Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM
Kate Latimer, Santa Fe, NM
I took a hiatus from the counseling world after the birth of my daughter in April of 2011, leaving my much loved job as a counselor at Solace Crisis Treatment Center (formerly the Santa Fe Rape Crisis and Trauma Treatment Center). Becoming a mom has been an incredible initiation full of deep teachings via late nights, high fevers, bumps on the head, and the general chaos of having an infant, now toddler, in one’s life! I have never experienced such vulnerability, love, and elation, with first teeth, first steps, first words, all filling me with awe, joy, and profound gratitude. My life is forever transformed and I know that as I get ready to return to my work as a therapist, I will be able to do so from a new place with new awareness and compassionate understanding born from this journey into parenthood.
I am currently developing a private practice that combines my experience with trauma recovery and somatic healing with personal fitness. It is my intention to bridge the mind-body connection by drawing from my Nia practice and offering movement as medicine (research shows exercise equally if not more affective that medication for depression and anxiety) while utilizing counseling techniques such as EMDR and Brainspotting that return us to a sense of balance in the body after a traumatic disruption.
In February 2013, I had the honor of helping to organize a flash mob for the One Billion Rising V-Day event at the Roundhouse, where I experienced the incredible unifying power of dance/movement first hand. We danced to bring global awareness to the issue of violence against women and were joined by millions, in fact, ONE BILLION others around the world, from the Congo, to the UK, to India and all across North and South America. This was an incredibly moving experience for me as I felt the stories of women I had worked with at Solace rise up inside me along with my own story, and then be transformed into a sense of personal power and solidarity.
Kate with her daughter
That feeling, born of moving through pain and shame in order to achieve freedom and self-acceptance, is one I hope to impart to my clients as I re-enter the professional world. I have maintained a very small private practice and intend to expand it as my daughter gradually individuates, dancing the dance of attachment and attunement with her as well as my future client base.
For information about admission to Southwestern College, email Dru Phoenix, Director of Admissions, at admissions@swc.edu
