Provider Spotlight: Kirsten Hartz, LPC LAC

Kirsten Hartz, LPC LAC

Kirsten Hartz, LPC LAC owns and operates a Collective in Denver called Sona Collective. She shares interest in emerging psychedelic therapies, as well as blending evidence-based practice with contemplative wisdom. Read on to learn more about her and how she practices!

Cole: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Kirsten: I've been practicing as a somatic and trauma-focused therapist for the past 7 years. I graduated from Naropa University with a Master's in Counseling. My early training during and after graduate school was in substance abuse treatment and I have since moved into offering ketamine-assisted therapy, EMDR, and somatic therapies in my group practice.

I've been interested in contemplative practices, consciousness, and psychedelics since my late teens when I first started to practice yoga and explore meditation. In my 20s, I lived in India for 16 months where I studied Vajrayana Buddhism, sat in my first Vipassana, and practiced Ashtanga yoga. I first heard about Naropa University while living in Dharamsala, India, and applied to the Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology program.

As a survivor of profound loss as a teenager, I understand what it’s like to take a healing journey. I see myself as a fellow traveler on the path, always growing, learning, and evolving. Both in my own life and those of my clients, I have witnessed and believe in the healing power of embodiment to recover from deep pain.

Cole: Tell us a little bit about how you practice. What are your specialities, if any? What clients do you love to work with?

Kirsten: I see myself as a companion and guide for highly sensitive, empathic individuals seeking a path to recovery from trauma through ketamine-assisted therapy, EMDR, and somatic therapy. I love to help my highly sensitive clients build healthier relationships with clear boundaries, swap out negative self-talk, find new ways of relating to their anxiety and depression, and come home to their bodies. I blend contemplative and evidence-based practices, neuroscience with spirituality, and movement with introspection. I strive to interrupt the Western medical model of diagnosing and labeling clients and, instead, want to understand the social, spiritual, generational, and systemic causes of a client's trauma and trauma-related symptoms. It's important to me to approach this work from a place of non-judgment, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of the causes and conditions that lead to particular challenges.

Cole: Why did you decide to get into the work that you do now?

Kirsten: Psychedelics have been a part of my healing journey since my early 20s, as well as dance, meditation, and other somatic practices. When I opened my private practice after graduating from Naropa and becoming licensed, I quickly integrated ketamine-assisted therapy into my work, along with somatic therapy (in particular, The Hakomi Method) and EMDR, which are all modalities that work synergistically well together.

Cole: What are some of the biggest challenges facing mental health providers today, in your opinion?

Kirsten: We are working upstream in a medical system that doesn't necessarily support healing and instead offers bandages and quick relief (such as medication) for deeper trauma symptoms. The fact that CBT is the modality held as the gold standard and with the most research and funding to back it up is concerning to me. I'm often disappointed to hear clients say that in previous therapy they only ever talked about their issues. Well-intentioned providers aren't integrating what we know about the nervous system to help clients access real systemic change in their bodies with somatic and trauma-focused therapies.

I strongly believe that when working with ketamine, it's important to implement somatic interventions (rather than CBT or talk therapy) to help clients get the most out of their treatment. I realize that psychedelics in general, and ketamine, in particular, aren't a panacea or even the right treatment for everyone, but I do believe in the power of helping clients access an altered state of consciousness so they can access their inner healer and the innate wisdom that exists in their bodies when it's an appropriate fit.

Cole: Where do you see the future of mental health care going?

Kirsten: I realize that everyone is holding their breath right now as we see what happens next with psychedelics and mental health care, but I remain a believer that we're getting close to legalizing medicines for clinical use that can quicken the pace of healing. I, personally, am most excited to see the research on 5-MeO DMT for addiction treatment (and for the treatment of other trauma-related symptoms) since the session length can remain short yet profoundly impactful, and therefore more cost-effective than other medicines.

As an optimist, I do see a path forward in which respect for traditional practices and medicines is combined with evidence-based trauma-therapy modalities (including IFS, EMDR, and somatic therapies). Of course, much more research and very deliberate implementation of these medicines is required.

Cole: What’s one thing you recommend that all your clients do to see lasting impact in their lives?

Kirsten: Seek out high-quality connection time with friends, family, neighbors, etc., free from the interference of technology. Better yet, spend time in nature together.

Cole: Where can people find you?

Kirsten: www.sonacollective.co

Previous
Previous

Who is NOT a Good Candidate for Ketamine Therapy

Next
Next

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone?