
Janel Atlas
CELEBRANT, COACH, FACILITATOR
Hi, I’m Janel.
I’m a registered marriage celebrant, relationship coach, deep listener, and gentle-but-firm champion for change. I help people bring more honesty, clarity, and vitality into their relationships—with themselves, their partners, and their lives.
I’m not here to tell you what to do.
I’m here to help you hear yourself more clearly.
Whether you’re navigating polyamory, moving through an uncoupling, embarking on a committed partnership or marriage, or figuring out how to ask for what you really want (even when it scares you), I bring both deep presence and useful momentum. I ask sharp questions with warmth. I reflect back what you’re really saying. I help you move from emotional fog to meaningful action.
In my personal life, I'm an avid reader, writer, walker/runner, traveler, meditator, and relationship nerd.
What I Bring to the Table
- I hold a Masters in English and a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition. My research into everyday language and storytelling directly informs my work with clients on mindset, communication, and personal narratives that support growth.
- I'm a registered independent New Zealand marriage and civil unions celebrant, available to help couples get married in ceremonies from simple up to highly-personalised and formal.
- I’m a mindfulness facilitator, supporting educators across Aotearoa to cultivate wellbeing in their classrooms and in themselves.
- I am a coach who is deeply committed to trauma-informed, kink-friendly, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and polyamory-supportive practices and philosophies.
- I'm a writer and author of They Were Still Born: Personal Stories About Stillbirth, hundreds of articles in publications for the general public, and a PhD dissertation that addresses the means of collective digital storytelling by women who have endured pregnancy loss.
- I’m also a parent of two young adults and one high school student who I raised with my ex-partner.
Janel Atlas, PhD, Marriage Celebrant and Relationship Coach
A Little More About Me
I was born in the United States and have made my permanent home in Ōtautahi/Christchurch, New Zealand. My expertise spans writing, research, teaching, and years of guiding others through uncertainty and transformation. These days, I thrive in a life that holds multitudes: co-parenting, coaching, self-reflecting, growing and healing, book-devouring, pleasure-chasing, and loving fiercely.
I believe there are no limits to our ability to grow in love, if we’re willing to show up honestly.
If you’re ready for that kind of support—rooted in compassion, lit up with curiosity, practical, and designed to help you shift—I’d love to work with you.


