Stone Coaching
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At my core, I am a person’s person. This is what sets me apart as a coach. 

Jessica Stone Ph.D., PCC

Coaching Perspective Editor and Author

For over thirty years, I have worked at the intersection of psychology, leadership, and innovation. Whether in the therapy room, the boardroom, or in emerging spaces shaped by technology, my goal has been the same: to help people bring their full selves forward and lead with clarity.

This bio is meant to give you a sense of who I am, what my perspective is, and why any of that might matter. My hope is that you will not only understand me as a professional, but also as a person, and how I see the world and move through it.

I happen to be fortunate in my last name: Stone. There is something enduring about a stone. It carries history in its weight, strength in its form, and meaning in how it is placed or carried. Some stones are jagged, others polished smooth by time, and each tells a story of what it has weathered. In many ways, my work has been about honoring the weight people carry, their histories, their differences, their complexity, while helping them see how those very stones can become foundations for growth. Over the course of my career as a psychologist, innovator, and executive coach, I have found that transformation is not about discarding what we carry, but about learning how to hold it differently.

Just as every stone tells the story of what it has weathered, every person carries a history that shapes how they show up in the world. What I have discovered again and again is that the difference between being weighed down by those stones and building with them comes down to trust. Trust cannot be rushed or manufactured. It is earned slowly, through presence and consistency. Over the years, many clients have told me that their work with me felt unlike anything they had experienced before. They came to see me as their person, the one they could return to throughout life when they needed clarity, grounding, or support.

That is the role I now carry forward into coaching. I am not here for a quick fix or a surface-level performance boost; I am here to walk alongside people as they make sense of their challenges, discover their own patterns, and shape leadership that feels not only effective, but deeply authentic.

I began my professional life with a deep curiosity about how people grow, adapt, and find meaning. That curiosity soon led me to notice how the ways people connect and learn were changing, shaped not only by relationships and environments but also by culture and emerging tools. Rather than resist those shifts, I became interested in how they might expand the possibilities for growth. I came to view technology not as a threat but as an opportunity, a new language through which people could engage more fully. I developed innovative approaches that wove together psychology and digital tools long before “digital mental health” became a recognized field. Those experiences shaped my perspective that people flourish when they are met where they are, in ways that feel natural to them. For some, that might be through play and imagination. For others, it is through vision, leadership, and strategy. What unites them is the need for authenticity and the freedom to be fully themselves.

In today’s landscape, many therapists have moved into coaching. For me, the transition was never about rebranding or convenience. It was about depth, rigor, and responsibility. After decades of clinical practice, I pursued intensive training at the Hudson Institute and earned ICF credentials because I wanted my clients to know that the same commitment to excellence I carried in psychology lives fully in my coaching.

If someone is trusting me with their time, their investment, and their growth, they deserve to know they are working with someone who has done the work to truly earn that trust.

That is what led me into executive coaching. It was not a departure from psychology but a natural extension of it. Coaching allows me to sit with ambitious, thoughtful, and often exceptional thinkers who are ready to move forward. Many of my clients are neurodivergent, highly intelligent, and emotionally complex. They are leaders who think differently, and while those differences often drive their success, they can also make the path more complicated. My work is about helping them see those very differences as the raw material of leadership. Like a stone cut at an unexpected angle, what once seemed an obstacle becomes the centerpiece of strength.

Clients often tell me that what feels different in working with me is that I “get them.” That I can hold their brilliance without being intimidated by it, and their challenges without reducing them to labels or diagnoses. Coaching with me is not about quick fixes or surface-level productivity hacks. It is about translating the whole of who someone is, nervous system, history, cognitive style, and relationships, into practical action. Together we work to build resilience, sharpen communication, and make strategic decisions that align with their values.

I think of coaching as walking alongside someone as they carry their stones. Sometimes my role is to help them place the stones in a new pattern, transforming burdens into stepping-stones. Sometimes it is to help them recognize that the jagged edges they have tried to hide are exactly what give their leadership texture and strength. Always, it is about creating a space where they can lead with both clarity and humanity.

What excites me most now is helping leaders discover that their greatest strength often lies in what they once thought too heavy to carry. Like a stone, the exceptional mind is shaped by pressure and time, yet holds an enduring resilience. My role is to walk with them as they learn to build with what they carry, not by setting it down, but by shaping it into something extraordinary.

Professional Highlights

  • Licensed Psychologist with 30+ years of experience.
  • Hudson Institute Certified Executive Coach (HCC), ICF-PCC credentialed.
  • Specialist in coaching for the exceptional mind: neurodivergent, highly intelligent, and emotionally complex leaders.
  • Author, co-author, editor, or contributor of 46 books to date, with two additional forthcoming titles with Wiley.
  • Recognized innovator integrating psychology, leadership, and technology.
  • Co-founder of the Mental Health Virtual Reality International Coalition.
  • Frequent keynote speaker and trainer at international conferences on psychology, leadership, and immersive technology.

Areas of Specialty

  • Executive coaching for ambitious, complex, and neurodivergent leaders: Exceptional Minds
  • Integrating psychology and leadership to enhance resilience and vision.
  • Application of immersive technology (VR/AR) for growth, learning, and leadership development.
  • Strategic visioning, ethical governance, and organizational resilience.

Select Publications

  • Executive Coaching: Perspectives & Practices Across the Field (Wiley, forthcoming).
  • Transformative Coaching: Inclusion of Psychology, Technology and the Whole-Self (Wiley, forthcoming).
  • Mental Health Virtual Reality: The Power of Immersive Worlds (Wiley, 2025).

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