Chad Herst, MS, LAC, PCC
I looked like I had it all together. Until I didn’t.
For most of my life, I knew how to perform, achieve, and keep everything looking fine, even when I was quietly unraveling inside. That worked. Until it stopped.
Even when I was burned out and emotionally shut down, I stayed in the pattern: prove you’re okay, keep going, don’t let it show.
Healing didn’t come from pushing through. And the work I do now isn’t about fixing anyone.
I work with high achievers who feel overwhelmed, numb, self-critical, or quietly empty. These are people who have done the therapy, read the books, optimized everything, and still feel like something is missing.
Together, we trace that pressure back to its origin. The belief that love had to be earned. The moment you decided your worth depended on being exceptional. We sit with what you had to bury to survive.
And from there, we begin again. Not with a new version of you. With the version that was never broken.
How I Came to This Work
I didn’t set out to become a coach. I was trying to outrun pain: my brother’s suicide, the pressure to perform, and the belief that I had to be impressive to matter.
I studied yoga in India. I sat in silence for weeks at a time. I became an acupuncturist. I thought that if I could help others heal, I’d finally feel whole myself.
For a while, I convinced myself it was working. But under the surface was a quiet emptiness I couldn’t outthink or outwork. What I eventually found wasn’t another method. It was permission, permission to stop performing, stop pretending, and finally feel what I had spent years avoiding.
My work is rooted in that journey. I’m trained in trauma-informed coaching, somatic inquiry, and integrative healing practices, but more than that, I’ve lived the work myself. And that’s what I offer others now, a space that holds both the unraveling and the return.
What It’s Like to Work With Me
This isn’t about mindset hacks or peak performance. It’s not about becoming someone new. It’s about becoming honest.
A session might start with conversation. It might move into the body. Sometimes we sit in silence until something real surfaces. There’s no formula, only presence, honesty, and space for what’s actually there.
Our work might include somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, inner child work, or simply making contact with the part of you that hasn’t had a voice in years.
I’m not here to fix you. I’m here to help you finally hear yourself.
The Truth I Keep Coming Back To
Not fixing.
Not optimizing.
Just coming home.