About Dr. Leah Mazzola

My passion for coaching is two-fold. First, personal experience with quantum change in life, relationships, and career means I know a single choice today to change your tomorrows is a powerful place to be. Second, near a decade of formal study and research into behavior means I understand the science behind the process. Personal, professional, and social development are the keys to create the outcomes we seek. Each begins with self-exploration and self-mastery; and grows with focused work. Unfortunately, there’s no way around the work part. That’s where coaching comes in.

In addition to private practice, I am the Founder and Executive Director of Youth Coaching Institute, an accredited youth life coach training organization with a mission to bring evidence-based coaching to youth to equip them to overcome and thrive. Prior to transitioning to my passion work full-time I spent 18 years in the corporate world between the finance and insurance industries. I learned to use my natural affinities for research, investigating, analyzing, and evaluating to draw sound conclusions to maintain a track record of excellence and support the teams I managed to do the same. These days I get to use my knowledge and skills in service of your well-being.

My work is grounded in contextual behavioral science and choice theory. My coaching approach is pragmatic and evidence-based. To summarize those ideas, our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are instruments that serve a purpose and contribute to our outcomes. We can create positive outcomes from the inside out through self-insight, practical strategies, and consistent, meaningful, targeted action. I coach to promote clients’ rationality, agency, and attention to stress management and resilience building as they pursue the goals that matter most to their life satisfaction.

The Following Concepts Guide My Approach

Humans share a natural drive to meet the following needs: autonomy (free will, self-direction, human agency), relatedness (belonging), competence (to be able and capable), psychological growth, well-being, and self-actualization (to achieve our fullest potential).
The learning and growth inherent in the journey to live out our potential is often challenging and demanding. We can thrive through it by building our psychological resilience. Psychological resilience is defined as “the role of mental processes and behavior in promoting personal assets and protecting an individual from the potential negative effect of stressors” (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012, p. 675; 2013, p. 16).

Most of my clients seek support in the following areas:

Life, college, or career direction that fits
Improving motivation, performance, and engagement in school or work
Stress management related to school or work
Prioritizing self-care and work/life balance
Positive behavior change
Enhancing approaches to parenting and family dynamics
Developing
- confidence and effectiveness
- evidence-based decision making skills
- conflict management and negotiation skills
- social and communication skills
- emotional intelligence, competency, and critical thinking skills
- leadership skills

Philosophy and Approach

Credentials

My Typical Audience