About Karen

Even before becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Kansas License #4140, California #76711), I worked with women and families for more than 25 years. I have taught childbirth preparation classes, provided breastfeeding support, and facilitated parenting groups. As a community health educator, I have worked with young women experiencing unplanned pregnancies, moms wanting to raise strong daughters, women at mid-life, people who had chronic or life threatening illness, and people who faced change that happened by chance or by choice.

Wanting to be on the cutting edge of how best to meet the needs of women and families, I served on the board of directors of the International Childbirth Education Association, the National Association of Women's Health, and the Kansas Women's Mental Health Foundation. It was during this time that I began speaking and writing professionally.

Towards the end of my full-time speaking career, I began helping family caregivers manage the challenges of caring for a loved one. The overwhelming issues of the courageous people I met were the catalyst for my return to school to earn my Bachelors and Masters degrees in social work and take another step along my lifelong path of helping others face the challenges in their lives.

Like most everyone who lives long enough, I have had my share of tumultuous times in my life and my relationships. I bring my first-hand experience of living with adversity to my counseling. I believe that we all have our own special resilience that can help us overcome whatever we have to face. I know how difficult it is to stay healthy, happy, and hopeful when life is hard and pain feels too much to bear but I know it can be done.