Kathleen is a therapist with over twenty years experience using movement and somatic experience to work with children, adolescents and adults. Kathleen began her professional career working inpatient psychiatric for children while completing her first Masters degree in Dance Movement Therapy, from California State University, East Bay. Kathleen completed a Masters in Social Work from Portland State University in 2013. Her clinical work combines a deep understanding of attachment theory, neurobiology, developmental theory and trauma informed practice within a social justice framework.

Kathleen’s career includes a variety of therapeutic settings with both voluntary and involuntary populations. She has worked in settings ranging from community mental health, residential treatment, wilderness therapy, community home based programs and state sponsored parent child therapeutic reunification programs. While completing her Masters in Social Work, Kathleen was honored to work in a voluntary inpatient treatment program for combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD. She used movement based methods incorporating Tai Chi into the daily routine of the veterans. She holds a firm belief that movement is the medium for change in our emotional and physical states of being.

Kathleen has woven nature and wilderness into her career throughout the years. Nature and outdoor experiences ranged from wilderness therapy with involuntary adolescents, intensive single family outdoor adventure therapy and nature for therapeutic relationship building in home-based service programs.

Currently Kathleen is working with a community- based non-profit organization to develop and implement a program for the Department of Human Services to address the relational needs of children in foster care. Kathleen’s interest in the science of early child hood development and infant- parent psychotherapy have deepened her conviction that healthy communities start with the development of healthy brains and relationships. Kathleen is passionate about child development and movement -based therapeutic methods. She presents educational material drawing from a wealth of clinical and practical experience. Her genuine enthusiasm, diversity of practice and social work experience provide learning that is stimulating and emphasizes the individual’s interactions with the systems in which one lives.

Kathleen balances her academic and clinical work with a plenty of personal movement and nature. Kathleen has been dancing since the age of four years old. She has practiced Ballet, Modern Dance, West African Dance, Capoeira and Tai Chi. Kathleen can often be found dancing with nature while surfing or trail riding, which engages her longstanding passion for horses.