Work with me...
Be inspired, motivated, let your life soar...
My goal is to help you reach your goal
Hello, my name is Irene Klotz. I am a Certified Personal Life and Career Coach and Medical Counselor and Advocate. I maintain a private practice, Keeping Life Balanced, in the Riverdale section of Bronx, NY, and offer a multi-service program for creative, energetic, and resourceful people (like you) who want to make a difference in the world. My goal is to help you reach your goal, empower you to live your vision of a passion-filled extraordinary life and embrace your individuality. I work with individuals of all ages, organizations, or patients and family members at home or at your office, via telephone, Skype, or by Zoom. I would be honored to work with you.
My Professional Background:
I have training in Fine Arts, an undergraduate degree in English, a graduate degree in Social Work Administration & Community Organizing, certification in life, and career coaching. with continuing education in healthcare, medicine, and neuroscience. Prior to my work in medical research I:
- Created the 'Good Hands' logo for Allstate Insurance Company
- Promoted advertising and public relations for auto manufacturers and wineries
- Endorsed graduate education and counseling for K-12 teachers
Since working in medical research I:
- Became an empathetic medical advocate and skilled family counselor for epilepsy and chronic disease with twenty-plus years in medical genetics research that revealed the first genetic influence of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.
- Determined eligibility of research subjects for NIH family study of the genetics of epilepsy and chronic disease.
- Established an award-winning one-on-one multicultural subject recruitment method to ameliorate anxiety for medical research participants.
- Coordinated medical study to stem stigma of adolescent-onset epilepsy
- Authored and co-authored genetic publications for scientific journals.
- Expanded physician referral network of genetics research six-fold to international levels and encouraged diversified enrollment in medical research.
- Advocated ample time for patients and families to ask relevant questions during medical appointments.
- Counseled patients and families to prepare written descriptions of physical symptoms for accurate diagnoses by their physicians during medical appointments.
- Reinforced emotional stability for patients and families during health crises with assured access to needed services and easy navigation through complex medical systems.
- Promoted medical counseling for subjects and family members in epilepsy and chronic disease research.
I believe my professional background and life experience combined with the unique perspectives of my personal journey (below) engender a powerful cocktail to help others - to be a champion on your behalf, to make your life soar -- to help you reach your dreams, achieve your goal, and find the inner light to your vision of an extraordinary life.
My Personal Journey
As a young girl growing up in the Midwest, I always had a strong desire to make a difference in the world. I just didn't know-how.
With an English degree, a Master's degree in Social Work, extensive education in Fine Arts, medicine, Neuroscience, and a lifetime of working in art and design, advertising, public relations, and twenty-plus years in medical research, still I hungered to do more and be more.
My life was gratifying: I had challenging work, a dream job in genetics research with subjects burdened by epilepsy, an enviable paycheck, amazing colleagues, a growing loving family and friends, even time-out to pursue personal interests like art, music, reading, and volunteering. Yet, a part of me felt unfulfilled.
When Federal funding for our genetics research was terminated and I found myself with no income, no direction, and no "just in case" options, I decided it was time to stop the procrastination analysis. Re-examining options and creating success in my head encouraged my mental confusion and sustained my emotional procrastination; I knew this was not an answer. Instead, I decided to take action to know myself better, to get acquainted with my individuality, to foster my insight and true being, and inform my ambition to help others.
After a lifetime of people-pleasing and putting others first, this was not easy. I needed to 'balance' my life amid doing for others and caring for myself.
I knew I would have to live life differently: to develop a plan to move forward. So I made a commitment to experiment for one whole year. This was scary since I hardly knew the outcome. I decided to take the leap, not entirely foreign to my norm.
With renewed energy, the power of a decision made, and the fuel of my life experience, here's what happened when I took the leap to establish a private practice of medical counseling - a natural Segway I thought, from years in medical research. No one knew what medical counseling was or why wasn't it part of the service provided by a doctor. Admittedly, building a private practice from the ground up was like Sisyphus pushing that well-known boulder uphill; at any moment it could roll back down!
But, change and steps forward come with flexibility and hiccups, limitations, and trade-offs. I decided to reinvent my private practice by defining the problem that necessitated my services. In doing so, I clarified my vision and with help, the focus of my market. Now Keeping Life Balanced is a multi-service practice of personal Life and Career Coaching, Medical Counseling, and Advocacy, where I am able to help individuals of all ages, organizations, patients, and family members struggling with life's journeys, in need of redirection or health and medical support to reach their goals and achieve their dreams.
Since establishing my private practice, I:
- Rented an affordable office, sought market consulting, created a website and designed brochures and business cards to attract clients.
- Discovered my professional talent for helping people and focused on the task of launching a profitable business based on my unique individuality and values.
- Developed a marketing plan to encourage business growth and expansion.
- Enrolled in a life coaching and mentoring course instead of the Ph.D. in Social Work I was considering.
- Established Keeping Life Balanced, a multi-service program of life and career coaching and medical counseling and advocacy using my medical research referral network base.
- Managed my time and relationships more carefully to realign my associations, boundaries, and interactions to focus on my professional practice.
- Acknowledged my physical limits after developing pneumonia from over-exertion and being laid up for six months.
- Contributed to meaningful real-life and website discussions and lectures on societal issues, healthcare, activism for gender equality, and animal and human rights.
- Let go of my public speaking fears to convey the crucial topics vital to me and essential to saving our planet (this one I'm still working on).
By creating a plan, taking action, and seeking the help I needed, I clarified my vision and defined the gift of my individuality. Now, I am committed to that vision, to grow my professional career: to provide guidance for emotional stability and physical health. I want to be your personal champion as I have been mine. I am approachable and listen without judgment; I am warm and even have a sense of humor. With integrated methodologies and techniques, I'll help you clarify your vision and define your values, and individuality, or claim your medical diagnosis and gain sound communication with your physician. You'll be able to live with yesterday's issues, forge ahead to find your answers, and toss the scars that keep you from flourishing. With a unique approach, well-defined goals, compassion, and empathy, I'll help you harness your strengths, ignite your passions, and achieve your desire for personal growth. I have a clear vision of my life and business moving forward -- to soar beyond my comfort zone. I would be privileged to help you and others do the same!