In the world of health coaching, where the fusion of trust and expertise is paramount, Tamara Beydoun stands out as a beacon of professionalism and team-building excellence. Her journey began in the dynamic fields of marketing and hospitality, eventually extending to the media industry. These diverse experiences have shaped her unique approach as a Certified Somatic Trauma-Informed Functional Medicine Health Coach.
Tamara understands that the foundation of effective coaching lies in building strong, trusting relationships with her clients. Her dedication to fostering a supportive and collaborative environment is evident in every aspect of her work. She values team-building, recognizing its critical role in achieving collective success and personal growth.
Starting her day with a nutritious breakfast and limiting phone use in the morning, Tamara sets the tone for a balanced routine. She incorporates breathing exercises and aims to exercise five times a week, demonstrating her commitment to holistic wellness.
Even on days when she can’t follow her intended schedule, she practices self-compassion, understanding the importance of being kind to herself. Through her professionalism and focus on team-building, Tamara continues to inspire and empower those around her.
Let us learn more about her journey:
Journey of Personal Growth and Professional Reinvention
Tamara, originally half Lebanese and half Palestinian, was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Her childhood was marked by instability due to war, leading her to leave Lebanon and be displaced at the age of five. This instability shaped her early years as she lived in Athens and Paris before moving to London at the age of 15, where she completed her schooling, and university education, and began her career.
Tamara’s professional journey has been diverse and driven by a love for learning. Despite not enjoying school, she found her passion for education later in life. Her career has largely been in marketing and the hospitality industry, with experience in the media sector as well. After having her children, she and her family moved to the south of France for a better quality of life, living there for seven years before relocating to Geneva in 2009. She has three children: girl/boy twins who are 21 and an older daughter who lives and works in London.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamara felt a need for a career shift. Working at the tourism board in Geneva, she found herself at a crossroads when the pandemic halted tourism. This prompted her to embark on a journey of personal growth and development. The process was both empowering and painful, as she confronted repressed emotions, childhood trauma, and experiences. She believes that facing these difficult feelings is liberating and essential for true freedom.
Her personal transformation inspired a positive shift in her relationships, particularly with her children and close friends. Motivated by this change, Tamara sought to make a meaningful impact on society. With a longstanding interest in nutrition, she delved into functional medicine, seeking more than just nutritional knowledge. Through her courageous journey of self-discovery and professional reinvention, she exemplifies resilience and a commitment to helping others achieve their own transformations.
Empowering Health and Transformation
Tamara’s approach to health coaching is rooted in her commitment to understanding the root causes of health issues, rather than just treating symptoms. She emphasizes the importance of preventative medicine, recognizing the incredible work of doctors who manage symptoms, but also noting the need to explore underlying causes like inflammation and chronic conditions.
Her dedication to this holistic approach is deeply personal. After her mother and aunt both suffered from Alzheimer’s, she took proactive steps to assess her own risk. Genetic testing revealed no genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s, but tests showed high levels of mercury and lead, potential contributors to the disease. This prompted her to undertake a rigorous detox program, including dietary changes, supplements, and saunas, demonstrating her proactive and fearless approach to health.
Tamara’s perspective on functional medicine encompasses all aspects of a person’s well-being, including nutrition, movement, sleep, spirituality and community. She believes that emotional well-being is integral to overall health and that addressing one aspect of health can impact the whole body. As a health coach, she listens to her clients’ challenges and visions, using positive psychology and values to set SMART goals. Her active listening skills enable her to hear both what is said and what is left unsaid, guiding her clients toward their goals.
Certified by the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, which is ICF and CPD-accredited, Tamara values the importance of credible certifications in coaching. However, she noticed that many clients faced repeated setbacks, which led her to explore the role of trauma in these patterns. Understanding that trauma can stem from emotional wounds rather than just severe events, she pursued a somatic trauma coaching certification.
This combination of functional medicine and trauma coaching has proven powerful. As trust builds in her coaching relationships, clients begin to address the deeper issues underlying their setbacks. Tamara’s compassionate approach helps them navigate these challenges, fostering self-compassion and curiosity about their patterns.
Since 2019, Tamara has shared her journey and expertise through her practice, Tamara Bay Coaching. She also specializes in narcissistic abuse coaching, empowering clients in unhealthy relationships. She believes that everyone deserves to be truly heard, without judgment, in a compassionate and safe space. Tamara Beydoun’s courageous and empathetic approach to coaching continues to inspire and transform the lives of her clients.
Embracing Self-Compassion
Tamara’s approach to well-being is deeply rooted in self-compassion, a quality she believes is fundamental for nurturing oneself and achieving holistic wellness. Through her own journey and work with clients, she has observed that without self-compassion, it becomes challenging to effectively care for one’s own needs and health.
She emphasizes that self-compassion involves treating oneself with the same kindness and understanding that one might extend to a loved one, acknowledging the inherent value and uniqueness of each individual. This mindset naturally leads to better self-care practices, such as mindful eating and prioritizing sleep, as well as nurturing healthy relationships and setting boundaries.
For Tamara, well-being encompasses more than just physical health—it includes mental and emotional balance, community connections, and spiritual alignment. She practices various rituals to support her well-being, such as morning routines with warm water and ginger shots, and regular exercise with a focus on gentleness and enjoyment rather than intensity.
Living in Geneva, Switzerland, Tamara takes advantage of the natural beauty around her, finding solace in nature walks and retreats that align with her values and provide rejuvenation. She also values tools like nonviolent communication, which help her express feelings and needs compassionately while respecting others’ boundaries.
Her approach to well-being is not about perfection but about balance and self-awareness. She acknowledges that setbacks are part of life and emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and learning from experience. Through her coaching practice at Tamara Bey Coaching, she guides clients towards a more integrated and compassionate approach to their own well-being, fostering resilience and personal growth.
Tamara’s journey underscores the transformative power of self-compassion in achieving overall wellness, demonstrating that when individuals prioritize their own needs with kindness and understanding, they can create lasting positive change in their lives and relationships.
Client-Centered Coaching
Tamara’s coaching style is highly client-led, where each session is driven by the client’s agenda and needs. She begins with a free discovery session to understand the client’s goals and assess if there’s a good fit. Following this, a foundation session of up to 90 minutes helps set the groundwork for further sessions. She typically recommends packages of 6 or 12 sessions, recognizing that behavioral change and achieving goals often require sustained effort over time.
Central to Tamara’s approach are techniques from positive psychology and motivational interviewing. She encourages clients to tap into their intrinsic motivation by revisiting positive past experiences related to their goals, such as improving sleep or enhancing mood through specific behaviors. Utilizing the VIA Survey of Character Strengths, she helps clients identify their top strengths and integrates these into goal-setting to enhance motivation and joy in achieving outcomes.
For clients addressing trauma, Tamara incorporates methods to regulate the nervous system, fostering a shift from survival mode to a state of calm. Techniques like Internal Family Systems are used to explore and understand protective parts of the self, facilitating healing and personal growth in a supportive, client-centered environment.
Empowering Clients
Tamara emphasizes empowering her clients toward self-sufficiency and personal growth. She views her role as a coach as providing clients with a toolkit of skills and techniques, including self-compassion and journaling, tailored to their needs. Her goal is not to maintain long-term client dependency but rather to equip clients with the tools they need to navigate life’s challenges independently.
She celebrates when clients express readiness to transition away from regular sessions, seeing it as a sign of empowerment and confidence in their ability to manage their own journey. Tamara encourages clients to check in periodically if needed, fostering a supportive relationship even after formal coaching sessions conclude. She maintains clear boundaries regarding her role, referring clients with deep-seated trauma to appropriate therapeutic professionals while staying within the scope of coaching.
Overall, Tamara’s approach is client-centered, focused on fostering self-belief and resilience, and ensuring that clients feel empowered to face life’s complexities with confidence and competence.
