Bachelor of Arts – History – 1999 University of Missouri- Kansas City

Kristin’s initial college education lead her to courses in women’s studies, anthropology and sociology. Her capstone project was an interdisciplinary research project exploring reproductive rights activism in Ireland, the US and Cote d’Ivoire. This has offered a foundational knowledge of how culture impacts very personal aspects of people’s lives. It also lead her to eventually settle in Ireland, and that experience as an immigrant also informs her psychotherapy practice.

Professional Certification in Midwifery – Seattle Midwifery School 2004-2007

Kristin’s training as a home birth midwife in the US provided a deep understanding of the mind-body connection. Emotional state, a sense of physical safety, and relationship health were all factors in how the physiological process of birth unfolded. Facilitating the transition into parenthood for hundreds of families was a privilege and also instructive to how people respond to huge changes in their lives. This was the first training in attending to emotional health in a larger context.

Bachelor’s of Science in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy – IICP, Dublin Ireland, 2018-2022

Kristin’s training in integrative therapy was deeply congruent with her multicultural perspective, combined with deep personal and professional learning about emotional health and well-being. Core theories studied include Rogers’ Person Centred Therapy and William Glasser’s Choice Theory. Both are humanistic theories that focus on developing an internal locus of control and evaluation. In other words, coming to learn that the most important judge of if you are living a good life is yourself. It is, after all, your life to live. Other theories covered included logotherapy, existential therapy, transactional analysis and narrative therapy.  Additional research into polyamorous relationships, issues of gender and sexuality as well as a grounding in  group dynamics and couples work helped to fill out the theoretical framework. Clinical practice began during this period, with clients presenting with a variety of issues – drug misuse, family of origin trauma, abusive relationships, traumatic event processing, anxiety, history of self harm & suicidality.  Her dissertation for this degree focused on the experience of trainee therapists with the required personal therapy during training. The training to become a therapist is often profoundly life changing as self knowledge grows in tandem with the development of the therapist as a professional. This was definitely the case for Krisitn.

All of this education underlies a deep curiosity about people and what is true for them, and a drive to facilitate deeper understanding. This quality continues to be useful both in ongoing trainings, and in the therapy room.