About Joy

Your True Self.
Your Authentic Self.
Your Highest Self.

If you’ve dipped your toes into the deep waters of healing & personal development, you’ve probably heard phrases like these more times than you can count.

But what is your “True Self,” anyway?
Does it even exist?
Or is it just an attractive myth?

Here’s what I believe: Your True Self is the strongest, calmest, and most empowered version of YOU.

It’s YOU — minus the critical voices & habitual reactions that take away your strength.
It’s YOU — at your natural state. Clean. Sober. Beautifully confident.

As an Addiction Recovery & Life Coach, my whole purpose is to help you rediscover your True Self — to get back to your natural state of physical, mental, spiritual & emotional equilibrium — so that you can make choices that help move you forward into the life you deserve.

Wondering how I arrived here — and why I’ve devoted my life to supporting your recovery?

Read on . . .

MY ADDICTION STORY

I believe we’re all recovering from something. But while I’ve had my share of emotional obstacles, I’ve never been addicted to drugs or alcohol.

My first introduction to the world of addiction & recovery came when my sister checked into her first drug & alcohol rehabilitation center. This was one of many treatment programs she would experience on her journey to recovery — and it marked a turning point in my life, as well as hers.

My sister’s addiction triggered an avalanche of emotion. I saw, for the first time, how I’d enabled her dis-ease. How I’d built relationships anchored on extreme co-dependence. How I’d allowed friends, family & boyfriends to stomp all over my boundaries — never really knowing what a boundary was, in the first place! It was my wake-up call — and a call-to-action.

And while my sister set off on her own healing journey, I began mine . . .

ADVENTURES. ASHRAMS. ACADEMIA.
AND A ‘JOYFUL’ NAME CHANGE.

The next several years were a blur of academic credentials (two Masters Degrees — one in Education & another in Professional Counseling), elementary school teaching, life coaching adventures, spiritual inquiry and life-altering travel.

I was guided to my spiritual & professional mentors — and studied a wealth of healing modalities, from Emotional Intelligence and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Body-Centered Coaching, StoryPlay® Coaching and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy.

I celebrated my 40th birthday in Pune, India — where I spent 3 weeks alone at the OSHO ashram, and decided to change my name from Michelle to my middle name: Joy. It took me decades to grow into & embody the meaning of Joy — and renaming myself was a powerful, tangible milestone on my journey to self-actualization.

I flew to Morocco to present a workshop at the Play Therapy International World Congress — one of the proudest moments of my life.

Through it all, I worked as an elementary school teacher — where every single day, the kids in my classroom showed me the true nature of creativity, resilience & joy.

But I wasn’t destined to be a grade-school teacher — forever.

Something was brewing, under the surface.

And one day, a sign came from out of the blue . . .

COMING FULL CIRCLE

. . . and by out of the blue, I mean Facebook.

When a total stranger contacted me through Facebook for parent coaching, I inadvertently found myself with my first addiction recovery client.

And as we began working together, I realized he’d been the sign I was waiting for — An invitation to the next chapter of my career, and my true calling. The work I was born to do.

So here I am. Highly-credentialed. Richly experienced. Still learning & curious. Ready to serve.

If you’re seeking a compassionate coach to help you along to the Next Step of your recovery, I’d be honored to support you.

Feel free to explore my resources & services, and when you’re ready —
let’s talk about freedom.

With Love,

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Degrees, certifications & more:

University of Arizona

Bachelor of Arts Degree
General Studies Major with an emphasis in: Communication, Marketing, and Journalism

Northern Arizona University / Phoenix

Post Bac Degree in Elementary Education
Received Elementary Teacher Certification
Received Early Childhood Development Endorsement

Sampere Spanish Language School; Madrid, Spain

Intensive Spanish Language and Grammar Course

University of Phoenix

English as a Second Language (ESL) & Bilingual Language (BLE)
Received ESL / BLE Endorsement

Northern Arizona University/Phoenix

Master’s of Education Degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Human Relations (MEd)

Argosy University/Phoenix

Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling (MA)

Coach Training Alliance (CTACC)

Certified Professional Coach

B.E.S.T. (Bio Energetic Synchronization Technique) Practitioner Training, May, 2021
Spiritual B.E.S.T. Practitioner Training, November, 2021

Certified B.E.S.T. Practitioner

Certified Spiritual B.E.S.T. Practitioner

Additional credentials & affiliations:

• I’m honored to have won an award as one of the Top 20 Addiction Coaches for 2022 by The Coach Foundation
• I’m honored to have been selected as one of Phoenix, Arizona’s Top Life Coaches by Expertise, LLC.
• Certified in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Through Metta Lane Mindfulness Academy, December, 2019
• Mindfulness Fundamentals Training, 2016, with Mindful Schools
• Palouse Mindfulness Training, 2016, in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
• Licensed Facilitator
• Certified StoryPlay® Coach with Dr. Joyce C. Mills
• Member of Recovery Coaches International (RCI)
• Member of International Coaching Federation (ICF)
• Recently published in MyAddiction.com and Coaching World the ICF Professional Coaching Magazine
• Blue Heart Body Temple Practice women’s groups and Heart of Courage Depth Mentoring : Training Program with KarenWilson, MC, NCTMB; President & Founder of International Association of Intuitive Entrepreneurs, IAIE
• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) with Arpana Greenwood in Anchorage, Alaska
• Body-Centered Coaching with Marlena Field, PCC, CPCC
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) training workshop at the Beck Institute in Philadelphia, PA.