Meet Clara
About Me
Humble Beginnings
Hi, I’m Clara.
I was born and raised in Namibia, South-West Africa.
I grew up on a farm before moving to the Namibian capital, Windhoek, in 2008. Being raised on the farm has taught me some timeless life skills and influenced my mindset in tremendous ways. While it taught me what being isolated feels like, it also taught me how to be independent and think for myself from a very young age.
It also fostered a strong love for sustainable living and using my hands to create, shape, and fix things. So, when I am not working on my business or seeing clients, I like to escape into my kitchen, garden or the little workshop in my garage to build and create things by hand - a deeply therapeutic way to make sure I don’t burn out and can show up as best as possible for my clients.
The Route to Psychology
I graduated from high school in 2013, and in 2015, I started studying counselling and psychology at the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP) in Cape Town.
Initially, I wanted to study forensic psychology, so the plan was to start with the 2-year Diploma in Counselling and Communication and then apply overseas.
But I quickly fell in love with other areas of psychology. Once I completed the two years, I applied for the Bachelors of Applied Social Science.
I graduated with both qualifications in 2019 and 200+ hours of training at St. Luke’s Hospice (SA), Nazareth House (SA), and St. Paul’s College (NA).
After a brief break, I applied for the Honours degree in psychology at SACAP - a very competitive degree that only takes 15 students a year. I got in and started studying in 2021. End of 2022, I graduated with another 300 hours of training.
I was finally eligible to register as a psychological counsellor in South Africa or Namibia, but life had other plans for me (thankfully).
From Vision to Reality: Founding CH Life Coaching
It all started with an idea and a basic logo in mid-2023. I had to make lemonade out of the lemons that I was handed.
“I can offer some life coaching while I figure things out”, I thought. Initially, it was meant to be temporary, but I fell in love with both the structure and freedom that running my own life coaching practice promised.
And CH Life Coaching turned out to be my plan B.
Starting my own business from scratch without a mentor was tough - and sometimes still is - but I had some wonderful people who motivated and supported me from the start. The excitement of doing what I love, although differently, was much bigger than my fears and the uncertainty.