Keynotes & Workshops
I speak about high-functioning exhaustion. For rooms full of people who are still performing, but secretly running on empty.
Most corporate keynotes treat burnout like a scheduling problem. They offer productivity hacks and wellness tips. I speak to the identity-level pattern underneath: what happens when your most capable people are functioning perfectly on the outside, but are completely depleted on the inside.
I call this work the Validation Exit. It's the process of moving from performing for other people's approval to trusting your own. It moves through three layers because awareness builds in a specific order, not because I’m going to accompany you on some curriculum activity. You can't trust yourself before you can see yourself. And you can't see yourself when you're in reaction mode.
Global Burnout Summit
Rotterdam Women in Tech
Female Ventures
Everybody Networks Here
JobOn
Women Business Initiative
Layer 1: CALM
You can't see patterns when you're in reaction mode. When you're second-guessing everything, stuck in your head, catastrophizing, you’re in what’s called survival mode. That's why mental health days don't help and achievements feel empty. You're solving the wrong problem from the wrong state.
We start here. You learn what tension feels like in your body, where you hold stress, what calm actually feels like. Many people have genuinely forgotten.
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What we work on: recognizing reactive vs. responsive states, body scanning and visualization, learning to sit with yourself instead of immediately fixing or optimizing.
Layer 2: SEE
Once you slow down, patterns become visible. Patterns aren't the actions you take, people seem to think patterns are behaviors. They're the automatic links between trigger and response. Between "someone questions my work" and "I defend it immediately." Between "I have free time" and "I fill it with tasks."
You start noticing how often you perform instead of being present. How often decisions come from "should" rather than what you actually want.
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What we work on: seeing patterns that were invisible while you were inside them, distinguishing fear (loud, urgent) from what you actually know (quiet, persistent), noticing when decisions come from conditioning rather than choice.
Layer 3: TRUST
You can't trust yourself when you don't know what "yourself" feels like. Once you can see the patterns, you start testing decisions differently. Not "what should I do?" but "what feels like relief versus what feels like contraction?" Decisions that used to take weeks become clear.
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What we work on: checking decisions against what you already know, integrating what your head, heart and gut are telling you, acting on what you know to be true before your mind talks you out of it.
The progression isn't about time. It's about depth.
Some people move through in 6 sessions. Others need 12 or more. It depends on how long you've been running on external validation instead of your own judgment and how much unlearning needs to happen. You can't optimize your way to awareness. The work happens at the pace it needs to happen.
What a session looks like
Opening
We start with what's happening right now. What needs attention at work, in your head, in how you've been feeling. Sometimes you'll know exactly what you want to bring. Other time you'll arrive with a vague sense that something's off and no words for it yet. Either way, that's where we begin.
Reflection
Bringing awareness to what you're feeling, not just what you're thinking. You're sitting quietly in your chair, eyes closed, while I guide you with a few prompts. Not mystical, just attention. From there, visualization, inquiry or body-based practice, depending on where you are in the process.
Close
Every session can end with something to take into your week: an action or an awareness practice. You’re not given homework to complete. The change comes from catching yourself in real time, in between sessions, while you’re living your life.
Working Together
For me, the work was done when I realized I don't need to do the hard work at my job to show my boss and the whole company how amazing I am. The work ended when I decided to choose a calm life over stress and panic. I don't have to prove anything to anyone.
That's what the Validation Exit leads to. Not a decision about your current job. A shift in who you're performing for and then the realization that you don't have to perform at all.
What changes:
You stop second-guessing every decision at work and outside it
You can tell the difference between fear talking and what you actually know
Achievement stops being something you need to feel okay and becomes something you choose
You can say no at work without three days of guilt and internal justification
You feel like yourself. Not the version you perform in meetings. Who you actually are.
We work together until those markers are clear. For most people, that's roughly 8 sessions. There's no predetermined end date and no counting down. The pace is yours.
Andreea, Clinical Psychologist
“Ioana created a safe space where I felt truly seen. She helped me gain clarity around my anxiety and, through constellation work, I intuitively connected the dots with my family dynamics. That insight stayed with me."
Abolee, Leader in IT
"Ioana was a very good listener and stayed deeply engaged throughout. She remembered what I'd said in earlier sessions and could easily connect it to where I was now. She created a safe space where I felt heard, and at that time I was going through some grief. She didn't rush me, just gave me space to think and be. Her reflections helped me see what was truly important and how to move toward balance and fulflilment in work and life."
Dilshat, Operations Pricing Officer
"I reached out to Ioana out of curiosity, but our sessions ended up helping me both personally and professionally. She has a rare intuition, often understanding what I meant before I did. Her empathy and presence helped me organize my thoughts, quiet self-doubt and approach job interviews with clarity and confidence. Most of all, I felt truly cared for. And to me, that's exactly what a coach should offer."
Amber, Founder & Business Consultant
"I found Ioana at a pivotal time in my business. My progress had stagnated and I knew something was holding me back. Ioana was able to cut through what I couldn't see on my own. I am so grateful; she has carried me into the most exciting phase of my business yet."
€1,990 (excl. VAT)
The amount includes the sessions, preparation before each one and my full attention to your process until the work is done.
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Pricing is transparent because it matters. It filters for commitment, yours and mine. When you invest significantly in your own transformation, you show up differently. You take the work seriously.
If you invest in your transformation as much as you'd spend on weekly dinners out, you'll commit and show up exactly like that, casually, when it's convenient. This work requires presence, honesty and a willingness to sit with discomfort.
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What's included:
Before: 60 min reviewing your patterns and preparing the session.
After: 30 min connecting dots you might not see yet.
Between: I'll reach out when something clicks or when I sense you might need support.
Cadence: Weekly or bi-weekly for momentum and integration.
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Payment plans available.
Ready to find out if this is for you?
If you read this page and feel seen, that's enough information to book the call.
The discovery call is 45 minutes. We'll talk about what's happening for you right now, what you're hoping will change and whether this approach feels right. You'll get a sense of how I work. If it's a fit, we'll figure out next steps together.