Ines Raluca Isar

Private Mentor, Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, Somatic Therapist

I came across Gabor Maté’s work during the pandemic when I first watched the documentary The Wisdom of Trauma. At the time, I was in the process of reorganizing my life, transitioning from a career as a freelance content writer to something new. Initially, I thought coaching was my next path, but I quickly realized I needed something more. I didn’t know what that was until I saw Gabor speaking about trauma. After watching the film, I hit the replay button and watched it again. It was fascinating.

This is the story of how I decided to enroll in the year-long Compassionate Inquiry training.

Looking back, I’m in awe of my journey—from the shy person in a little Zoom square among all those amazing people, to a slightly more confident therapist stepping into the Mentorship program, and now to a certified CI practitioner and mentor, eager to keep learning and share her experience with others in this incredible community.

The journey has been transformative, but not easy. I remember those early practice sessions in dyads and triads—how unsure I felt at the beginning. I wanted to learn everything at once, and I often felt overwhelmed. I experienced moments of strong confidence, followed by waves of helplessness—a true emotional rollercoaster.

Coming from a culture where feedback often meant criticism, shame, and focusing on what went wrong, I initially expected my first feedback sessions to feel like a sentencing. But instead, I received the opposite. The warmth and kindness were almost confusing at first because I had never imagined feedback could feel that way.

During the Mentorship program, I had the opportunity to receive more of this kind of feedback from my personal mentor and group mentors. I came to understand that I thrive when I am met with compassion. My confidence as a CI practitioner grew, and I became more open to receiving constructive feedback.

This is what inspired me to become a CI mentor.

Knowing how important safety is in a mentor-mentee relationship, I pay special attention to creating and maintaining it. As a mentor and practitioner, I am continuously working on embodying the CI qualities and becoming a clear mirror for both my mentees and my clients. I particularly treasure qualities such as self-awareness, empathetic abiding presence, and authenticity. I bring curiosity and openness to each session—and whenever possible, a little bit of playfulness.

I meet each mentee where they are, walking alongside them on this journey of discovering their strengths as therapists, their potential for growth, and their challenges, blind spots, and patterns.

We are here to thrive together.

I work as a Personal Development Counselor, professionally trained in working with anxiety through a somatic approach. My work is further enriched by certifications as a Flow Coach and a Nirvana Fitness instructor, which help me integrate the body into the healing process. I’m also deeply fascinated by shamanic practices and trained in soul retrieval work.

Email: [email protected]