Integrating emerging approaches to neuroscience & psychology with timeless wisdom,
I facilitate holistic transformation, resulting in rewarding relationships,
greater self-love, and
enhanced effectiveness.
I was a star student. Got an Ivy League degree and a Ph.D., and went on to found an award-winning break-the-mold school. I did a bunch of really fun and successful consulting with organizations and executives, from small non-profits to Fortune 50 companies.
I’m married to the woman of my dreams, I’m an incredibly proud dad of two fantastic young men, and I am blessed with deep and decades-long friendships with both men and women who have profoundly enriched my life.
Sounds pretty great, right?
Well, to be honest, these days it is, most of the time.
But that’s not the whole story.
My whole life has been about leading, learning, and loving. About big ideas and a big heart.
I’m Jason Berv
All the work and achievement and entrepreneurial ventures and cool lines on the resume came with a dark side. I often felt isolated and alone as a leader. Overwhelm and frustration were nearly constant companions. Burnout hit super hard. And there was a huge toll, in terms of my physical and mental health. This was my first wake up call.
When my wife’s life was turned upside down and made unrecognizable for years by debilitating illness, the only thing that made sense to me was to empty my tank completely trying to carry the weight of it all - her care, our family, our ranch, my job. I didn’t know how to ask for help from my friends, or how to give myself any of the love that I was so eager to give to my family. I was crushed and utterly drained. Second wake up call. Much louder than the first.
While so much of this dark side was painful, all of it has been an invitation to discover more about myself. And, holy cow have I discovered a lot about myself. And a lot about how all of us work.
I'm a deeply curious person. And I’ve followed my curiosity to explore lots of juicy threads that animate my life and my coaching.
- How our nervous system works, and what it looks like to regulate and support a healthy nervous system. I've experimented for years with cold plunging and breathwork. Got certified as a breathwork instructor.
- Cutting-edge neuroscience, memory reconsolidation, neuroplasticity, and the mindblowing implications for how we heal.
- An experiential approach to coaching and therapy called Internal Family Systems that reveals the fascinating skill we all have to heal ourselves.
- Shadow work and emotional fluidity, which have taught me how to make the unconscious conscious, and allow for the healing and heartbreak that has only increased my capacity to love and be loved.
- And I’m more than 20 years down the road with a spiritual understanding that has helped me understand the transformative power of presence, and given me occasional glimpses of my true nature as part of something vast and unbreakable.
While a richer understanding of each part of me - body, mind, and spirit - has been helpful, it’s really where they all come together that has been the most life-changing for me. It’s been the basis of my own healing - from chronic health conditions, from childhood trauma, and from stubborn and detrimental lifelong patterns.
I can’t wait to help you craft a life you love too, messiness and all
Along the way, it's been very, very messy. And it has been by welcoming the mess, by embracing my fears and doubts that I’ve gained so much.
I’ve crafted a life that’s bursting with meaning, purpose, love, and joy. My approach to life now is spacious enough to make room for all the messiness, so along with all that love and joy there’s also anger, fear, insecurity, sadness and all the things. These days there’s room to welcome it all, and that spaciousness is what feels so good.
I’m committed to being healthy in body, mind, and spirit; living with a sense of wonder; and making deep connections with others. There is such satisfaction and love for me in being a personal and professional coach, and if you are ready to say yes to the invitation, then...
And now, as a transformational coach, I’ve seen massive changes in my clients and the lives they touch - and it’s been the most rewarding experience of my life.
All of this led me to the world of coaching.
I have known fear and desperation, as well as the unexpected gifts of love and insight, from having my world turned upside-down by my wife’s injury and prolonged illness that overshadowed everything else for years.
After earning a Ph.D. in education I founded a groundbreaking school that is built on how we learn best. And I continue to discover how challenge and failure can be the most transformative teachers.
I have taught university-level leadership courses, and I have known the loneliness and burnout of leading an organization.
I have a family life that I cherish, and I have also known the heartache of estrangement.
I am madly in love with my wife after more than 25 years, and together we overcame some dark times that had us on the brink of a failed marriage.
I have been a dedicated student of the spiritual dimension of life for more than 20 years, and I have also experienced the messy human imperfections of spiritual community.
I have been a lifelong outdoor athlete committed to a strong and healthy body, and I am familiar with the challenges of chronic pain and illness.
Through a life of success, challenge, and more than a little serendipity, I've gained some unique insights and perspective
What makes me qualified to help you?
The most important credential I have is my own 20-year journey to understand myself better as a human being. This journey has led me to deep explorations of the spiritual, psychological, and emotional dimensions of being human and provided me the opportunity to be with others across the beautiful, painful, and inherently messy range of human experiences. This allows me to meet my clients with humility, compassion, insight, and presence.
20 years in this work
The life of the mind, how we learn, and how we connect to something greater than ourselves have always been fascinations of mine, as well. As an undergraduate I studied Buddhism and Shamanism in Nepal, and the foundations of experiential education in the United States, on my way to earning a degree from Brown University in both Education and Religious Studies. I went on to get a Ph.D. in Education, and founded an award-winning innovative school for students in grades 6-12.
Ph.D. in Education
Both independently, and in partnership with several outstanding organizations, I have had the privilege of consulting over the last 25 years with a wide range of clients, from small non-profits and solopreneurs to multinational corporations.
I have also consulted for boards of trustees and served on boards of both local and global organizations.
25-years of consulting
My training includes more than 10 years of coursework, apprenticeship, certification, and mentoring within the fields of presence-based coaching, emotional fluidity, nervous system mastery, and breathwork.
10+ years of Training
And I have learned many valuable lessons from decades of outdoor adventures (and sometimes misadventures) in all seasons in the mountains, and from caretaking my ranch and all its inhabitants in the high mountains of Colorado.
Decades of adventure
