Welcome! I'm Kelsey Kreider Starrs - psychotherapist, consultant, and Daring Way™ facilitator.

I am a psychotherapist, doula, writer, musician, reader, yoga practitioner, hiker, mother, partner, and fellow traveler on this lifelong journey of learning and growing. I received my undergraduate training in Social Work, followed by a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota, and I have advanced training in a number of effective ways of doing therapy. WHAT I DO Psychotherapy: with individuals and partnerships across life's spectrums Coaching: private practice start up, boundaries, Nonviolent Communication, etc. The Daring Way™: workshops and groups, based on the work of Brené Brown AREAS OF INTEREST My areas of particular knowledges and interest include: - Mind/body connection and spiritually-informed healing - Holistic practices - Perinatal mental health and support through the childbearing years - People with high sensitivity and empath abilities - Life transitions and identity formation - Aligning practices with values - Therapy for mental health professionals - Healing from trauma - Challenges commonly referred to as Depression, Anxiety, Addiction, Disordered Eating - Standing up to unhelpful cultural stories, stigmas, and societal influences ANTI-RANKISM COMMITMENT *Rankism is a term coined by Robert Fuller, and is defined as abusive, discriminatory, and/or exploitative behavior towards people because of their socially-constructed rank in a particular socially-constructed hierarchy. It is my utmost intention that you, with all of your beautiful, diverse, multidimensional, intersectional identities, would find our consultation a space where you are safe-enough to be you, just as you are. I commit to doing all I can do to honor your race, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, gender, sexual orientation, family composition, socioeconomic resources, age, body, abilities, values, preferences, and story in this space. I recognize that Rankism plays a major role in the problems that bring people into therapy, and that the therapy experience itself is often unduly complicated and threatened by both explicit and implicit biases based on societal and internalized Rankism. These rankist biases include racism, sexism, transphobia, heteronormativity, ableism, fat-phobia, zenophobia, and other patterns of thinking, behaving, and structuring the world that prioritize and center cisgender, heterosexual, white, male, and English-speaking experiences of health and well-being. As a person living with privileged identities, I actively seek to challenge and dismantle the structures in my community, profession, and self that uphold unjust and inequitable patterns and practices. I recognize that honesty, humility, and accountability are essential aspects of this work, and I commit to aligning with these values as best and as often as I can. I also commit to offering safe-enough space in our consultation for you to deconstruct the influence of Rankism on your life, and to find individual and communal ways to stand up to its influence. I will not ask people impacted by marginalized identities to teach me about oppression; I will, instead, seek to take responsibility for my own learning and build community with truth and compassion. Despite my best efforts, I will also mess up. When I have acted in violation of justice and equity, I welcome correction; I consider correction to be a gift that I welcome and embrace. I commit to humbly listen to the way I have mis-aligned, learn from my mistake(s), and do what I can to repair. If you would like to talk more about this at any time, I am here for that courageous conversation.