Work with me

Three paths. One starting point.

One-on-one Mindful Self-Compassion coaching, the full 8-week MSC course, or a custom workshop for your team — every path begins with a free 15-minute discovery call.

Book a free discovery call Compare all options ↓ No commitment. 15 minutes on Zoom.

1:1 · Zoom

Coaching, virtual

$75 / hour

Weekly or biweekly, on your pace. Anywhere in the world.

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1:1 · NYC

Coaching, in person

$150 / hour

In-room sessions in New York City. Same curriculum, different container.

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Group · 8 weeks

MSC Course

By inquiry

Full Germer/Neff curriculum. 6–12 person cohorts, in-person or Zoom.

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For your team

Custom workshops

By inquiry

Tailored programs for workplaces, clinics, schools, and communities.

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How it works

From "I'm curious" to first session.

1

Free 15-minute call

Tell me what you're working with. I'll tell you honestly which path fits — including "none of these," if that's the right answer.

2

Pick your path

1:1 sessions, the 8-week cohort, or a custom program. Sliding-scale slots reserved in each.

3

Start the practice

Sessions are practical and warm. We build skills you can use this week — not theory you'll forget by Friday.

What clients say

Testimonials

"I'd read Neff's book twice and still couldn't get the practices to stick. Working with Mike was the difference. Six weeks in I caught myself talking to myself the way I'd talk to a friend — without thinking about it. That had never happened before."
— Jenna R., attorney · 1:1 Zoom client
"The cohort was the first room I'd been in where everyone was wrestling with the same inner critic. Mike holds the space with so much warmth and so little fluff. I left every session with one thing I could actually use that week."
— David K., therapist · MSC course alum, Spring 2025
"We hired Mike for a clinician self-care series after a brutal year. Three months later our team is still using the practices, and our retention numbers say something is working. Easiest PD decision I've made."
— Clinical Director, community mental health agency (NYC)

1:1 coaching

Tailored Mindful Self-Compassion coaching.

One-on-one work on the specific places where you're hardest on yourself — in person in New York City, or on Zoom from anywhere.

Who this is for

You're externally accomplished and internally self-critical. You hold yourself to a standard you wouldn't ask of a friend, and you've started to suspect the inner critic isn't keeping you on track — it's slowing you down.

Maybe you've read Neff's book, or Germer's. Useful conceptually, but you haven't been able to make the practices stick on your own. You're not looking for theory. You're looking for someone to work with you on the actual doing of it.

The practical curriculum

Every coaching arrangement is tailored, but most clients move through some combination of: learning to recognize the inner critic in real time and treating it less as a fact and more as a familiar voice; building a 5–10 minute daily practice that actually fits your life; working with shame, failure, and the small daily ruptures that run the show; translating mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness from concept into reflex.

What this is not: a goal-coaching framework, a productivity hack, or a vehicle for telling you everything is fine. The work is warm but it is also honest.

Common questions about 1:1

How many sessions does this usually take?

No fixed package. Some clients see useful movement in three to five sessions; others work with me on and off for a year or more. We figure it out together.

What's the difference between coaching and therapy?

MSC coaching is skills training: we work on the practices that build self-compassion as a capacity. It is not psychotherapy. If you're working through trauma, an active eating disorder, or a clinical condition, therapy is the right setting — coaching can complement it but doesn't replace it.

Do I need prior meditation experience?

No. The practices are simple to learn (the doing is the harder part) and you'll be guided through them step by step.

How is payment handled?

1:1 sessions are paid up front via PayPal at booking. Sliding-scale slots are reserved each month — mention it in the discovery call.

Will MSC make me lazy or self-indulgent?

Empirically, the opposite. Across hundreds of studies, self-compassion predicts more initiative, better follow-through after failure, and healthier behavior — not less.

Discovery call

Fifteen minutes. Free. No pressure.

Pick a time below. Works for 1:1 coaching, MSC cohort questions, or custom workshop inquiries. If it isn't the right fit, I'll tell you and point you somewhere else.

Or email me directly Use the contact form instead