My Journey​

 

Looking back, the seeds of Rooted Soulsong have been there from the earliest days. 

My fascination with the human journey was kindled by my grandfather's storytelling of adversity, honor, and love.  My own path took a turn early in childhood when I made the difficult and disorienting transition from my homelands of the Czech Republic to the vastly different culture and place of Colorado. Here, over time, I was brought to the ways of Earth-based animism, women’s circles, and ceremony.  The wisdom in these traditions touched something ancient within, helping me find solid ground to stand on in these lands.

 

As a young person, I couldn't decide between a career in the sciences or the humanities. 

Initially, I chose to major in physics, both for its pragmatic applications in creating new ways of caring for the Earth, and for the chance to explore the laws that guide the Universe. However, a serious accident and a close reckoning with Death invited me to listen more intentionally to my inner calling. As I considered pivoting to psychology, it felt both deeply right and absolutely terrifying.  Yet once I had finally worked up the courage to answer that call, I felt so aligned, and so much more like myself than I ever had before.

Studying psychology was like holding a mirror to the hidden corners of humanity.

I soaked in every drop of knowledge I could from my coursework, and I thrived in my neuroscience research work studying the role of mindfulness in adult women's depression treatment. I also wrote my honors thesis on postpartum mental health, focusing on body image, mood, anxiety, and relationship satisfaction.  However, while I valued the exactitude of the research world, I still felt the call back to the humanities, to help others find meaning within Life's deepest experiences. I therefore chose to pursue graduate school in clinical mental health counseling.

 

Beginning work as a therapist was equal parts humbling and wondrous.

I took my first steps in clinical work in my internship at Naropa Community Counseling Center.  I learned to support adults, adolescents, couples, and families through all kinds of challenges, including trauma, relationships, depression, and anxiety.  Since then, I have practiced in a variety of contexts, including grief group facilitation, eating disorder work, gender-affirming therapy on the Western Slopes of Colorado, as well as somatic, wilderness, and trauma therapy.

 

More than five years ago, I stepped into my full authority and founded Rooted Soulsong. 

This was another step of courage, moving through discomfort, learning, and ultimately embodying my deepest essence as a therapist.  Private practice has at last given me the freedom to weave together the rigors of scientific thought with the unique wonder of each client's humanity. As I have grown as a therapist, I have also gone on to teach in Naropa University’s nature-based transpersonal counseling program, and to provide clinical supervision and one-on-one mentorship to emerging therapists.