You are right to expect results, and you will get them – but I’m not a magic sales fairy!?Any person or program who promises results without work is suspect.?Full stop.?You want the best outcome??You need to bring it!?

As your Coach, know that when you work with me, I will bring my full presence to you in our sessions.?And you can bring the full, unguarded YOU, and know that all of you is welcome.?

You can be real about things you love and hate about your job.?You can be honest about your strengths and be real about where you struggle.?What you share will remain strictly confidential.?We can candidly discuss life experiences and limiting thought patterns or habits that are holding you back, while also reinforcing your many gifts and strengths!?You will be received and supported, celebrated, held accountable for the promises you make to yourself, and NEVER JUDGED.

If you want to learn more about psychedelics for your own healing, I’d be delighted to share my experience with you.?NOTE:?I cannot help you source medicines or practitioners. These caring professionals continue to work underground.?They are a precious resource that must be protected for the good of all of us.?

A helpful piece of psychedelic etiquette:?Build a relationship with someone before you ask them for their connections or medicine sources.?The need for this will lessen in the years to come, but for now, that’s the way it is.

By the way, there is lots of good news to be excited about!?The psychedelic renaissance is well underway.?So much progress on research and in the regulatory landscape has taken hold that at least MDMA and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) are likely to be legalized in some form, within the next couple of years.

As for my new moniker Psychedelic-Informed Advisor Coach, this is a living example of my feeling of wholeness.?A willingness to be known and valued for ALL that I bring to the table.?Fumbling towards ecstasy, as Sarah McLaughlin sang!?I have much to offer.?May my fumbling journey be an inspiration where it can!

So, in a nutshell, I have the skills and experience to help you achieve the material results you want. But, far more importantly, by receiving you in your full expression, my intention and deepest desire is that you experience greater confidence, wholeness, joy, and peace in your financial profession, and in whatever you do in life!