Tara Caimi
life purpose, transformation & personal story coach
~ compassionate coaching for creative & sensitive souls ~
welcome
By education, I am a certified life coach and author.
By Nature, I am an artist, a mentor, a muse.
Let’s start with a story…
My journey to life coaching began more than a decade ago with a beautiful group of creative women who were called together by the one who would become my dear friend and mentor. Together we traversed the pages and lessons in Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, and within that circle, I discovered the transformative power of creating and sharing in community.
I carried the energy of that group with me as I navigated my own healing journey in the years that followed, eventually reaching a point where I was called to give back—to be in service based on my personal experiences and acquired knowledge.
As a personal story coach, I combine my education and experience as a published memoirist with my trauma-informed life coaching skills to help clients craft and share their unique stories.
As a life purpose and transformation guide, I am here to partner, to offer perspective, to shine a light on possibilities, to invite curiosities. I will not pretend to know more than you know about your own Self. What I do know is that so many elements of life can cause us to lose sight of and connection with what’s most important to us.
In my practice, I take a compassionate and nonjudgmental approach to help you improve your self understanding and resulting quality of life. Together, we will creatively coax your inner truth back out into the light.
people who come to me
Sensitive Souls
Many of my clients identify as being highly sensitive and may also identify as empathic. Often these people have been labeled as gifted or talented in their childhood but throughout life have felt misunderstood, different, and perhaps even lost. They have not been able to find the meaning and fulfillment they so deeply crave. This was my experience for most of my life. The world needs the compassionate power of Highly Sensitive People now more than ever, and it is my privilege to work with and support my fellow HSPs. (See Resources for more info on HSP.)
Late(r) Bloomers
There is no such thing as "too late" when it comes to finding and following our joy--what lights us up from the inside out. As a late(r) bloomer, myself, I know this to be true, though it did take some effort to arrive at this knowledge through experience. I was eternally lucky to have a gifted mentor who guided me toward my inner light. She saw in me what I could not yet see in myself. Together, we worked to unearth my core truth and release the joy. It is my honor to carry that torch forward and ignite the light in others who have yet to feel the meaning and fulfillment they deserve.
Artists & Creators
My definition of an artist is someone who leads with love. I came by this after years of struggling to apply the label to my own self, while knowing from the depths of my soul that an artist is exactly who I am. From my perspective, being an artist is the mind-, body-, heart-, and spirit-set of those of us who were designed to view the world through a lens of love. I believe this to be a sacred gift, and it is my honor to help other artists who are feeling blocked, unworthy, unmotivated, or who simply have not yet developed into the artist they know they are meant to be.
personal story coaching
We all need and deserve to be seen and heard for exactly who we are. The story coaching I offer combines my education and experience as a professional memoirist and published author with my trauma-informed life coaching knowledge and skills to provide you with a safe and compassionate space to explore and craft you unique story. Following are areas we may explore together:
~ Self discovery toward unveiling the story you have to tell
~ Self connection and acceptance toward generating confidence to craft your unique story
~ Knowledge and skills development around the elements of creative writing and effective storytelling
~ Self care and compassion around patterns and beliefs that may be holding you back
~ Voice exploration and development toward uncovering and fine-tuning the story that is true to you
~ Compassionate witnessing and support as you navigate the sensations and emotions that arise
~ Self expression toward authentically crafting and structuring your story
~ Various options for sharing your work toward your desired outcomes
life purpose & transformation coaching
Through a creative process of self-exploration, I support you in uncovering and nurturing what calls to you from deep within. My process of self discovery, expression, and connection engages compassion and acceptance to safely and playfully bring those desires into alignment with the meaningful and fulfilling life you are meant to be living.
~ Identify and align with the core values that make you who you are.
~ Activate the ways you like to play and (re)engage with joy.
~ Explore and practice self compassion as you move deeper into self discovery.
~ Reframe your relationships with the inner critic and perfectionist.
~ Negotiate your fears, blocks, and limiting beliefs by redefining their roles.
~ Cultivate a loving relationship with your true and unique self.
~ Flourish with meaning and fulfillment in your distinct style of compassionate power.
suggested paths for our work together
Packages are suggestions based on what I feel we will be able to do together over the course of the listed time period.
All are flexible per individual client interests, which will be discussed during the free half-hour discovery call.
Payment can be per session, monthly, or in full, and clients may opt out when called to do so.
bio ~
I’m a certified life coach and author specializing in personal story writing as well as life purpose and transformation coaching. I have a dual bachelor’s degree in journalism and psychology, a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing, and I received my life coaching certification through Life Purpose Institute.
My stories and essays have appeared in the Writer’s Chronicle, Fire & Knives quarterly, The MacGuffin, Pithead Chapel, American Writers Review, and other journals, anthologies, and magazines. I’ve also served as script developer for several award-winning animated short films. My memoir Mush: from sled dogs to celiac, the scenic detour of my life (Plain View Press, 2015) reflects my journey of self-discovery, physical illness, and healing. I’m currently at work on a sequel about healing from complex trauma (title TBD).
As part of my healing journey back to me, I embarked on a quest to “grow back down again” and explore the things in life that had once felt fulfilling but that had gotten lost somewhere along the way. I started taking piano lessons, which eventually led to singing lessons, which eventually led to songwriting. I auditioned for a play (for the first time since I was twelve-years-old!) and got the part to appear in the nonprofit community theatre group Sock & Buskin’s staged reading of The Vagina Monologues. I later performed “Mi Mi Mi”—an excerpt from my musitragicomedy-in-progress on life, healing, and love—at the 2023 Central PA Theatre and Dance Fest.
My songs and current artistic creations are reflections of my healing journey. Writing has been a profound meaning maker as I navigate the tides of life, and it is indescribably rewarding to share these empowering processes with my clients as I see, hear, and support each one of them on their respective journeys.
kind words
“Tara was so empathetic and focused on meeting me where I was with the combination of coaching and mentoring that fit. I knew I wanted to tell my story, but I didn’t know where to start and felt unskilled at the craft. Tara gave me peace of mind in knowing that I’m not doing this alone and reminding me that I have a right to tell this story and don’t need anyone’s permission. Had I not engaged with Tara, I’d be struggling a lot more with all the voices telling me I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t have a right to write, and that this is going to get a lot harder before it’s going to get easier. Ultimately, doing this without her (and it IS TARA—not just any personal story coach) would likely end in my giving up this dream. Tara is the only person I would consider to accompany me on this journey because it’s the most personal and vulnerable work I’ve ever done. She makes me feel safe and supported and worthy when I can’t feel those things for myself, and I was realistic enough to know I likely would not, and maybe could not reach in and grab my heart and sew it to my sleeve effectively alone. I’m currently more than halfway through my 60k word first draft, and not only am I experiencing unexpected joy from writing, but the curious analyst in me is not getting in the way of my creativity as I’d expected—in fact it’s fueling insights! Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that I’m experiencing transformational healing through the process. I can’t recommend Tara enough for anyone whose personal story is waiting to be told.”
—Lisa G.
“Tara has a radiating light and joy that I felt within every session. She really gets my high sensitivity, which felt so relieving. Early on in our work together, she brought some questions to me that still have me seeing through a lens of expansion and possibility- instead of my constricting lens. One exercise in particular around flushing out my real priorities, based around what I value, has been so powerful as I work to shift my energy toward what matters at the heart of my life.”
—Lillian R.
“Tara Caimi got me unstuck. I had a huge project and a dearth of cash. She helped me see that my path is not to do everything that might make money, but to instead focus on what will maximize my unique contribution to the world. Love her. She is thoughtful, insightful, not judgmental. I would be running myself ragged … if Tara had not pointed out I could do something more important with my time.”
—Cindy S.
“Tara asked questions that were both intuitive and thought-provoking, and asked them in a way that was gentle and supportive. I love that she encouraged me to open to the possibility of new perspective. I really enjoyed our discovery session and feel that I have already benefitted from her innate ability and the kindness that she embodies.”
—Erin M.