From Anxiety to Authentic: A Young Adult’s Journey to Self
- Lisa Rooney

- Jul 21
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 17

Coaching is a very personal and sometimes vulnerable journey. It's also a powerful journey that I am always honored to be a part of. I’d like to share a “Love Letter” written by the parents of one of my young adult clients.
Young adults make up approx 40% of my practice. Read to the bottom to find out more about how I help navigate the challenges of today’s post covid world with our young adults.
Alia (name changed to protect privacy) was 17 when we started our journey together. She was struggling with debilitating anxiety. She had 2 eating disorder diagnosis, 2 anxiety disorder diagnosis, 2 different doctors, 1 psychiatrist and a nutritionist but nothing was working.
Below is a reprint from a letter I received from her father. This is one of my favorite transformation stories:
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“Our daughter was struggling mightily with anxiety which was negatively affecting almost every aspect of her life to varying degrees. The two worst symptoms were that it was affecting her sleep and, even more concerning, her appetite which caused weight loss and malnutrition which fed the sleep problems and fed the anxiety and so on. The health issues were causing her to miss a lot of school and struggle academically and socially even. It was a big knot of stuff that was all feeding off each other. We tried therapy (which helped a little) and appetite stimulants and melatonin and generic prozac for the anxiety but still the stifled appetite persisted and she couldn’t get her weight up as a result.
But a friend mentioned how much homeopathic remedies had helped her and so put me in contact with Lisa Rooney. After a thorough phone call with Lisa to explain what was going on with our daughter, Lisa was confident she could start turning things around for her within 3-4 weeks with a mix of homeopathic remedies, supplements and phone sessions to check on how everything is going but also some coaching about techniques and lifestyle changes that can further help the body heal from within.
Sure enough about 3 weeks later there were signs of everything across the board getting better and I think it was after 4 weeks that there was no denying everything was getting better. Appetite up, sleep better, anxiety attacks down, stomach and headaches down. We hadn’t seen anything work for years until then. I’m getting choked up thinking about how it felt to finally have that fog of anxiety that had plagued our daughter for so long start to break up and drift away so she could be herself again.
It has been about 8 months now of consistent coaching from Lisa and everything is going great. Our daughter loves working with Lisa in their phone sessions and she is feeling the best she has in years. And we are still just amazed and so so so grateful at how Lisa pretty much saved us.”
- S and K, Columbus OH
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Over the course of our work together, Alia graduated from high school and gained newfound clarity about her life goals. She is no longer defined by anxiety and now has practical tools to navigate everyday challenges with confidence. I continued meeting with her monthly, offering mentorship and support along her journey, until she felt ready to move forward on her own. In total, I worked with Alia for approximately 18 months.

Although some time has passed since our last session, I recently received this heartfelt message from her father - a true testament to the empowering impact of coaching and homeopathy.

When the coaching process is fully embraced, it doesn’t just change the life of the individual - it ripples outward to their family, relationships, and community. As Alia gained emotional resilience and confidence, her family experienced more peace, deeper connection, and a renewed sense of hope. This is the power of integrative healing: it equips individuals with tools for self-trust and emotional regulation while simultaneously easing the emotional burdens carried by those who love them.

I’ve been a coach since the early 2000's, and in recent years, an unexpected and beautiful shift has taken place in my practice. While I’ve always primarily supported women between the ages of 40 and 60 - especially during seasons of personal transition - more and more former clients have started reaching out to ask if I can work with their young adult children. Their coaching experience was so transformational, they often say, “I wish I’d had this kind of support earlier in life” - and they want to give their kids that opportunity now.
As a result, about 40% of my current practice is dedicated to young adults navigating the complexity of today’s world - especially in the wake of post-pandemic trauma and the current social media tsunami.
These young adults face unique challenges around identity, purpose, relationships, and resilience - and they often need support outside the parent-child dynamic to process it all. I call this a form of community parenting - an intentional, collaborative approach where trusted adults come alongside our young people to guide and mentor them.
It’s something I believe we’re missing in our culture, and it’s long overdue.
Alia’s story beautifully illustrates this supportive and synergestic relationship.
If you have a young adult who’s struggling to find their footing, I’d be honored to offer support. Read more about my Young Adult Integrative Coaching Program. Then Sign up for a Discovery Call and let’s discuss.
Disclaimer: Homeopathy doesn't "treat" an illness; it addresses the entire person as a matter of wholeness that is an educational process, not a medical one. Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice are not accepted as medical evidence and are not FDA evaluated. This is intended for educational purposes only.

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