Play Well. Live Well.

Katie is known for her life mantra, Keep Shining Like the Stars. She reminds us that the stars still shine through the storms even when we cannot see them. And that we too keep on shining through the storms and challenges of life even when it does not feel like it. She reminds us that even faded stars still shine and strives to help those she works with to find what lights them up, to build upon their inherent strength and personal power while developing a sense of belonging, and strengthening their sense of self.

Katie received her Master’s in Couple and Family Therapy through Antioch University of Seattle in 2011 and completed her Post Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy in 2016. After receiving her BA degree in Ecopsychology and Diversity Studies through Outdoor Experiential and Environmental Education in 2000, she put all the states she thought she could live in a hat and drew out 3 states which informed her job search. She moved to the east coast to work in a specialized boarding school and residential treatment center for youth.

Katie is trained in Child Centered Play therapy, AutPlay Therapy, Sand Tray Play Therapy, Child Parent Relation Therapy, and is Level 1 trained in Emotional Transformative Therapy. She works with ages 3 and up, and has a special focus in working with anxiety, attachment, trauma, life transitions, grief, and neurodivergence. Her career in the youth development and mental health field spans over three decades. Her journey began with a focus in early childhood education and expanded into service-learning, outdoor experiential education and the residential camping world. Here she harnessed the therapeutic powers of nature and adventure-based learning, teaching youth empowerment through activities such as horseback riding, rock climbing, hiking, disaster relief, and gardening.

During her time as a pediatric nursing assistant, she specialized in supporting medically fragile and chronically ill children, including those affected by traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and childhood cancer. She has worked in specialized boarding schools, inpatient behavioral health settings, as well as in private and group practices.

For the past 13 years, she takes a week off each summer to serve as mental health support staff at Sibling Strong Summer Camp, to help reunite siblings who are living separated due to the foster care system, adoption, or kinship care.  Additionally, she started the Play, Heal, Grow: Disaster Relief Project in August of 2023 to bring trauma-informed play therapy and creative expressive art supplies, activities and comfort items to front line mental health therapists and youth and families impacted by the devastating Lahaina Fire on Maui. This project has since expanded by responding to Hurricane Helene, especially in the Western NC area, and is actively collecting donations to support youth and families displaced by the CA fires.

She is looking forward to continuing to work on YEN, standing for Youth Empowerment Network where she aims to build a welcoming and affirming environment that bridges the gap between mental health groups and youth development, leadership, recreation, play, creative expression, and service learning programs.