Who I am

I’m Kathryn Shanks, counselor and psychotherapist, messy creative, Zen practitioner, nature-enthusiast, freediver, partner, daughter, sister, friend, animal-lover.

I work best with people who

Are overwhelmed or overstimulated
Feel discouraged or disempowered
Are therapists or other helping professionals
Want to use art and creativity as a fresh way of approaching therapy
Want to slow down and feel more connected with their bodies
Are willing to do the hard work of exploring and challenging old patterns and beliefs that may no longer be serving them

How I work

A few years ago, my family took a trip to Denmark to visit distant relatives and see the family farm. Over cheese, wine, and good bread, our family introduced us to the wonderful concept of hygge (said HOO*ga).

Hygge loosely means, “the art of coziness,” but really implies much more than that. It is the experience of warmth and connection with the present moment. It is delightful presence. It suggests relationship, connectedness, and enjoyment, whether to other people or animals, to the mountain stream, or to the book you’re reading.

My deep desire is that our sessions be filled with hygge, and that, though professional, our time together will be far from sterile. I want to welcome warmth, presence, and delight into our “work,” even when we delve into painful or challenging places.

My Approach

The work that I do is slow and gentle, but potent.

If you want to be challenged to slow down and pay attention to the details, if you’re curious about the subtleties of the heart and the mind-body that can be easily overlooked, if you are longing for a safe space to learn to be more fully be yourself, then you’ve come to the right place.

My work is rooted in three major modalities:

I find that these three modalities weave together to help clients’ lives feel more manageable by helping them tune into themselves, feel more at home in their own bodies, and be more present in their world and their relationships.

My Credentials

I believe there’s a lot more to a person than the letters behind their name, but sometimes it’s nice to know that the person you’re working with knows what they’re doing. Here are my official qualifications.

Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina #(13260)

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, specialized in Creative Expression from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (graduated 2013)

Hakomi

Comprehensive Hakomi Training at the Hakomi Institute of California (graduated 2013)

Hakomi skills workshop training assistant, Berkeley, CA (January 2015)

Hakomi intro workshop training assistant, Durham, NC (August 2017)

Ecotherapy

Ecotherapy Clinical Skills Workshop, Ariana Candell, MFT, Berkeley, CA (2014)

Counselor for Fiddleheads ecotherapy camp, Berkeley, CA (summer 2015)

Ecopsychology Conference, California Institute of Integral Studies (2015)

Co-Hosted Ecotherapist networking event in Asheville, NC (2017)

Established and facilitated Deep Ecology Meditation groups and events in Asheville, NC (2016-present)