Hi! I'm Terri Altschul
I've spent thirty years helping people become. Now I know which people—and which becoming—are mine to serve.
Hi, I'm Terri Altschul
I’ve spent thirty years helping people become. Now I know which people—and which becoming—are mine to serve.
I believe that the second half of life isn't a decline to be managed—it's a deepening to be honored. I believe you already hold the wisdom you need. And I believe that the right companion can help you find your way to it.
My Vision
To create a world where women in the second half of life are seen as essential—where the passage from Mother to Elder is honored as sacred, not invisible. Where the questions that arise at midlife are met with depth, not dismissal. Where becoming is understood as lifelong work, and women have guides and companions for the journey.
My Mission
I guide women through the second half of life—through depth coaching, circle work, and the Jungian understanding that wholeness, not perfection, is the goal. I help women navigate the terrain of midlife transitions: the roles releasing, the body changing, the unlived life calling. This is not life coaching. It’s soul work—grounded in 30+ years of experience and thousands of hours holding space for transformation.
My Core Values
- Depth Over Surface. I engage with the profound questions of identity, meaning, and purpose that arise in the second half of life—not superficial solutions.
- Integration Over Fixing. I support the bringing together of all parts of self—light and shadow, rational and intuitive—into a unified whole.
- Wisdom Over Answers. I trust that you already hold what you need. My role is to help you access it, not to provide it.
- Presence Over Performance. I value showing up fully over showing up perfectly—for myself and for the women I serve.
- Wholeness Over Perfection. I embrace all aspects of the self—the beautiful and the difficult—rather than striving for an impossible ideal.
- Companionship Over Isolation. I create spaces where women can share their journey while honoring the deeply personal nature of this inner work.
My Promise
I promise to hold space for your complete self—your questions, your shadows, your light, and your becoming. I offer not strategies and action plans, but presence and depth: the kind of accompaniment that honors both your capability and your complexity.
I will tell you the truth with kindness. I will trust your wisdom. And I will walk alongside you as you become who you haven’t yet been.
The Shorter Version
In 2015, I was looking for a way to manage the deep grief I experienced after my mom died. I have always been a visual person and began researching ways to combine visual elements with journaling. This creative approach to processing grief has been healing, life-supporting, and life-changing.
Since then, I continued practicing with different themes and mixed media techniques to offer a more expansive approach to coaching and development. I call this approach THE VISUAL JOURNALER, and we incorporate these methodologies here too.
The Longer Story
For more than thirty years, I thrived in corporate leadership development. I worked with global organizations—Morgan Stanley, AstraZeneca, the American Management Association—helping thousands of professionals unlock their potential. I trained in the best frameworks: Harvard’s Immunity to Change, Integral Coaching, Gestalt awareness practices.
And I was good at it. The work was meaningful. The clients were extraordinary.
But something was shifting.
I increasingly recognized the limitations of traditional development approaches that remained on the surface—setting goals, building skills, optimizing performance—rarely accessing the deeper patterns that truly drive transformation. I knew there was more. I just didn’t yet know how to offer it.
In 2011, I stepped away from my established corporate career to explore more direct pathways to helping others transform fear and inner blocks.
Then, in 2012, my mother died. And grief became my teacher. When words failed to express the depth of what I was experiencing, I turned to art materials—and discovered that images could open doorways that language couldn't reach. Something in me cracked open. And through that opening, I glimpsed a different way of guiding transformation: one that honored the whole person, that welcomed the shadow, that trusted the wisdom of the unconscious.
That pivotal experience led me to deepen my study of Jungian psychology—the archetypal patterns, the process of individuation, the profound meaning-making of the second half of life. It led me to create The Visual Journaler, a methodology for accessing inner wisdom through creative practice. And it led me, finally, to the women I was always meant to serve.
Women like me. Women who have lived enough to know that the old maps no longer fit the terrain. Women asking the deeper questions—about meaning, legacy, wholeness, and becoming.
How I See This Work
Training & Background
The depth work I offer isn’t improvised. It’s grounded in decades of training, thousands of hours of practice, and the kind of learning that happens when you’ve walked your own terrain.
Depth Psychology and Development
- Centre of Applied Jungian Studies: Symbols of Transformation and Albedo, the Way of Illumination
- Individuation Through Creativity and Art Making with Susan Rowland
- 18-Month Gestalt Training Program
- Immunity to Change Coach & Facilitator (Harvard)
- New Ventures West Integral Coach Certification
Trauma, Loss & Life Transitions
- Death and Loss: Supporting Clients Through Life's Transitions (Institute of Coaching)
- Trauma Awareness in Coaching Certificate (Deep Coaching Institute)
- The Power of Embodied Transformation (Coaches Rising)
- Exploring Forgiveness in Coaching Practice (Institute of Coaching)
Mindfulness & Presence
- The Art of Engaged Mindfulness (Mindfulness Coaching School)
- Writing, Creativity, and the Mindful Coach
- Creative Expression, Going Deeper with Coaching Clients, Gestalt Institute, Cleveland
- EMDR, Positive Psychology & Coaching
- Experimenting with Experiments, a Coach Approach, Gestalt Institute, Cleveland
- Personal practice: Svaroopa Yoga, Mindfulness
Professional Foundation
- Bachelor of Business Administration, Organizational Psychology (with honors)
- Coaching Faculty - Skillsoft
- Leadership Development Faculty — American Management Association
- Director, Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness — AstraZeneca
- VP, Learning & Leadership Development — Morgan Stanley
Outside of Work
I’m a wife, a mother, a grandmother. A devoted cat and dog mom. A book lover who always has three going at once.
I’m a visual journaler—this isn’t just something I teach; it’s how I process my own life, how I access my own wisdom, how I stay connected to what matters.
I practice Svaroopa yoga and mindfulness—not to be good at them, but because they return me to my body, which is where I often find my truest knowing.
And I’m a woman in the second half of life myself—walking this same terrain, asking these same questions, becoming who I haven’t yet been. The work I offer isn’t theoretical. It’s lived.
Two Paths,
One Journey
My coaching practice and my creative work aren’t separate—they’re two doorways into the same territory.
Through terri.coach, I offer guidance: the structured container of coaching and circle work, the companion who walks alongside you as you navigate the terrain of becoming.
Through The Visual Journaler, I offer practice: a creative methodology for accessing your own wisdom when words aren’t enough, for making meaning through image and intuition.
Some women come to me for coaching. Some come for visual journaling. Many discover they want both. All of it serves the same sacred work: helping you become who you haven’t yet been.
Ready to Begin?
Whether you’re drawn to the intimacy of one-on-one coaching or the companionship of the Circle, I’d be honored to explore what’s possible.
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
–Carl Jung
My Official Creds...
Bachelor of Business Administration, Organizational Psychology (Graduated with honors), American Intercontinental University · Hoffman Estates, IL
COACHING CERTIFICATIONS
- ICF Credential PCC (Professional Certified Coach) with more than 4,000 coaching sessions
- Certified New Ventures West Integral Coach
- Certificate 18-month Gestalt Training Program
- Certified Coach & Facilitator, Immunity to Change, Harvard
- Certified The Coaching Game, Level 2
COACHING CONTINUING ED
- “The Power of Embodied Transformation”, Coaches Rising
- “Stuck in the Story” Exploring Forgiveness in Coaching Practice, Institute of Coaching
- “Imposter Syndrome & Systems”, Empowering Clients to Engage Their Agency, Institute of Coaching
- “Death and Loss” How Coaches Can Support Clients Through Life’s Transitions, Institute of Coaching
- “Trauma Awareness in Coaching” Certificate, The Deep Coaching Institute
- “Symbols of Transformation” Centre of Applied Jungian Studies
- “Albedo, the Way of Illumination” Centre of Applied Jungian Studies
- “Individuate Through Creativity and Art Making” with Susan Rowland
- “Embodied Transformation,” Coaches Rising
- “Creative Expression, Going Deeper with Coaching Clients,” Gestalt Institute, Cleveland
- “Experimenting with Experiments, a Coach Approach,” Gestalt Institute, Cleveland
- “Writing, Creativity, and the Mindful Coach,” The Mindfulness Coaching School
- “The Art of Engaged Mindfulness,” The Mindfulness Coaching School
- “The Dynamic Trio: EMDR, Positive Psychology & Coaching,” The Mindfulness Coaching School
- Certified Linkage “Leading Organizational Transition”
- Certificate 4Mat4Business Instructional Design
- Certified “TiLT 365”
- Certified Reina “Trust and Betrayal in Organizations”
- Certified Lominger “Voices”
- Certified Group Development Questionnaire (GDQ)
- Certified Hay Group “Organizational Climate”
- Certified Hay Group “High Impact Leadership”
- Certified “Crucial Conversations”
- Certified “Leadership Agility 360”
- Qualified MBTI
- Certified Achieve Global “Quality Service Skills”
- Certified Wilson Learning “Navigator”
- Certified “Managing Professional Growth”
- Certified “FastStart”
- Johari Window
- Certified “Dimensional Team Building”
- Certified Franklin “Timequest”
- Type & Conflict
- Certified “Leadership Through People Skills”
- Info Mapping “Instruction-Based Design”
- Web-based authoring tools include Thinkific, Mighty Networks, Intrepid, Ruzuku, Word Press, Elementor, Joomla, Blackboard, Adobe Connect, Zoom, Adobe Creative Suite, Articulate 360, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Camtasia, Snag-it, Audacity, MailChimp (newsletters and automated workflows)
- MS Office Suite, MS Project, Social Learning Platforms, and Mobile Applications
- Memberships in ASTD, SHRM, ICF, HBA, ODN, and SBA
- Personal Activities: Mom and wife, Dog Mom, Book Lover, Art Journaling, Mixed Media Enthusiast, Svaroopa Yoga, Mindfulness
ICF PCC Certified Coach, 4,000+ Coaching Sessions, 2011 to present
The Visual Journaler, Founder, 2015 to present
Terri Altschul Coaching, 2011 to present
Skillsoft (formerly Pluma) Coach, 2018 to present
Facilitator, Oxford Group Consulting, 2019 to present
Leadership Development Faculty, American Management Association, 2013 to 2020
AstraZeneca, Director Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (Commercial Leadership and Leadership Teams), 2006-11
Morgan Stanley, VP Learning & Leadership Development (6,000 incumbents, all levels) 2001-05
Learn, Grow, Evolve and Discover Your Hidden Potential
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Terri Altschul is an ICF PCC—a Professional Certified Coach with more than 30 years of experience and thousands of coaching hours. She works exclusively with women in the second half of life, drawing on Jungian depth psychology to guide women across the threshold into wholeness. Her gift is holding space for what’s emerging—and helping you become who you haven’t yet been.
