About You
Ah, the “Good old Days.”
We used to live in tribes with lots of support.
We used to have specific roles that limited our stressors.
We used to save time and money by only traveling shorter distances.
We used to spend more of our days moving rather than remaining sedentary.
We “used to do” a lot of things.
Things have changed.
Now, we’re running all over the place, spread far and wide.
Our ‘tribes’ amount to four to six people who are usually the ones driving us crazy.
We find ourselves having to be everything to everyone. And most of our tasks involve sitting in front of a screen. (Case in point – I typed this sitting at a screen, and you’re reading it the same way).
The world has never been simultaneously smaller – or larger – and people have never been so close – or so isolated.
Our “tribes” need help!
Families are the building blocks of our community; therefore, supporting them is vital!
Couples are at the center of families. This is why I LOVE working with couples to ensure that their relationship is strong – for each other and their (potential) children.
Parents are the role models for children to grow into successful adults who will continue the cycle. That’s why I LOVE supporting parents during all the years of parenthood.
And, of course, adults make the world go round – from doctors to teachers to content creators. YOU are the foundation of the community. If you have the support you need, you can make an even greater impact.
I’d love to come alongside you – to hear, validate, and empower your story – so that you can stop merely trying to survive your life and really thrive in it.
About Me
What I Do
My name is Kim. I’ve been called a therapist, counselor, shrink, head doctor, feelings doctor, among other things. To be clear, I can’t prescribe medication, so the last two are above my pay grade (although it’s kind of you to consider me in such high standing).
My fancy title is a licensed professional counselor because it requires a boatload of school and national testing. I explain my job to my kids like that of a “feelings teacher.”
Beyond that, I’m also a container – a safe space to hold your feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Sometimes, I’ve thought of myself a little like The Giver. (You remember that book in grade school where one person holds all the memories and feelings of the whole clan just so no one has to experience pain and suffering?)
How I Got Here
I started my career in residential AODA treatment and am eternally grateful for that experience. Without the direct or indirect experience of addiction, it gave me an understanding and immense compassion for the struggle of addiction. It taught me how to work with that, despite my lack of personal experience.
Next, I spent five years in a small group practice that served in community mental health (that’s a fancy way of saying, “Lots of people, lots of issues”). This experience helped me grow as a therapist who knows how to provide quality, evidence-based treatment in an authentic and comfortable way.
I shifted to solo private telehealth practice to perfect my craft in couple and family work and create some dang personal balance! Our modern lifestyle is at the core of many mental health issues we are experiencing collectively as humans – and to which I can personally relate.
My husband and I have been married since 2007 and believe me there is both blessing and curse having a marriage therapist within a couple. Although I have spent the vast majority of my life studying, teaching, and practicing all the skills to “make marriage work” (and by default thus my husband has too), we still find ourselves stumbling and only recently noticed some of these feel “natural”.
As far as parenting, we have been parents since 2011 and that is an ongoing experiment, which no one knows the results of for 20 years or so.
When I’m not helping people talk it out, I’m still talking to people. I like to say I’m an extrovert that hates small talk. I could likely be found at a local coffee shop or briskly walking anywhere and talking it out with a girlfriend.
Depending on the season, I can barely be spotted ripping down a snow hill on my snowboard or lounging in the boat on the lake. The places I choose not to be found are in the wilderness camping or in my favorite chair reading or knitting.