Renee McDonald

Renee McDonald

Unleashing your limitless potential

As a successful Psychotherapist and Life & Business Coach, Renee McDonald has emerged as a global thought leader in the mental health space. Also an educator, trainer, author, speaker and podcast host – she has two decades of experience in helping people live fulfilling lives by equipping them with skills to overcome the challenges they face.

“I’m all about potentiality and excellence of work for myself and others. Often, we limit ourselves and just don’t know what we can achieve unless someone taps us on the shoulder and says, ‘I believe in you’. I therefore assist people to become their best self in the world – as I’ve had others help me do the same. I stand on the shoulders of giants.”

When Renee started out, she had to learn how to stand out in her career, move forward with specialist ideas, and act on them. But a great many people inspired her along the way – some of her coaches, therapists, friends and colleagues who stood by her. In addition, she was inspired by the works of Brene Brown, Simon Sinek and others like Dr Dispenza and Dr Demartini.

“I also like how Oprah says luck is not luck per se – instead, it’s a combination of hard work and timing. Timing has been EVERYTHING in my career – though often the timing happens to you due to the hard work and set up that you’ve completed in the preceding years.”

Based in New South Wales, Australia, Renee has spent over 16 years in private practice and is a much sought after hybrid therapeutic coach today. She has developed programs, projects, and a company based on industry needs as well as her care for humanity – Australian Online Therapy Training (AOTT).

“I’d strongly encourage you to look within and figure out what support you may need in your own life – as sometimes our family and friends may say they have our best interests, though they hold us back. Instead, if you turn to a stranger – a therapist or a coach, you may be able to reach better places in your career and life if you are able to search outside of your comfort zone, and eventually, achieve your impossible dreams.”

Renee’s commitment to her clients and ability to come up with unique solutions has seen her win various international laurels:

  • Listed in Success Magazine’s: 11 Women Changing the Social Media Marketing Landscape in January 2023.
  • Listed in Apple News: Top 10 Female Mindset & High-Performance Coaches Disrupting the Self-Help Industry for 2023.
  • Winner for her company – Australian Online Therapy Training – Psychotherapy Training Provider of the Year, Australia, 2022 – Corporate LifeWire: Innovation & Excellence Awards.
  • In the Hall of Fame for Passion Vista, August 2022.
  • Best Online Therapy Service, NSW, March 2022 – Issued by APAC.
  • Online Therapy Podcast – Top 70 Podcast for Global Influencers 2022.
  • #5 – Top 50 Global Thought Leaders for Mental Health, August 2021.
  • Australian Government Research & Development Grants – Financial Year 2019-2020, 2020-2021.

Yet, more than any wins, Renee is thankful for the learnings. Firstly, she learned that failure is nothing to be concerned about. Instead, we need to consider failure as a life lesson and something to encourage – so that we learn what we’re missing. “We often fail for a reason – because we don’t have the skill or the aptitude. Failure can teach us what we don’t know and we can learn and turn it around to excel in an area we thought we weren’t doing well in. Secondly, another big lesson I’ve had is that we need to have courage in uncertain times.”

Discovering how to face and address challenges in life and work has made Renee a women’s leader. For her, leadership is about developing more leaders and she has even built this concept into the work that she does. In addition to her coaching work, she mentors and supports the next generation of therapists and those wishing to lead, like clinical supervisors and team leaders.

Telling us why she chooses to be a tiger in the rat race, she says, “Tigers work alone and autonomously, though they are also warm blooded and look after their young. I’m all about looking after the future generations. Some may see me as fierce and dangerous, though I believe I’ve risen above the basic concept of being part of the rat race. I’m here to leave a legacy for the next generation to help them believe in themselves as unique beings, and not be the same as everyone else.”