Pivoting into a Career You Love with CEO and Founder, Ana Sanchez-Anegon
Ana is the CEO and founder of her practice El Animal Emocional.
Ana Sanchez-Anegon loves her job. She is the founder and CEO of El Animal Emocional in Madrid where she works as a bilingual therapist and trainer. She also provides facetime/Skype therapy sessions for individuals and couples, and is focused on women and millennial generation issues.
Hi Ana! Tell us a little about yourself.
My job is helping people feel good about themselves and improve their relationships with partners, friends, family members and colleagues. As a feminist, I also have a strong gender perspective approach and women appreciate that I understand gender issues.
I think that, for our generation, life is not as easy as we thought it would be and by helping people and by promoting mental health awareness, I found out that feeling happy is a job that requires little everyday efforts. But everyone is different. That is why I focus on my client's needs and we work together until they find their own way to feel good about themselves.
It is so great to be able to speak about my favorite thing in the world – my job!
How did you get started as a Life Coach/ Therapist?
After some personal experiences that led me to start my own therapy focus, I discovered that that was exactly what I wanted to do for people! I wanted to help them to feel as happy as I got to be!
So I quit my communications and PR job after 10 years and I started to study. I got my Executive Coaching MA and a Personal Centered Approach therapy license, and I haven’t stopped learning and working since.
What do you love most about your work?
I could talk about this for hours! But to be brief— I feel free and happy about being myself and that helps my clients a lot. I don’t talk about magical tips that will lead you to an always happy life. I am honest and people appreciate that. And that makes me feel good.
The second thing is that I get to use my intuition and my empathy skills and that is something I love, and it makes me feel very fulfilled.
What is the most challenging part of your work?
It is a difficult question. I guess that I find it hard to explain to people that being in therapy is something they should be proud of. There is an old-fashioned saying that implies that going to therapy is just for people that are not strong or mature enough. God, that is so far from the actual truth! I think that my clients are the bravest people in the world.
What advice would you share with others who are looking to get into your industry?
I would tell them to find a niche where they think they would be best at. I focus on women and the millennial generation, but I am sure that if they are very into drama studies, for example, they could find a very strong niche for actors that want to work on their mental health.
Therapy practices and mental health awareness jobs are going to be very developed in Spain in the next months and years so I really encourage people to find exactly what area they want to be involved with. The possibilities are endless.
What is the best part about living in Madrid? Where do you like to work?
Although I was born and raised in the Barcelona area, I live in Madrid. I love it here. It is the perfect mix between Europe and Latin America. Our streets are always full of people and social and culture activities are endless. Also, we have wonderful weather and we can get to any point of Spain in not much time.
I have a private practice in Madrid but when I work with my laptop, I share my time between coffee shops like Toma Café, Religion Coffee, or Google startups’ coworking space. I also work in a feminist space called Espacio Igualdad Carme Chacon where I share my time with female entrepreneurs and offer some workshops on gender issues.
Where to find, Ana and where to reach out?
My website is www.elanimalemocional.com, but you can find me on Instagram or El Animal Emocional Facebook page.
I am in Docplanner as well where you can book your session online here. I’ll be very happy to know you!