I’m April Wickström, a CTI- and ICF-educated Leadership and Executive Coach, Somatic Teacher, and Trauma-Informed Facilitator. I hold solo and group healing retreats year-round in Ojai.

I didn’t set out to become a healer — it was something I became out of necessity.

Fourteen years ago, a doctor half-joked that I had “broken my brain.” Up until then, I lived on intellect, exercise, strict diet, and relentless productivity, never realizing there was another way to exist. The prescription was rest — doing nothing. For an overachiever hooked on dopamine and external validation, that felt like punishment, and I fell into depression.

I started therapy, explored bodywork and 12-step programs, and sought out shamans and healers. Over and over, I was told: Be in your heart. I didn’t understand it, but I took it seriously — so seriously that finding my way back to my heart became my life’s work.

Along the way, I earned certifications in leadership, somatic work, and shamanic practice. I worked with Fortune 100 and 500 companies, guiding leaders toward vulnerability. I healed my own body, pain, and depression.

My path took me from Gothenburg, Sweden, to the hills of Ojai, where I’ve built a sanctuary for rest, reconnection, and peace.