You
You'll likely appreciate my work if you resonate with any of the following:
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you've always been a square peg forced into round holes
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you've always been there for others while also feeling deeply alone
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you've buried yourself in overwork, overachievement and overfunctioning
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you've been called "too sensitive", "too intense", "too much"
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you've felt there's something deeply "wrong" with you, while also feeling deeply there's absolutely nothing wrong with you
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you've spent years (decades?) dissociated from your body and emotions, because being in touch with yourself, and not being seen for who you really are, was too painful
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you've experienced psychological trauma
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you've experienced burnout, anxiety or depression
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you're neurodivergent
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you're a mischievous nerd operating undercover in stealth mode
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you've done therapy but are not sure how to move forward
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you're done accepting that "this" is all there is
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you're ready to take your power back
Me
I’m Dr Eff Blank, but you're already my friend, so please call me Eff. (I know, it confuses everybody! And, yes, it's made-up, but it's my legal name. Go figure.)
I'm not a medical doctor. I'm the kind of doctor that needed a PhD, a previously wrecked immune system and a few burnouts to finally understand how humans function.
I'm a Trauma‑Informed Self Leadership Coach. I work 1:1 primarily with people who have experienced complex trauma, have typically done therapy, but are a bit stuck when it comes to actually moving forward. I use the broad lens of Internal Family Systems to help my clients understand their survival patterns, shift into sovereign Self leadership and build the lives they crave and deserve. If you'd like to work with me, you can check my availability here.
I also make self-paced courses on related topics (Self leadership, people-pleasing, boundaries, nervous system regulation etc.) - more courses coming soon.
And I create psychoeducational content for YouTube about moving on from trauma, using science, storytelling and nerd humour. When it comes to trauma education, the internet is saturated with a divisive, pathologising and victimey discourse that frankly makes me cringe. I'm trying to do something different - acknowledge the reality of trauma without taking myself too seriously, while also asking the only question that really matters:
How do we move forward from here, in a way that truly honours who we are?
It's a new channel, and so niche, that the algorithm doesn't know what to do with it. I would really appreciate your support if you resonate. Every subscriber, every bit of engagement tells the algorithm: There is interest in this content - show it to more viewers. (You can subscribe here if you wish.)
My current work draws on several previous careers in expected and unexpected ways. I've run national research portfolios and evaluation programmes; I've led multidisciplinary research and analysis teams; I've led social research totalling tens of thousands of participants in multiple countries; I've taught thousands of students; I've been an academic and peer-reviewed published author.
But my greatest achievement so far has been healing (just about) three decades of complex trauma in almost every shade imaginable. Now I use that experience to help others avoid some of the pain I've encountered on my own healing journey.
(Also, see above bullet-point section, because of course.)
If you'd like occasional updates on what I'm up to, feel free to join my mailing list below.