Meet Kim Miller | Certified Trauma Recovery Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kim Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kim, how do you define success?
I love this question. Success to me is not about your earning potential or how much money is in your bank account. The way you feel inside is where success lies. It was not my intention to go into trauma recovery coaching to earn wealth, rather, I went into trauma coaching to help others achieve some level of happiness or contentment surrounding their trauma. If I can support even one client in achieving this, then I have been successful as a coach. Success can be anything from having a client feel validated and understood, to a client having the space to express themselves freely and without judgment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Most people are familiar with life coaches but very few have heard of trauma recovery coaching. It wasn’t until I was looking into grad school programs for counseling when I stumbled upon a trauma recovery certification program that peaked my interest. The work these coaches were doing intrigued me. Trauma recovery coaches support clients during their recovery process, which is typically a complex process.

Oftentimes, when trauma has impacted an individual they might feel isolated or question whether their response was normal or not.  Their experiences have them doubting specific feelings or emotions surrounding their trauma. The truth is, there is no normal when it comes to trauma. Helping a client understand that is where the work lies. Coaches can foster post traumatic growth within a client by validating them during their healing journey. We can also support and explore clients strengths, healthy beliefs and positive coping strategies in order to help them make progress towards healing. We strive to model healthy interpersonal relationships so that clients can re-learn how to trust and form bonds again. Trauma disconnects people from not only themselves, but also from others.

The specific program that I was certified through refers to trauma recovery coaches as the paramedics of the mental health industry. During Covid it became even more evident that there just weren’t enough therapists to go around. Even though trauma coaches cannot diagnose or treat clients, we can hold space for them and support them in various ways until they can get in with a licensed mental health professional. In some cases, clients have already done the work with a therapist and need the extra support.

It was a significant amount of work getting my business off the ground, both logistically and emotionally. Becoming a trauma recovery coach is like ripping off a huge band-aid that was covering my own trauma. Even though I had been in therapy for years, trauma training really rocks you to the core. Therapy helped me to heal but becoming a trauma recovery coach reshaped me.

While I was completing my certification work, I continued to attend supervision hours (which is ongoing as long as I am practicing), completed case study work, built a web page, and worked through all the behind the scene chaos that any typical business would need to do. Slowly I pecked away at all of this probably over the course of 6 months. I’m fairly good at biting off a little bit at a time and knocking things out slowly in order to pace myself.

The one area that tried me was my web page, building a web page is not only time consuming, but it can overwhelm you. It’s easy to make changes, but that also makes it easy to constantly make changes. Reading and re-reading each and every single word typed out on each page was tedious. It was really important to me that my web page reflected me and my personality. Trauma is personal. I wasn’t interested in hiring a web designer, this was my labor of love.

The one thing I would want the world to know is that trauma is not always what people perceive it to be. People are greatly impacted by trauma and oftentimes don’t even realize it. I want people to know that there are recovery coaches that exist in order to be supportive during their healing process. Individuals never have to feel alone.

I always make it clear to potential clients that I do not want financial constraints to ever dictate whether or not they can book an appointment with me. I know providers that charge a lot of money for their services and I know their pricing is justified. (We have expenses, such as insurance, web sites, office space, etc.) There are so many people that simply can’t afford many providers’ current rates. I want to bridge that gap for people who really need it. Our country suffers from a massive mental health care crisis. Support should be more easily attainable for all individuals.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers?

If I had friends visiting for a week I would take them all over the state! We are so fortunate to have amazing beaches and also beautiful mountains in the state of North Carolina. Before we take off anywhere though, a visit to Bida Manda right here in Raleigh is a must do. Their pork belly soup is out of this world, and it never disappoints. There are plenty of incredible restaurants in this area, including Farrington House, Second Empire and Angus Barn, to name a few. Good food is my jam. A few other places locally that stand out in my head are Sitti (Lebanese ) and Lime and Lemon (Indian). We’d need to make a pit stop to both of those establishments before we hit the road. Oh and before we leave Raleigh, we should also swing by PLUS Dueling Piano Bar! That place is such an adventure. It’s a dueling piano bar that has some incredible musicians with a laid back atmosphere. It’s just good old fashioned fun.

If you’ve never been to NC before, I would put the Biltmore on your list of things to do, especially during Christmas time. It’s such a different experience, the tour itself is just WOW. The estate is surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains so put that on our list of things to explore.

And how about exploring a winery while we are in that vicinity! I’ve been to quite a few wineries in the state but Raffaldini Vineyards is probably one of my favorites. The winery feels like you have been transported to Italy and is a must see if you have never been.

If you still have time and energy after you have done all of these visits, we can venture on over to Holden beach. I think Holden is sort of a hidden gem. It’s not Ocean Isle or Wrightsville, but it has a nice vibe with pretty good beach access and places to eat. Holden has bike paths, a pier to fish from, boats to charter, tide pools for the kids and restaurants that offer local fish right off the boat.

There are so many more places to explore in NC but these are just a few of my favorites.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching is an organization that deserves recognition for their ongoing efforts to support individuals who have been impacted by trauma. The people who make up this group are truly dedicated providers that are transforming the trauma recovery process. Going through their certification process is not only incredibly informative, but life changing to those of us who have been impacted by trauma.

Additionally, Alexis Hourselt, the host of DNA Surprises, also deserves credit and recognition for the dedication and commitment she has towards her podcast series. Alexis’s platform gives DNA surprised individuals a place to share their stories, which in turn allows them to feel seen and heard. (It can be therapeutic for individuals to share their experience with others.) Listeners have the opportunity to relate to these stories, in turn, making them feel less alone. Alexis also hosts a DNA Surprise retreat and a monthly support group. It’s really amazing how much one person can impact so many!

Website: www.kimmillertraumacoaching.com

Instagram: kim_miller_trauma_coaching

Facebook: Kim Miller Trauma Coaching, LLC