Hi,
I’m Lara
Are you ready to get your work-life humming?
If you’re like every ADHDer I know, you want work to be meaningful, interesting and a great part of your life… but right now it isn’t.
You’d like to feel fulfilled by your work, energised and frankly, to not be so over it that you are thinking about quitting, getting a new job or a never-ending holiday all the time.
I work with smart, ambitious people like you who want to excel in work they are passionate and excited about, revel in their ADHD strengths and successfully manage where support is needed. The problem is that right now, you are sick of your work or overwhelmed with a wall of overdue tasks and dread each day.
My unique ADHD career coaching will get you on your right path and clear about your next career steps and how to achieve them so that you can enjoy a fulfilling career and make the impact you crave. Everything is tailored to ADHD brains and nervous systems and individualised for your work history, current situation and ambitions.
I give you the skills, tools and insights you need to makeover your work-life NOW and get back on track to the right career path for you. Whether it’s starting a new business, getting a promotion, changing jobs or industries or simply falling in love with your current role again, it’s all possible for you.
I'm an internationally trained life coach and researcher with a PhD in how work affects women’s mental wellbeing.
TL; DR
A bit about me…
I was an academic, researching work and mental wellbeing for ~15 years
I did a total career change after serious burnout and workaholism.
I’ve been a career coach with my own business for almost a decade and officially specialised in ADHD career coaching in 2023
My clients regularly have outstanding personal and career transformations - just check out my testimonials!
I am a divorced single mum to an AuDHD kid and have two curly haired dogs living in Melbourne, Australia.
I identify as queer and love supporting people of all gender expressions, sexual orientations and cultural backgrounds, recognising that you are the expert in your experiences!
Oh and I’m neurodiverse too :)
My clients are mostly ADHDers and AuDHDers (Autistic and ADHD), either diagnosed or self-diagnosed. I also coach neurotypical folk about their careers.
I spent 15 years researching what impacts mental wellbeing - whether in their communities or in diverse work settings: from child care workers and security guards to business owners and senior management. For the last decade, I have coached many hundreds of people around the world to enhance and transform their working lives through private coaching, group workshops for workplaces and the community, as well as gorgeous retreats.
The proof is in the pudding - my clients finish coaching energised, excited for their future and happy at work with the tools to make the next step for them happen again and again and again as their careers progress.
Like many of you, I never had a clear idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up – all I knew is that I wanted my work to be interesting, fulfilling and to feel right.
I started working in my early teens and at the end of my science degree an amazing series of events lead me to public health research.
Fast forward a decade and I had completed a Masters degree and climbed the career ladder like my life depended on it… my sense of self-worth certainly did.
Despite the cracks that started to show in my health and at work, I continued on the research merry-go-round at full throttle, convincing myself that I’d be satisfied and relaxed once I achieved the next thing - the next journal article, grant, award and so on.
I didn’t feel settled in research so I took a brief break to study naturopathy, but that wasn’t right either and I soon found myself returning to research and in no time commenced a PhD while working as an academic.
During this time I got married, bought and renovated a house and had a rough pregnancy and a gorgeous daughter. I wanted to do it all perfectly. I wouldn't slow down or stop… so my body did. I suffered serious burnout.
I had ignored all the warning signs and blocked out my inner knowing which was setting off alarm bells about what I was doing to myself at work.
While I was recovering from burnout I did a lot of internal searching and googling… which led me to a life coaching course in America with Dr Martha Beck (she is an ex-Harvard academic and a genius coach).
The ‘what ifs’ then started in my mind, but the thought of learning how to coach was nothing short of delicious. My energy levels (that were non-existent at the time) soared at the idea… so this time I decided to listen to my inner knowing.
After completing my training, I founded Set Me Free Coaching in 2016. While I part of me will always be a researcher, coaching is my heart.
I’ve since managed living through the biggest ups and downs including disability, chronic illness, single parenting and navigating multi-generational neurodiversity while starting and running a business and coaching. Coaching has given and saved my life so many times.
I’ve never been happier or more excited to get to work. It’s time for you to feel the same way.