Coach and Psychologist Jen Starkey of Willful Joy Recently Featured on Close Up Radio

WAUSAU, WI, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Jen Starkey is a woman’s empowerment coach with a distinct set of qualifications. For starters, she has an undergraduate degree in psychology, a master’s in counseling psychology and a license as a marriage and family therapist. She had a clinical career that spanned several decades and practice settings. The years she spent listening to caring, capable and dependable women on the brink of exhaustion revealed a lot. Those lessons, combined with an honest approachable and practical nature speak to the value of her coaching, which is done both one-on-one and in group formats.

Jen has been named among the news team’s Empowering Women in America for her ability to show women the difference between self-care and being selfish or self-sacrificing. She lets them all know that they can still be warm and compassionate but must be sure to give the same attention to their own needs that they give to their spouses, or partners, careers, and children.

Give your needs a sense of priority as well as others’, she advises. Think about a young child: would you deny them a meal or a nap when they need one? Would you tell our best friend she’s being selfish for resting or nourishing herself, or simply taking time for herself? Then why would you push your own important needs aside?

Jen supports women as they identify their needs and values, find their voice, gain clarity, and take steps to meet their needs for nutrition, movement, spiritual time, and other aspects of self-care. She defines self-care as the ways in which we attend to-- and put into daily practice-- our understanding of our emotional needs, our physical needs, our boundaries, and our values. Getting feedback from clients who have gotten in touch with their feelings and set healthier boundaries is the most satisfying part of the work she does.

Jen notes that woman have unfortunately been conditioned to sacrifice their own needs in the service of others, through other family members, their religious community, or conflicting messages in the media. She is happy to help break the unhealthy cycle of martyrdom. Seeing how the work transforms women and helps them find their voice is a real passion for her.

In 2022, Jen Starkey established her coaching practice and dedicated her energy to it full time. She gave it the name Willful Joy, as a nod to the fact that we can be intentional and deliberate when it comes to our own happiness. She runs a 12 week program that is structured and sequential. It helps women understand the pattern of self-abandonment and that identifying and nurturing yourself is neither unkindly nor wrong. Don’t feel apologetic about making your needs a priority, she counsels. It is perfectly okay to be both sensitive and assertive, and you do not need to live your life based on social acceptance. You can take care of yourself and make time for your happiness without backlash.

She coaches women to stop abandoning yourself and star choosing yourself. She can help them build the emotional confidence to choose yourself without guilt. For any women who are tired of people-pleasing, overthinking, and putting themselves last, Willful Joy can help build the self-trust they need to change.

If you are one of those peacekeepers, overthinkers, empathetic friends, or most dependable employees, you will identify with this podcast and wonder if you, too, might have done something wrong. You might have considered or tried therapy (it is not the perfect solution for everyone) and still felt overwhelmed or as if something were missing. So, take the opportunity to listen in and explore all that Willful Joy offers.

Close Up Radio recently featured coach and psychologist Jen Starkey in an interview with Jim Masters on Tuesday November 10th at 2pm Eastern

Listen to the Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-up-radio-spotlights-coach-and-psychologist-jen/id1785721253?i=1000801379828
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-close-up-radio-242020413/episode/close-up-radio-spotlights-coach-and-psychologist-jen-starkey-of-willful-joy-349848935/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Kaom7gOXo7w4qUaCy0xhR

For more information about Jen and her practice visit www.willfulljoy.com

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
+1 631-850-3314
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