Meet True Relations Founder & Coach.
Hi, I’m Tess, founder of True Relations and your coach on this journey back to self.
I started my career in team development and group dynamics, working in tech to support teams and projects by applying different techniques for group efficiency. I focused not just on the team as a whole, but on the person behind each title—what motivated them, what held them back, and how they worked best. I also led week-long team bonding experiences with students at the school where I had previously studied, deepening my understanding of how people connect, communicate, and grow together.
This journey made me want to dig deeper into the human psyche and behavior. I completed a year-long counseling training to understand how people’s pasts shape them, then trained as a coach to help them move forward. Along the way, I studied somatic practices and the mind-body connection, integrating both into my work. I continue to take courses and remain a lifelong student of human conditioning.
Now, my focus is on helping people break free from the patterns that keep them stuck and find their own voice. I listen deeply, ask the questions that cut through the noise, and support people in stepping into lives that feel more true to who they really are.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson.
My work isn’t just shaped by training and experience—it’s deeply personal.
I grew up in an environment that didn’t always feel safe, which taught me early on how to read a room, anticipate needs, and adapt. It also made me hyper-aware of others while losing sight of myself. That pattern followed me for years—into relationships, into work, into the ways I showed up in the world.
Being queer in a culture that didn’t accept it only reinforced that survival strategy. I learned to hide parts of myself to avoid rejection, to make myself more acceptable, to fit into spaces that weren’t built for me. It took time, a lot of unlearning, and real support to step out of that and into a life that felt like mine.
I’ve struggled with anxiety, depression, and the deep fear that I wasn’t enough. I’ve stayed in relationships that weren’t right because I was more afraid of loneliness than the cost of staying. I know what it’s like to feel stuck, to question yourself, to want something different but not know how to get there.
And I also know what it’s like to find your way out.
Through my own process, I learned the power of self-awareness, honest reflection, and the right kind of support. I learned that healing doesn’t happen in isolation, and change doesn’t come from forcing yourself into another version of who you should be—it comes from finally listening to yourself.
This is why I do what I do. Because I know how hard it is. And I know what’s possible when you have the right space to figure it out.
So when you’re ready, I’m here for you.
With Care,
