Because I am mainly a field researcher but also a psychological consultant and outdoor healing arts practitioner, I combine research and practice together in every session.
Any of my services that occur in include a money-back guarantee.
Sessions can take place indoors, outdoors, or in some combination.
I work as a non-clinical, complexity-oriented human science field researcher and scientific psychotherapist with a special interest in complex, difficult, painful, enduring states of being which are often a natural consequence of any kind of experience involving traumatic stress, tragedy, catastrophe, terror, rage, profound loss, grief, and deep anxiety.
Service Policies
My scientific studies are offered with a money-back guarantee of satisfaction. All four types of services are anonymous. Phone and video sessions are available globally, always encrypted by GoTo at the highest level of E2E, that’s why I use GoTo Meeting. You may also use GoTo for free when you want to call me anonymously by phone from most countries. Or you could call me by phone using encryption via the Telegram app. See my privacy page for more info.
Whenever we talk, I write down a few anonymous notes by hand, on paper, with no identifying information; just a date and generic file # written at the top. Then I scan the notes ‘as is’ into a PDF using Dropbox E2E encrypted software, and I make those PDFs available to you in a secure login area that I create for you, which is accessible only by you, using the U&P given to you verbally; never written. See my privacy page to learn more about how I work in a transparent way while also ensuring anonymity of the files that I aggregate whenever I’m working on general theory development. Some of my theory will appear in a future book on
The hand-written notes mentioned above become the raw data for research studies, if we choose to go that route, even though the notes are totally anonymous, they are not stored on a US-based server. They are located in DE, CH, or IS, where privacy laws are very strict, and with no cookies that remain after you leave my website.
For in-person discussions, your notes are available to you on-the-spot as a PDF scan before you leave the room. I am the only person with access to the backend of all my Linux / Apache websites. I am a server admin, and I manually code the secure area pages so that I can bypass the use of a CMS. I use SFTP to upload the anonymous files that you can access inside your personal secure area. If you ever leave me a message using the secure form you’ll see, I do not use software to retrieve it, but leave it on my server before deleting it (or you can use Proton to make your messages auto-delete off my server, otherwise I handle the deletions manually). I have learned these skills over many years so that you can have the highest level of privacy possible throughout the duration of our work together.
I am legally required to keep all my notes and files anonymous (which I would have done anyway!) as I am a researcher for the purpose of general theory development, and secondarily I am also a practitioner.
1. Situation Study
This type of service is mostly research, with some degree of practical consulting mixed in. It is not psychotherapy but has a therapeutic element insofar as the purpose of a situation study is to gain detailed clarity and depth on the problematic situation using a complexity-oriented research method designed to formulate a testable concluding hypothesis that explains and predicts the reasons for the existence and persistence of the discernable patterns in the problematic situation under investigation.
The research methodology I use is collaborative, transparent, and weaves a psychotherapeutic element throughout each session. It is a model that I developed over a dozen years of experimentation and refinement.
The methodology is my own but some years late I found out that parts of it are very similar to both classic phenomenology and classic grounded theory methods. I had myself been developing some of the same principles as both of those scientific research methods
The process unfolds naturally over several weeks or months, depending on factors such as time constraints, depth of analysis, financial parameters, complexity and density of the material under discussion and any other factor that partly determines the amount of time we spend in the process.
A situation study can be completed on a basic level in about 10 hours, more or less, of in-person discussions, some of which can be outdoor walk-and-talk style of sessions.
This process can always be picked up again and brought into a deeper level of analysis and more complex set of concluding hypotheses at a later time. In other words, we could do a quick study then a more in-depth study at a later time by starting with the initial completed study. The methodology is designed to work in this way as it focuses on conceptualization toward theory development which can always go deeper with more data and more time. In this way my methodology is quite similar to the classic version of grounded theory methodology.
I use a theory-building methodology that begins at the substantive level and can be extended using the same dataset into formal theory development at a later time, so nothing is lost that cannot be brought in later if certain factors cut a study shorter than it could be if left to end on its own through saturation of relevant variables.
The most direct effect of these discussions is some immediate alleviation of stress and clarity on what the situation actually is vs. what clinical practitioners would likely say it is (I am not a clinical practitioner, which means I do not draw from laboratory theories in order to understand human nature. Instead I draw from my own concept of human nature which is basically what you also would find if you studied philosophy, anthropology, and other human sciences that are based on naturalistic science rather than laboratory science because human nature as a whole cannot be captured in a laboratory; it is too complex to study in that necessarily reductionary context that can only describe some physiological facts, which is fine, but the problems with lab technicians begin when they try to formulate hypotheses or apply grand theories to tiny little bits and pieces that are decontextualized which actually changes the nature of whatever they are studying. Labs do not produce much of use when the aim is to understand, not just describe little bits and pieces of behavior or physiology under lab conditions rather than their otherwise naturally complex contexts in the real world; that kind of research has little to offer any field of human science whose aim to understand human nature in order to design applications… lab research almost never leads to any real-world applications in psychology. This might sound shocking to those who are unfamiliar with the mountains of criticism against the field of clinical psychology which is a sub-field of psychiatry (and oddly, many clinicians are not aware of these basic facts even though they cannot be more obvious). The world of clinical psychology, which used to be called psychopathology, a better term because the whole field is based on practitioners detecting and supposedly treating pathology of the mind. I call them psychopathologists because that was the originual term for the field and is more accurate given that it is precise and the word ‘spcyhology is an incredibly broad term; it could refers to many diffeent fields of study and practice aside from just the medical model of human nature. A search for mental pathology can be bypassed without any loss; in fact doing so clears the deck so that a fresh, non-pathologizing perspective becomes possible. Even if there is psychopathology present, which does exist, that is not the only way to comprehend people who have certain kinds of mental processes that are almost always very immature, involving a base-level deficit in personal development. Many people are as such but I do not encounter many of them in my work because such persons are generally not drawn to the deep investigative kind of work that I do, as they don’t actually want their pathology to be revealed and made clear and undeniable. My clients are usually those who have engaged in significant degrees of personal development and have a desire to look in the mirror; to see oneself ‘as is’ to gain clarity and to grow, heal, and become more mature and powerful in life. That mindset is radically different from the typical mindset we would encounter in pathological people, as one of their traits is an incapacity for growth and a lack of interest in personal insight in order to take responsibility for the unfolding of one’s own life. That is not a desirable goal for psychopathic people so they usually do not seek my services. I leave them for the clinicians as they specialize in behavior control and management which is basically the only hope for psychopathic people as they neither have the capacity nor the interest in learning and growing and becoming responsible in life.
2. Research Report
A situation study can be formally written up as a research report, but doing so may require a few hours of just pure research at the end of the situation study process because I would need to make sure variables are saturated and I would need to thoroughly check on the categories and sub-categories to make sure they include all of the most significant aspects of the enduring patterns. In other words, to write up a study I would have to formalize the situation study beyond how it normally unfolds which is a more casual process that is flexible enough to include psychotherapeutic discussions beyond just pure research. Normally in a situation study I use my methodology to move through an iterative process of distinct stages but I don’t reach the point of total completion and writing up the study as someone would for a publication; it stops short of that. I can formally complete a study but usually requires between $2,000 and $3,000 to formally complete a situation study and write it into a scientific report. This is in addition to whatever fees it takes to get through the unformalized situation study that involves psychotherapeutic disscusions woven into the research process. The only way to speed up the process if a research report is desired, is to eliminate the psychotherapeutic aspect of the nonformal situation study. In that case somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of all the hours spent in a nonformal situation study would be used in a strictly formal study that ends with a research report. This is no problem at all and is possible for those who seek only a scientific study with a clear and testable concluding hypothesis without any psychotherapeutic discussion during the process.
3. Psychological Consulting
It is possible to skip the personal case study and just delve straight into narrowly focused discourse. This entails a series of discussions that usually occur in regular intervals (but could also be intermittent) over several months, maybe a year, or sometimes longer, depending on various factors including the complexity, depth, and purpose of the discussions.
Ideally, we would undertake a personal case study first, in order to gain a good degree of clarity on what exactly we’re dealing with before commencing discourse which can be thought of as “psychotherapy” but only for lack of a better word. I use a non-medical, non-clinical (i.e. non-pathologizing) framework to theoretically comprehend the human psyche, both in general and idiosyncratically (i.e., you, personally, with your particular psychology that is different from others insofar as your life has not been a carbon-copy of others’).
Ideally, we would undertake a lifeworld study first, to gain a deep level of clarity on what exactly we’re dealing with before commencing discourse which can be thought of as “psychotherapy” but . it is possible to skip the scientific study and delve straight into psychotherapeutic discourse
In this event, the possibly for a formal lifeworld study remains open and can be done at any point later on. I still collect data regardless that simply becomes raw data used in part of a personal scientific study. One benefit of doing a case study before diving into psychological consultations is that the problem is then crystal clear even if it is complex, which saves an enormous amount of time in the long run. Gaining a deep sense of clarity about a problem long before exploring possibilities for creative problem solving is one way to make sure effort is not wasted in solving superficial problems while ignoring deeper, more important problems, which when resolved, would also resolve an array of superficial problems, as a byproduct, for they are merely symbols or pointers toward the doorway to core-level problems. If the case study process is skipped this becomes the starting point of working with me. This is a practical type of work which may occur indoors, outdoors, or in combination on different occasions during my proprietary 8-stage process of self integration.
4. Walk-and-Talk Sessions
This is both an option that can be added to any other type of discussion session, or as the sole style of session. In other words, if you would like some part of any meeting with me to be done while walking outside, that is fine, or if you would like the entire session to be done while walking together, that is fine also. Day retreats inherently include this style of communication but retreats go beyond just talking, as they normally include the execution of a collaboratively designed healing ritual that could be very simple or very elaborate depending on your desires and the length of time and the location of the day retreat.
5. Outdoor Healing Arts
WRITE A SUMMARY DON’T NEED MUCH EXPLANATION AS IT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO CLIENTS WHO HAVE UNDERTAKEN A SITUATION STUDY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTING WORK WITH ME TO THE POINT OF BECOMING PSYCHOLOGICALLY AND PHYSICALLY READY TO ENGAGE IN VERY PSYCHOLOGICALLY INTENSIVE OUTDOOR WORK. THIS IS A COLLABORATION AND MY ROLE IN THIS IS MORE OF A GUIDE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. OUTDOOR RETREATS ARE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MOVING THROUGH THE 8 STAGES OF MY PROPRIETARY PROCESS OF INTEGRATION AND RELEASE TO A DEGREE THAT CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A SORT OF ‘SYMBOLIC DEATH AND REBIRTH’ OF ONE’S OLD IDENTITY AND MOVING INTO A NEW IDENTITY TO BUILD A NEW LIFE WITH A DIFFERENT WAY OF BEING.
All services include permanent anonymity and confidentiality.
There is a Federal law in the US which requires me to maintain total anonymity of each person I speak with (even though no one except me ever sees the case files and there are no names on the files and no other information that could be used to connect the data to any specific person). This is because I am, by occupation, a scientific researcher, bound to the laws and ethics of research that involves human subjects.
For this reason I cannot, and do not ever ask for your name, address, or any other personal information. So you can just pick a false name when you talk to me, or use your actual name, as it is never written down anyway. I leave it up to you to tell me what you would like for me to call you. Your case notes only have a case number on them and a date. The notes intentionally avoid documentation of anything very unusual or particular that could potentially be connected to your identity. I am required to write my notes in a such a way, and this is normal for researchers. So rest assured, anything you tell me is not only confidential but also permanently anonymous. I work in a transparent way, so I give you a copy of your notes at the end of each session if we meet in-person, or I upload them to your private, encrypted, login area on a very secure server outside of the US (in a European country where surveillance is illegal and the encryption is end-to-end so the web host cannot see the data either). This is a normal way that field researchers secure their raw data files during studies and there are several countries with very strict privacy laws that make it easy to protect research data.
Secondarily I also happen to be a psychological consultant and an outdoor healing arts practitioner in the field of naturalistic psychology.
All of the personal case studies I conduct are aggregated into a large dataset of hundreds of other cases spanning across 15 years so far, and are used only for the purpose of multi-variate hypothesis formulation leading to substantive and formal theory development. My files do not contain any personally identifying information (I never ask for your name, your occupation, where you live, etc., as it all is irrelevant to me… I’m only interested in (objective) empirical facts and (subjective) phenomenological experience data).
My services include a money-back guarantee of satisfaction. I have conducted these services for a dozen years, not counting the pure research studies I’ve also conducted for several more years, so I know how they unfold over time.
The methodology I use is very reliable in discovering the reasons for the existence and persistence of complex or confusing psychological problems. It always produces something clear, something profound, and something with a high degree of practical value. Yet each new person who reveals a pattern that is integral for understanding more about human nature is unique, not the same as anyone else even if some of the patterns are superficially similar between research participants. When this is kept in mind, effective practical solutions can be developed, which is the next step after doing research!
Feel free to contact me anytime you have questions! :)
In both research and practice, the kinds of psychological difficulties I encounter most frequently (and understand best) include: anxiety, fear, loss, grief, remorse, despair, anger, addiction, emptiness, and traumatic experience of any kind. These are all difficult, enduring states that may feel crushing or paralyzing – yet they are also doorways into a profound level of personal development when they are recognized as such. I teach this truth in a practical way.
Sidenote: Did you notice I did not use any medical terms above? That’s because it is not necessary to rely on medical concepts to understand human nature. In fact, philosophical concepts are far superior to medical concepts when true understanding is the goal.
My work revolves around the concept and practice of self integration, as it is often key to resolution or dissolution of emotional difficulties and other problems. Toward that aim, I help people to build internal resilience so that deep personal work becomes possible (and feels good).
My population of expertise is people of high potential – for example: pioneers; visionaries; inventors; avant-garde artists and other high-pressure creatives; extreme sport athletes and remote explorers. However, I also speak with people outside of this relatively small minority.
I offer a free half-hour discussion to help us determine whether my skills and your reasons for seeking psychological care lend themselves to collaboration. I use E2E encryption for telephone calls.
Have questions? Should we work together? Are my skills a good match for your particular needs or concerns? Let’s talk…
Client Testimonials
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This section is obviously under construction. I have testimonials from years past and will pull them out and paste them here when I can!
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Testimonial #1
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Testimonial #2
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Testimonial #4
I offer global availability online and by telephone. In-person sessions are usually in the Pacific Northwest of the US, and could take place indoors, outdoors, or in some combination. Good meeting sites for relatively private, scenic, walk-and-talk sessions are the waterfront areas of Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland. A good place for multi-day retreats is the English Bay (West) and Stanley Park (North) waterfront areas of downtown Vancouver, Canada.
Katrina Kessler, PhD — Traumatologist 