Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Schiek.
Hi Haley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Ten years ago, I was barely holding it together.
If you’d met me then, you probably wouldn’t have thought, “this girl’s going to graduate valedictorian, get a degree in psychology, end up running two companies, living on her own in Puerto Rico, helping women recover from eating disorders and trauma while giving professional talks—in a second language—for aerospace companies to celebrate Women’s History Month.”
No. You probably would have thought, “I really hope this girl gets her shit together and makes it out of high school alive.”
I have always been undeniably smart. But I don’t think many people would have bet on me making it out of high school in one piece, let alone graduating top of my class. Self-harm and nightly binge eating—those were the tools I relied on to survive every day.
So the fact that I’m here now, working full-time for myself in mental health, living on a tropical island, creating my own daily schedule, learning a second language for fun? It feels like the dream.
But to understand how I got here, you have to understand where I came from.
I was a happy, naturally confident kid. Creative. Athletic. Adventurous. Inclusive. Outgoing in a way that made me easy to befriend.
But over time, that confidence and ease became something that made other people—particularly girls—uncomfortable. On top of this, refusing to conform to what was popular in favor of being myself or doing what I thought was “right” (like not excluding other “less popular” girls) resulted in intense mean girl behavior through elementary and middle school—severe enough that eventually my parents and I made the tough decision to transfer schools.
On the surface, I seemed fine. Adjusting well. Happier even. But underneath, the betrayal of friendships and the pressure to fit in started reshaping how I saw myself. I started to wonder if the mean girls were right. If maybe I really was annoying, and not good enough to be treated as a true friend.
So I learned to mask and shrink. To play small to make others more comfortable and abandon important parts of who I was just to feel safe.
As I got older, instead of going away, those patterns only escalated and evolved.
Self-harm, substance use, and disordered eating became my ways of coping with pain I didn’t know how else to process. Through high school and college, my life was driven by insecurity, fear of failure, excessive self-control (followed by bouts of impulsivity and recklessness), and painfully low self-esteem.
This was just the start of a multiyear downward spiral that led to major traumatic events, including sexual assault, and nearly needing to drop out of both high school and college, despite being a 4.0 student.
Now, over a decade later, I understand that I was attempting to navigate life while suffering from Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).
Over more than a decade, I tried everything.
Therapy. Nutrition. EMDR. Inpatient treatment programs. Eighteen months in a therapeutic boarding school.
Each thing helped. But none of them fully addressed the deeper patterns driving my behavior.
The turning point came when my dietitian of four years told me she could no longer help me move forward. At first, I felt hopeless.
But that moment ended up changing everything for the better. She referred me to an energy healer as a last-ditch effort. Working with them, I stopped trying to fix myself. And I started learning how to understand myself, be present with myself, and empower myself—without controlling my body or my diet.
I finished my studies in psychology. Went on to work in clinical mental health research. Trained in coaching, addiction, and family dynamics.
I graduated college in 2020 during COVID.
I took a corporate job working for a middle-aged billionaire man whose unpredictable and inappropriate topics of conversation—like the “oppression” of white people, the ridiculousness of pronouns, and child rape in South Africa—stressed me out daily. The pay was less than unemployment. Instead of feeling like a highly educated, capable woman, I felt like a naive, powerless girl whose views were too liberal, too idealistic, and whose lived experiences were more of a liability than anything else.
After one year, I was severely depressed. That euphoric post-grad feeling of “the world is my oyster! I can do anything!” was replaced with dreadful, weighted emptiness. I wallowed in this state for months, unsure how to get unstuck, not realizing that “just quitting” would have been a fine option.
Then, one day in the fall of 2021, something surprising happened.
A LinkedIn post popped up on my dashboard: “Eating Disorder Recovery Coaches wanted.”
Something deep within me stirred. A sense of feeling seen. Of being known, needed, and respected all at once. Reading a post that retold the story of my own struggles in a way that framed everything I had been through as an asset for empowering others.
I had never thought about myself or my story like that before. It felt like having been sitting in a dark room alone, and suddenly having the lights turned on.
This is the moment that inspired me to become trained as a coach, put those entrepreneurship electives to the test, and learn how to build something for myself from scratch. Something that, quite frankly, I desperately wish I had when I was going through my own recovery—someone who actually understood what it was like to have been in my shoes and come out standing proudly on the other side. Who could guide and support me without becoming consumed by my struggles (like friends and family) or needing to put them in neat clinical checkboxes (like therapists and doctors).
That is how I founded Cosana.
Cosana is a made-up word with roots in Latin, English, and Spanish that means “healing together.” It speaks to my belief that the deepest healing happens not alone, but in partnership, friendship, and community.
Now, just 5 years later, I have helped dozens of women recover their sense of joy, confidence, and safety after significant mental health challenges, including, but not limited to, eating disorder recovery.
Last year, I had the honor of facilitating a closing ceremony with my first ever client who, after 3 years and over 100 sessions together, felt what the recovery industry calls “fully recovered,” meaning her thoughts about food and her body no longer inhibited her life. She felt free, confident, and capable of moving on without me. I had never been so proud nor happy to say goodbye to a client.
As beautiful as this work is, the road to this moment has certainly not been easy, especially as I have transitioned to doing this work full-time in 2024. And I am making some rather big, exciting changes in my business as we speak (subscribe to the Cosana newsletter to stay tuned!). But what won’t change is this—the gratitude I feel toward my previous employer for showing me what I did not want, and my gratitude to myself for taking such a big leap of faith.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Very little about my path was linear. Or traditional (classic for a non-conformist).There have been plenty of challenges, some anticipated (like taxes & accounting) and some total curveballs (like COVID). But the most unexpected obstacle to my success in business & in life?
Me.
My own thinking.
My own beliefs.
My own fears.
The childhood wounds that hadn’t fully healed. And the maladaptive patterns that were shaping my adult life as a result. It surprised me that no amount of professional training, skills, or education could make me successful without doing the inner work.
Recovery was hard. But starting a business? That brought a whole different set of challenges I wasn’t prepared for.
I’m what I call a “messy perfectionist.”
I am an incredible connector and excel at vision and ideas. I can jumpstart just about any project & see the big picture. I can create evidence-based programs, multi-week detailed educational frameworks, and amazing community experiences that align with my values and help others transform their inner worlds.
But long-term project execution? Business phases & development? Logical, linear thinking? Not my strong suit.
My brain processes everything as if it’s all happening at once. Which means I can hold a lot of complexity and connect dots other people miss—but it also means I get overwhelmed easily and struggle with the step-by-step, methodical work that running a business requires.
I’m learning that my version of perfectionism can actually be an asset. But I’m also learning to say, “I need to delegate this” instead of learning how to do every single thing myself. And that’s been one of the hardest parts—figuring out what I’m good at, what drains me, and what I need support with.
Honestly? I would benefit from a business partner who is a traditional perfectionist. Someone who thrives on systems, timelines, and logistics. But for now, I’m working with excellent mentors & coaches to learn how to work with my brain instead of against it.
And then there’s everything else.
Starting a business during COVID with next to no traditional corporate experience? That was hard.
Moving to Puerto Rico by myself, leaving my husband, and building a life in a place where I didn’t know anyone, in a language I was still learning? Very hard.
Trying to show up as a business owner, a coach, a teacher, and a friend while navigating so much grief and change? Ngl, it truly felt impossible at times.
There were so many yoga classes, workshops, and client sessions I had to put a lot aside personally to show up for. But then you do. You show up. And transform yourself and others in the process, and you move on. Interestingly enough, every time I pushed through my own stuff to show up for someone else, I felt better.
This has taught me that there is so much power in simply showing up.
Five years in and I’m still navigating a lot of this. Being a business owner doesn’t mean I stopped being human. I’ve learned that we make plans. Life offers plot twists. That’s just how it goes.
I’ve learned it’s better to roll with the punches, keep moving forward, and be grateful for the redirects. And that’s what I’m here to help other people do, too—accept the opportunity to redirect the course of their lives to experience more self-acceptance, peace, and joy in each moment.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Please tell us more about your business or organization.
While I actually run two companies (the second in brand strategy, story telling, & marketing), Cosana
Coaching is my heart work.
Cosana is a holistic mental health & transformational coaching practice that supports people—primarily high-achieving women ages 13-55—navigating people-pleasing, perfectionism, substance use, eating disorders, and the impacts of abuse and trauma. I integrate trauma-informed yoga, psychology, mindfulness, recovery coaching, and energy healing frameworks to help clients rebuild trust in themselves and feel at ease within their bodies.
While many of the women I come to me because they struggle with food and body image, our work goes far beyond traditional eating disorder recovery. I’m focused on helping smart, successful women understand what’s driving their self-harm and self-sabotage patterns, learn how to compassionately meet themselves where they are, and stop trying to hate themselves into becoming the woman they really want to be.
Cosana means “healing together,” and that’s exactly what we do. I offer individual coaching, group healing programs, workshops, and yoga classes—both online and in-person across the U.S. My approach is grounded, evidence-based, and integrative. I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all healing. I believe in meeting people where they are and helping them build a life that joyfully feels like their own.
What sets you apart?
I’m not just academically trained in psychology and coaching—I’ve lived everything firsthand. I spent over a decade navigating my own recovery from CPTSD, disordered eating, substance use, and self-harm. I know what it’s like to try treatment after treatment and still feel stuck. I can relate to feeling like you might just be broken beyond repair. I thought I was.
And I also know that as loud as that fear can be, it’s not valid. Because I’ve come out on the other side and looking back I can clearly see there was no part of me that needed “fixing,” just attention, understanding, & love.
That lived experience, combined with my professional training, allows me to hold space for people in a way that’s deeply compassionate. I am able to train others to effectively work with The Mind to create a deeply satisfying relationship with themselves. I love helping others be accountable for making the changes they want to see in a way that feels sustainable & loving instead of controlling or punishing. That said, I don’t sugarcoat the hard parts. And I don’t promise quick fixes. I do promise to show up as someone who genuinely understands, who genuinely cares, and who believes full recovery—for YOU—is possible.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of the community we’re building. Cosana isn’t just a coaching practice—it’s becoming a space where people can show up authentically—humanly—and feel understood, included, and supported.
I’m also proud of the fact that I’m doing this work in both English and Spanish. Being able to serve the community here in Puerto Rico in their native language, and to now give talks about mental health and resilience for companies like Honeywell Aerospace during Women’s History Month—that still feels surreal. I am truly proud of myself for being willing to risk humiliating myself to learn something new and do meaningful work.
What do you want readers to know?
If you’re struggling with body image, perfectionism, or feeling like you’ve abandoned yourself to make other people comfortable—you’re not alone. And I promise, there’s no need to be ashamed. I want to invite you to get support and stop trying to figure it out on your own. Healing is a heck of a lot easier—and more fun—when we do it together.
If you or someone you love is currently struggling with their mental health, I’d be honored to support you in that process.
We offer 4-16 week coaching programs that combine talk-based processing with body-based healing. Email info@cosanacoaching.com to learn more about our Energy Healing Program for Eating Disorder Recovery, Holistic Mental Health Trauma Informed Yoga & Coaching Program, Summer Bodies Body Image Boot Camp, and more.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
If someone tells you luck has nothing to do with it, they are either arrogant or ignorant. I believe there is an element of luck in all great success stories (consider Bill Gates, who happened to have access to a computer terminal in 1968 when almost no one did).
The universe works in mysterious ways. After trying so hard to control and plan everything, only to have all my plans go up in flames (and for me to end up in an even better place than I had imagined) I’ve learned to trust in the divine timing of things.
I had the luck of a dietitian who cared enough to refer me to an energy healer when she ran out of tools, instead of just saying goodbye.
I had the luck of experiencing a toxic job that made me so depressed I finally had to ask myself what I actually wanted, instead of just what I thought I should do.
I had the luck of graduating into COVID when the world moved more slowly—which gave me time to get creative instead of settling for something misaligned.
I had the luck of becoming an adult at the time that coaching—specifically, recovery coaching—was gaining traction as a valuable, evidence-based form of mental health support and personal transformation.
And I had the luck of seeing that LinkedIn post when I was ready to give up on the idea that I could have a positive impact in the world.
Luck may be just chance. But I also think it’s impossible to get lucky unless you’re able to recognize an opportunity when it shows up and are brave enough to say yes.
Pricing:
- $125/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cosanacoaching.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosanacoaching/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cosanacoaching/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosana-coaching
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CosanaCoaching
