The ClearTalkNow Story: Cultivating Clarity from the Inside

ClearTalkNow began its life in 1993 as a as customizable pronunciation program I designed for my English-as-a-second language (ESL) students. I had recently completed a master's degree in applied linguistics and had been teaching immigrant and refugee populations in the San Diego area of Southern California. I was particularly compelled to help these students build confidence in their spoken English so that they could communicate more effectively outside the classroom as they endeavored to build a new life in a new country. In 1995, I was hired by the English Language Institute at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and for the next 27 years I put my skills and passion for linguistics to work in international education as a teacher, teacher trainer, and curriculum writer. I specialized in English-for-Specific-Purposes (ESP), crafting customized coursework for professional certificate programs in teaching, in business, and in healthcare delivery. 

During my busy career, I got married, raised two sons, took care of aging parents and somehow in the time and space between home, work, and sleep, the nudge to study the work of Carl Gustav Jung kept surfacing, demanding that I make time for it. For as long as I can remember I have been familiar with Jung’s name, as my father’s name was Karl and my maternal grandfather’s name was Gustav, who, like Jung, was Swiss-German.  However, it was not until 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic that life could slow down enough for me to find a solid entry point into the world of depth psychology. It was as though I re-started where I left off, along with picking up the threads of my earlier interest in the rich symbolic imagery of the Tarot. 

During the pandemic I continued teaching via Zoom but I also started accepting private clients seeking my expertise primarily in accent improvement and in proofreading & editing services.  In 2021, I retired from the university to focus on my private clients and to devote more time into my studies of Jungian psychology and Tarot. 

It wasn’t long before I started seeing how Jungian psychology was informing my work with my private clients. In 2023, I pursued a certificate in Jungian Coaching through the Jung Platform and became accredited through the IACTM. I’m currently enrolled in the Jung Platform’s Tarot Reader Certificate Program, which is deepening my understanding of the rich visual oracle that is the Tarot through a Jungian lens. 

It is with gratitude that I offer the ClearTalkNow Coaching services of applied linguistics, Jungian psychology, and Therapeutic Tarot wisdom to help my clients cultivate their clarity from the inside out!