San Diego · in person or on Zoom

Coaching in San Diego, in the room.

Maieutic, Socratic coaching for a leader in a real transition, in person and, when we can, outdoors: a park, the coast, a garden on the University of San Diego campus. Zoom for everyone else.

The work begins with a free thirty-minute chemistry call, over coffee or online.

Book a chemistry call →What the work is
Joshua Beneventi at the Immaculata, University of San Diego
Why in person

The body arrives before the conversation does.

Every session opens through the body: a few minutes of breath, movement, voice or silence, chosen with you, so that the inquiry begins from an arrived state rather than from traffic. That opening works on Zoom. It works better in a room, and better still on a walk. Stanford researchers found that walking raised creative output for four in five participants, with the effect lasting into the seated period afterward, which is why some of the best sessions I have had happened along the bay or the cliffs.
In person also lets the third in the room be a place. I prefer to meet in public, somewhere with spaciousness to it, and San Diego’s climate makes that possible most of the year: the eucalyptus in Balboa Park, a bench above La Jolla Cove, the gardens at USD. A threshold is easier to see when you are standing somewhere that has one.
Where

Outdoors when we can. A room when we should.

The place is chosen with you in the chemistry call, and it can change from session to session. These are the ones I return to.
The park

Balboa Park

The eucalyptus groves, the Botanical Building, a bench off the Prado. Central for anyone in the city, and the best place I know for a walking session that turns into a seated one.

The coast

La Jolla and the bay

A bench above the cove, the path along the water, or the bay front. Where most of the founder and executive clients prefer to meet, and where the openings work best.

The campus

University of San Diego

I am on campus most weeks for the Kroc School and the SOLES coaching program. Gardens with a view of Mission Bay, and a quiet room when the weather or the conversation asks for one. USD students, staff and faculty: there is a reduced-fee format for you.

Anywhere

Zoom

Same arc, same record, same openings. Many of the people I work with are not in San Diego, and the work holds.

Sessions are by appointment, outdoors when the day allows. There is no walk-in office; the place is chosen with you in the chemistry call.
Who this is for

A leader in a real transition.

Founders between the company they built and the one it is becoming. Executives stepping into a role that asks for a different self. Professionals whose next chapter does not yet have language. Clinicians, professors and clergy who hold others through change and need a third of their own. The common thread is a threshold, and the wish to cross it with company rather than alone.
This is transformational, depth-oriented work. It is not therapy, and it is not business coaching against goals you have already set. The full description, the ninety-day arc, the evidence behind the approach and what people have said about it are on the coaching page.
In their words

From people who did this work.

Startup founder

“Joshua has a remarkable ability to listen deeply and understand the specific challenges we’re facing. His advice was always practical and aligned with our vision, not something that derailed our goals, but rather helped sharpen and accelerate them.”

Souhayl M.
Cross-cultural transition

“He approaches each conversation with cultural respect, deep listening, and a calm presence that makes it easy to open up, always honoring who you are and where you come from.”

Sham H.
Personal formation

“Working with Joshua feels like school, but for your soul. Joshua just knows how to bring light into you.”

Jesse H.
Questions people ask

The practical things.

Do you meet in person?
Yes, and I prefer it. I like to meet in public places with some spaciousness to them, outdoors when the day allows, which in San Diego is most days: Balboa Park, a bench above the water in La Jolla, a garden on the University of San Diego campus, or a walk along the bay. When a room is better, there is one. Zoom is always available, and a good number of clients work with me that way from other cities.
What is the first step?
A chemistry call: thirty minutes, no charge, in person over coffee or on Zoom. We look at what you are sitting with and whether we are the right pair for it. If not, I will say so and point you somewhere better. I also ask you to have the same call with at least one other coach.
What does it cost?
The Chrysalis is priced as a ninety-day arc, not by the month or the hour, and terms are set in the chemistry call once we both know what the passage is. There is a sliding scale for genuine financial barriers.
Is this therapy?
No. Therapy heals what is wounded and is practiced by licensed clinicians. Coaching draws out what you already carry and helps you build the next chapter from it. If what you bring to the chemistry call is clinical, I will say so and help you find the right person.
What are your credentials?
Anthropologist by training (University of California, San Diego). Leadership Coaching Certificate program at the University of San Diego, an ICF Level 2 accredited program, in progress. Gallup-trained strengths coach. Master of Science in Conflict Management and Resolution, Kroc School, in progress. Four working languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
Is this spiritual direction?
It is close to it, and people looking for spiritual direction sometimes find their way here. The overlap is real: silence, a body that has arrived, openness to what neither of us brought. The difference is the aim. Spiritual direction tends the relationship with God; this work tends the next chapter of a life or a leadership, and welcomes the mystery as part of how that chapter arrives. If you want direction in the strict sense, I can point you to people in San Diego who do it well.
Begin

Thirty minutes, over coffee or online.

Tell me what you are sitting with and where in San Diego you are. I’ll reply with times and a place, and with a question or two of my own so the thirty minutes start at depth.