Meet Olivia Abousaid of Pact Coaching

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Abousaid

Hi Olivia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Texas, the first-born and first-generation daughter of Palestinian immigrant parents. When you’re born Palestinian, you’re born into grief. My parents both experienced war and trauma and ethnic cleansing. They experienced loss of country and land. They raised my siblings and I to have an understanding and appreciation of our cultural heritage, and the great loss that our people experienced over the years.

The first time I really became aware of anti-Arab sentiment growing up was during the first Gulf War. The kids around me were spouting off a lot of ultra-nationalistic and propaganda-filled slogans they learned from their parents. I have an ambiguously ethnic appearance, so I was shocked by how many of my classmates were comfortable saying derogatory and racist things about Arab people to me. I hadn’t even heard those slurs before. I guess they didn’t understand my background. It was extraordinarily isolating. I had always thought of myself as just another American kid with an ethnic background. It was the first time I realized that people saw us as different. It got to the extreme that we were getting death threats at our house.

Years later, a friend asked me a question that shaped a lot of the work I do today: “How have you grieved the racism you’ve experienced?” It caught me so off guard. I hadn’t even thought about grief as it pertains to racism. You just move on and keep going, right? I hadn’t taken the time to sit with those past experiences. I hadn’t taken the time to do an inventory of how they made me feel, how they affected my perception of myself and others. I didn’t realize that the anger and fear and fatigue and introversion and self-esteem issues and othering I’d experienced were all part and parcel of grief.

Today, I help other people with similar experiences in my work as a grief and transformation coach. I, oftentimes, think that we don’t fully appreciate how much certain negative and traumatic experiences can affect us. I work with my clients to sit with their grief, to recognize how it’s affected them, to offer healthy coping mechanisms, and then to use that grief as a springboard to something greater. We’re not broken because of the hurt that we’ve experienced. Grief can be a powerful catalyst for change and for good.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My life has never been a smooth road. Perseverance and resilience have been the names of the game. We didn’t have a lot of money or privilege growing up. My parents worked hard for everything they achieved, and the same has been true for me.

Before getting into coaching, I was in the film industry for a long time. While I still have a great love for cinema, the industry has a long way to go in creating equitable spaces for women and people of color. It’s also an industry that’s been hit really hard financially the past few years, which has resulted in tighter budgets for productions and rampant job loss.

That’s when I started to think about coaching. I asked myself about who I am and what other career I might like to pursue. I’m a great listener. I’m empathetic. I have a lot of experience with teaching, with helping others, and with grief and transformation. I took classes to get my certification, and then more classes to get my master certification. I really fell in love with coaching. I always felt like I had a higher calling, and I think I’ve found it. I want to empower people to know they’re not stuck in the same place forever. While life will throw challenges at us, those challenges don’t define us. We all have an internal power and drive to change our fortunes.

As you know, we’re big fans of Pact Coaching. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m a grief and transformation coach. There are only a handful of grief coaches out there. I added transformation to my coaching because that’s really the second part of the equation for me. The first is to sit with the grief and to allow yourself to grieve in healthy ways. Transformation is such an important part of it. When we grieve, we can feel isolated and broken. I teach my clients that have agency, even through the grief. Transformation is about lessening that feeling of helplessness and lack of control. We all have the ability to take action and change our lives and the lives of others, and grief can be a powerful springboard for that change.

I’ve been told by my clients that I have a calming presence. They’ve told me that they appreciate the space I create that allows them to open up and speak candidly. A lot of my clients are and have been people of color. They’ve been shut down and judged in other settings, even with mental health practitioners. I’m proud to create a space for my clients where they can feel safe. They know I understand those cultural and systemic biases. When they’re in a session with me, they know they can talk about the trauma they’ve experienced as a result of those biases, and I won’t judge them or their experiences. There are so few spaces these days where we can be vulnerable and feel like we are seen and heard. It’s important that my clients experience that with me.

Right now, I offer two packages for working with me: a 6 month and a 1 year package. Transformation takes time and it can be work, so it’s important my clients feel like they have that time without feeling rushed. Anyone interested in trying out a session with me to see if we’re a good fit is always welcome to book a free 60-minute session on my website.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Let’s start with least: the traffic. LA traffic is the worst! I’ve read that more rail lines are going to be built in the next few years, and I hope increased public transportation really helps out with the congestion on our streets and highways.

There are so many things to love about Los Angeles. I love to travel, but I’m always happy to come home. The weather here is so great. It’s not too humid, and it’s not too dry. I love the hilly terrain and the beaches close-by. There are so many people here who are into self-improvement. I’ve always had a very curious mind, and I’m always trying to learn and grow. I think there are a lot of like-minded people here. I also really appreciate the diversity here. I think we all have so much to learn from one another. It would be boring if we were all the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pact-coaching.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pact_coaching/

Image Credits
Jeremy Cole / Cole Photos