How Mimika Cooney helped Dr. Beth Reiners uncover and address her mindset blocks, get her warrior confidence back, and regain ownership over her life
When Dr. Beth Reiners first discovered Mimika Cooney speaking at the World Women’s Wholeness Summit back in 2019, she was experiencing some big challenges in her personal life.
Having recently gone through a painful divorce, she was trying to navigate growing her clinical psychology practice while raising and supporting three kids and redefining her life as a single woman.
Dealing with challenges had never been an issue for Dr. Beth, and she had always thrived and loved overcoming. Yet this time, she could tell that she needed some help.
Mimika was at the Summit speaking about her book, Worrier to Warrior: A Mother’s Journey from Fear to Faith, and its message — as well as Mimika’s personality — deeply resonated with Dr. Beth.
When the Summit ended, Dr. Beth read the book in full and was impressed by Mimika’s story and her strong Christian faith. She loved that Mimika had a warrior mentality, which was something Dr. Beth could relate to as a strong Christian woman and leader herself.
“In the book, Mimika shared her story of being a child of divorce, as well as her experiences as a mom and a leader who felt stuck,” Dr. Beth said. “It helped me, since my children were going through divorce and I was now the mama with kids impacted by pain instead of just those I counsel. Seeing a success story like Mimika was inspiring, plus I could relate to the feeling of being a strong woman going through an enormously hard time.
“I really liked and resonated with her thoughts on being goal directed and overcoming perfectionism, and as a spiritual person myself, I loved that I was able to see Mimika’s love of the Lord. I have always been a warrior, but I knew I needed more support to navigate this time since I was doing most of it on my own. After reading the book, I just had this instinctive feeling that I was supposed to talk to Mimika or work with her.”
So, Dr. Beth reached out and learned about a group experience Mimika was leading around John Maxwell’s book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. Feeling like a group program would not only be good for her for the support, she recognized it was also a great way to check out Mimika’s coaching style.
“I’m really private and needed that respected because of my profession, so joining a group experience felt like a safe way to get to know Mimika and see if I would feel comfortable hiring her as a coach,” Dr. Beth said. “Plus, as a psychologist I know that you can’t effectively change unless you’re in a group process environment, because the process of growth occurs in a group.
“Even as a professional, I still need help with my blindspots, and I was also aware that I was isolated in my life at that time and needed the perspectives of other people. I didn’t want to talk to a fellow psychologist at that moment and instead wanted a coach who came from a different professional background who would have a unique way of looking at things.”
That group program proved to be a great experience for Dr. Beth, and she learned a lot from several of the other female participants.
“I gleaned a lot of great things from the group and there were some other women who I got a lot of value from,” Dr. Beth said. “I was able to gain things from hearing about their strengths and weaknesses and they also brought out things in me that I wouldn’t have gotten on my own. I loved it.”
When the experience concluded, Mimika provided an opportunity to work with her one-on-one, and Dr. Beth said that by that time, she’d come to know Mimika’s coaching style, personality, and background and knew they were a fit.
“I’d seen enough in the group experience to be convinced we’d have a great partnership,” Beth said. “I also felt that, spiritually, she had a gift of discernment and that was very important to me.
“Mimika truly wants to help people, make a difference, and is on fire for the Lord. She got motivated from her own trauma, and from a clinical psychological perspective, her story is an overcomer’s story. I love that about her — that she’s a fighter and she successfully came out of incredible circumstances. I love people like that and enjoy fellow leaders and warriors. Those are the people I want to help me get out of a tough spot and establish momentum.”
So, their work together began. Dr. Beth said she quickly appreciated the library of writing and marketing resources that Mimika brought to the table, as well as her non-perfectionist approach to taking action.
“I’m a super analytical and perfectionist type person,” Beth said. “I really needed someone who would hold me accountable and tell me to get my crap together. My favorite thing about Mimika is how she tells me just to DO IT. When I’d be worried about taking action because things weren’t completely perfect she’d assure me that it was okay if I felt scared. That fear was new for me because of my divorce. I needed that unlocked and a push to get after it even if things weren’t perfect, or if I wasn’t an expert at something.
“Mimika is mesmerizing to me because she’s such an action taker and had moxy in areas I was feeling reluctant about. My divorce had put me in a vulnerable place, and it was helpful to know that Mimika had been in vulnerable places too and had found the strength to get up, get on with it and move ahead. That used to be me and I liked knowing that she was helping me access that part of myself again..”
Beth said that after her sessions with Mimika she received a recording of the call, Mimika’s interpretations of what they discussed, as well as her spiritual insights — resources that Beth found very helpful and encouraging.
“I would go back over the notes and self-analyze it as well,” Beth said. “All of it allowed me to see myself in a new light and make realizations about things I’d said to Mimika in our session — about myself or about certain situations. It gave me the chance to use my clinical expertise to glean new insights into my own voice and mindset and feel more empowered as well.”
Beth said that a portion of their coaching involved Inner Healing work, and it was these sessions — and the insights she gained — that were the most powerful for her.
“One of the mental blocks we worked on was a particular area I knew I needed to set a firm boundary around,” Dr. Beth said. “Mimika created such a vivid visual experience for me and it really worked. Now any time I get that old stress about setting or maintaining boundaries with this particular person I can stop and picture the visualization I had and I immediately feel a release.”
Dr. Beth said another transformational session she had with Mimika was in being led to take back full authority in the Lord over her kids, which was something that had been undermined in her divorce process.
“I needed support and empowerment as a mom, and with some of the fears and anxieties I was having, Mimika’s encouragement as a fellow warrior mama helped me to fight by wielding my spiritual authority for my kids,” Dr. Beth said. “This was perhaps the most powerful aspect of our time together and likely flowed out of her own spiritual battle.
“After that session, I started to pray scripture over my kids when they were asleep, and I started to see a change and a shift in them — and in myself as their mom.”
Yet one of the biggest transformations that Dr. Beth experienced was her ability to step forward more intentionally and take back ownership over her life — a shift that was so necessary to getting her back to her mindset to overcome and regain what had felt lost.
“I’m still doing the work, but I feel like I own my life again,” Dr. Beth said. “Rather than making choices to please others, I’m taking more time to really think about what I want and need. I feel more like myself finally, and I’m discovering new adventures in the process.“
Beth said that anyone looking for a coach to help them tackle their mindset issues can benefit from a partnership with Mimika, and she would refer to her without hesitation.
“Mimika will not give up on you, and she always keeps pushing,” Beth said. “You will learn a lot, and I can say that — with my clinical training — her information and tools are excellent. She’s committed to truth and reality, she is honest and authentic, and she has good oversight over her content and her resources. Mimika is grounded in truth, and she’s an overcomer herself. She’s been very helpful to me and I’m very thankful for all of the work we’ve done and will continue to do together.”
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