Clara Thumm
Coach & Systemic Coach
I specialise in:
About me
During my studies, I engaged passionately with feminist theory for many years – especially around unpaid house and care work. I knew very early on: I wanted to continue working with feminist theory. But the path was anything but straightforward.
I know what it feels like to be lost. To hit dead ends, run into closed doors, and question everything again and again. After graduating right in the middle of lockdown, my transition into working life didn’t go as I had hoped - or rather it didn’t go at all. At the same time my long-term relationship ended. What followed was a period of extreme restlessness and many, many heartbreaks. Eventually I found a coaching program that shifted everything and the vision for what would become the Heartbreak Club was born.
With the Heartbreak Club I offer feminist individual and group coaching for FLINTA+ navigating crisis and life transitions. For when your plans fall apart, or when things did work out but you still feel empty. Heartbreak isn’t just about love and relationships. So many things can break our hearts: job disappointments, friendship rifts, the weight of societal expectations. The voice that keeps saying we’re too much or not enough.
Since completing my systemic coaching training in late 2022, I’ve been supporting people in one-on-one sessions to help them live with more freedom, compassion, and self-trust. In October 2024, I launched the Heartbreak Club and have been running group coaching for FLINTA+ ever since.
In my work, I hold a space where heartbreak is seen as part of life, not as something to hide. A space where you can step out of the pressure to perform and just be. To arrive, feel, process – and learn to meet yourself with more gentleness and compassion in hard times. From there, we ask: What would it look like to live in a way that’s more true to me?
I believe tenderness is strength. That vulnerability is courage. I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all ideas of how life, love, or healing should look. Let’s find out together what’s right for you.
I speak:
Location:
Approach
I work with a wide range of methods to address the head, heart, and body. Because real change happens when we understand something not just intellectually, but emotionally too.
My approach is grounded in my training in systemic and feminist coaching. I also draw on practices that I’ve personally found helpful from coachings I’ve experienced, from books (I’m a huge fan of self-help books, as long as they’re not pushing neoliberal self-optimization), and from years of leading improv and performance groups. I bring feminist theory into practice which means we also look at your challenges through a structural and societal lens. This work is rooted in my long-standing engagement with feminist theory and practice on an academic, professional, activist, and personal level.
The methods I use include: • Sharing and exchanging experiences • Societal and structural reflection • (Intuitive) movement • Mindfulness • Guided visualizations and meditation • Creative/artistic expression • Systemic constellations • Self-compassion (based on Kristin Neff) • Relaxation
In group coachings, we begin by introducing ourselves and building trust. From there, we dive into a mix of theory, dialogue, and embodied exercises. These group offerings are currently for FLINTA+ and held in German — an English-speaking group is in the works.
In one-on-one coaching, we focus directly on your individual topics. We clarify where you’re seeking change and shape each session around that. I tailor the methods and pace to fit your needs and life situation. Individual coaching is open to all genders and available in both German and English (I’ve lived in the U.S. several times and completed my studies fully in English).
I strive to create a space where we become curious about ourselves. A place where we face what’s difficult instead of running away. Where we rewrite the stories that keep us small, so we can live brave, self-determined lives – radically tender in connection with ourselves and others.
