About Donna Roe Daniell

My Transition Transformation Story: As a woman of 63, I faced my lifelong fears by climbing Mt. Killimanjaro, 19,340 feet, on January 21, 2016. This trip was the most empowering thing I have ever done in my life. It was a leap I took in my own transition journey that I could only have taken because of the many learnings I’ve had through my previous midlife transitions, and this is what I’d like to help you learn as well. It just takes growing the courage to find the real you deep underneath all that life experience and struggle. Are you ready to make your leap?

I had just left my second marriage–for me a journey I had to take to find my authentic self. I needed something to help me embrace this huge transition of my 60’s and not get stuck in my fear again. That’s what had always happened at each transition up to now. I’d get scared and not allow myself to grow with the changes facing me. I would shut off my emotional responses and cling onto my anger and my despair. I didn’t really get through my transitions or process them–they followed me into the next one where things got more complicated. My sister’s death, my first divorce, my son going off to college, my parents’ deaths, my career transitions —all of these transitions were stepping stones to my transformation, but not without a lot of struggle and self-criticism.

This time, I was able to do it differently because I used self-compassion instead of self-criticism to cope with my pain. This allowed me to embrace my fear and my longings and sorrow –all of it. I needed to make room for the grief and sadness but I was afraid I couldn’t hold it all. That’s when I opened up to my passions: love of nature and climbing mountains. These activities became self-empowerment experiences for me and others. This trip became an empowerment experience like no other as well as a “Giveback Trip.”1 This trip with AfricAid was all about empowering African women to do something they never thought they could ever do—Climb Kili! We climbed the mountain with five young African women and shared their empowerment journey with them. I found the deeper parts of me on this mountain and now I’m here to help you find your own transformational experience.

Join a retreat to find your own self-empowerment adventure.

As a woman, I tell you my story because it’s Everywoman’s story. When we share our stories and our truth, we all grow together. That is what my work is all about. Join with me in telling your story and growing yourself beyond just these events in your life. Transitions are fabulous opportunities to help us transform beyond our wildest dreams!

My professional experience as a therapist and coach spans the past 28 years. I, Donna Roe Daniell,  completed a Masters in Social Work from Denver University School of Social Work in l989. This is my second career, as I worked in the ski industry and resort marketing in Steamboat Springs before that. In l993 I opened my private practice serving parents and families, Family Therapy & Consultation, in Longmont & Boulder, CO where I had been working in several public and private agencies for children & families. I founded Balance Your Life Coaching & Psychotherapy LLC, in Boulder, Colorado in 2005 to teach balancing and healing tools for women specifically. In 2001, following my first divorce and as a single mom, I trained in the mind-body trauma healing process called Internal Family Systems (IFS) . This powerful spiritual healing process provided the framework for me to guide my clients finding balance, trauma healing and spiritual growth. In 2005 I trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and have been teaching this work in my practice since then. I am now working towards my certification as a Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher (MSC) based on the work of Kristin Neff, Ph.D. and Chris Germer, Ph.D. and the Center for Mindfulness in San Diego. I use mindfulness, mindful self-compassion and IFS tools in my private practice and in my work with women in transition in group experiences.  In 2015, I became a yoga teacher and use yoga as another tool along this midlife healing journey.   In 2020-2021, I offer new nature retreat opportunities to women in midlife transitions to experientially find their transformational path using tools and coaching support from my Midlife Voyage to Transformation pathway.

1The Giveback Solution, by Susan Skok.