{"id":13,"date":"2020-05-28T10:01:13","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T10:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:23:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T09:23:32","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Am I"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The focus of my work rests on the central idea that we choose our behaviour and we are responsible for what we do, think, and feel.<br>This led me to design the \u201c<strong>Behavioural Blueprint \u2122<\/strong>\u201d model which explores human behaviour and how to create change, because in essence, \u201cChange Begins Within\u201d. This will then assist to shift focus to <em>Choice <\/em>and <em>Choosing<\/em> and begin this journey starting with 3 simple little words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Who am I?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"1137\" data-attachment-id=\"3159\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/about\/img_20240212_083854-edit\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?fit=1441%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1441,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?fit=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?resize=640%2C1137&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3159\" style=\"width:199px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?w=1441&amp;ssl=1 1441w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?resize=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1 169w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?resize=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 576w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?resize=864%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nadiathonnard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_20240212_083854-EDIT-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>My name is <em>Nadia Thonnard<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am a qualified Counsellor, Choice Coach, and Family &amp; Divorce Mediator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Counselling Graduate from The South African College of Applied Psychology \u2013 Diploma Couns.&amp; Comm (SACAP)(CHE)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Certified Practitioner in Choice Theory, Reality Therapy &amp; Lead Management<\/em> &#8211; <em><a href=\"https:\/\/glassersouthafrica.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#c69529\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Glasser South Africa<\/mark><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Certified Divorce &amp; Family Mediator &amp; Parenting Coordinator (PC) &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.famac.co.za\/member-detail\/?pdb=186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#c69529\" class=\"has-inline-color\">FAMAC Accredited<\/mark><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Certified CHOICE COACH <\/em>&#8211; <em>Academy of Choice<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Treasurer \u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/glassersouthafrica.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#c69529\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Glasser South Africa<\/mark><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Executive Administrator supporting the Executive Director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wglasserinternational.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.wglasserinternational.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#c69529\" class=\"has-inline-color\">William Glasser International<\/mark><\/a> (WGI) <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I have been in this field of work since 2009 and have a passion for guiding individuals back to their authentic self. I ventured on a career change into applied psychology at age 42, and graduated with a Diploma in Counselling &amp; Communication from the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP). I also qualified as a Family &amp; Divorce Mediator, and furthered my knowledge with Training in Choice Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management (William Glasser International).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have grown up as a \u201cThird Culture Kid\u201d. I was born in Lebanon to Belgian Parents, grew up in Paris, finished my schooling in London and eventually moved to Brussels at the age of 20. I am now settled in Cape Town since 1996, so I do know what it is like to feel &#8220;lost&#8221;, to not belong to a particular place and lack a sense of self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I often feel like a tumbleweed, drifting along with no roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life has a funny way of teaching us what we truly need, even when we\u2019re not ready for it. For me, that lesson came when I got divorced. I wasn\u2019t prepared for the emotional roller coaster that followed, and it forced me to confront a question I\u2019d been avoiding my whole life: <em>Who am I, really?<\/em> At 42 years old, I began a journey of self-discovery that completely shifted my perspective. Up until then, I\u2019d believed that my life was shaped by circumstances outside my control, that I didn\u2019t have real choices. But through the ups and downs, I realised something profound, my life was the result of <em>my<\/em> choices, even the ones I didn\u2019t think I was making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That realisation catapulted me into the most incredible journey of all: meeting <em>Me<\/em>. Not the version of me shaped by others\u2019 expectations or the one trying to tick all the boxes of what a \u201cgood\u201d life should look like, but the <em>real<\/em> me, the one with dreams, needs, and a deep desire to live authentically. That\u2019s when I understood I didn\u2019t need to <em>change<\/em> myself; I needed to work on <em>being<\/em> myself. It was about reconnecting with my inner motivations, listening to what truly mattered, and choosing to align my life with the person I already was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why I\u2019m passionate about this message: To <strong>stop working at <em>Changing<\/em> yourself and start working at <em>Being<\/em> yourself<\/strong>. When we stop chasing the idea of who we \u201cshould\u201d be and start embracing who we <em>are<\/em>, life opens up in ways we never imagined. It\u2019s not always easy, but trust me, it\u2019s worth every step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The focus of my work rests on the central idea that we choose our behaviour and we are responsible for what we do, think, and feel.This led me to design&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3673,"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions\/3673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nadiathonnard.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}