Gina Thorne: Hi, everyone. Welcome to The Harmony Foundation podcast series, and I’m pleased today to be joined by Kathy Hawkins, Kathy Hawkins Counseling, out of Denver, Colorado. Nice to meet you Kathy.
Kathy Hawkins: Nice to be here. Thank you for having me.
Gina Thorne: We’re really happy that you took the time to come up and visit us here at Harmony, and we want to learn more about your counseling practice and the work that you do with clients who might be struggling with issues around behavioral health. You’ve got a pretty diverse and varied background. I’d love to hear more about how sort of your trajectory got you from, I think, originally working in the restaurant business, and then now working with people with trauma and other types of mental health issues, so can you share a little bit more about your background and how you got to where you are today?
Kathy Hawkins: Yes. The original career was restaurant business, and I did everything in the front of the house, bartending, waiting tables, sommelier, management, and I even opened my own place, and one of the big things that I really enjoyed about the restaurant business was people contact, connecting with people, and helping people, being of service. It was just in a different way, and I did that for a really long time, and I wanted something more. And through some twists and turns, I ended up going and getting my Master’s at The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and got into counseling, and when I was in the restaurant business, there was a lot of addiction issues, a lot of substance use issues.
And so, one of my specialties in my practice is working with people who are in the hospitality industry because there’s a big need definitely, so I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I’m a Licensed Addictions Counselor. I’m a Reiki Master, and I do AcuDetox which is auricular or ear acupuncture, and that works with cravings and also just works to sort of settle the nervous system and calm people and it’s really stress reduction.
Gina Thorne: That’s great.
Kathy Hawkins: Yeah.
Gina Thorne: Great. Well, you on your website, you talk about how you focus on trauma and stress management. Can you talk about the specific modalities that you use to address those issues when they come into your practice?
Kathy Hawkins: The foundation of my practice is from a mindfulness place, and it’s working with people to try and keep them in the present moment. I draw from Buddhist psychology. I draw from Stoic philosophy trying to keep people in the present moment. I also use somatic experiencing, Hakomi, EMDR. Again, I sometimes use Reiki with acupuncture. I use narrative therapy, writing. I like to meet people where they’re at, see what works for them and what they’re excited about or willing to try, get a good feel for that and go with that.
Gina Thorne: And so, it’s individualized?
Kathy Hawkins: Yes.
Gina Thorne: It’s very highly individualized, it sounds like.
Kathy Hawkins: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. That was one of the reasons I didn’t get into psychology a long time ago is because I had this idea that it was putting people in boxes, and I can’t do that, and I don’t want to be limited either. And then when I sort of discovered later on that there’s a bigger world out there, and people are doing different things and it’s okay, I grabbed on.
Gina Thorne: Oh, great.
Kathy Hawkins: Yeah. Yeah.
Gina Thorne: Great. And then, we like to get to know the person behind the practice. If I were to ask you what is the book or books that you’ve most given as a gift to others, what would that be?
Kathy Hawkins: I was thinking about this, and Pema Chodron, there’s two books particularly. One is “Beautifully Living with Uncertainty,” and then the other one is “When Things Fall Apart,” and those are things … people don’t like to live in uncertainty, and this is a great way to deal with it, or a great perspective, I guess, and then also “When Things Fall Apart,” so that’s the Buddhist component. And then the other book that I like to give is “The Daily Stoic,” and it’s 365 thoughts in Stoic philosophy. And again, it’s very pragmatic which Buddhism is as well, and it’s just about being in the present moment instead of getting anxious thinking about the future or worrying about the past. If we can spend more time in the present moment, we’re happier, and I like to give those books.
Gina Thorne: That’s great. Great book ideas.
Kathy Hawkins: Yeah. Yeah.
Gina Thorne: I’m interested in getting them myself now-
Kathy Hawkins: Yeah, they’re good.
Gina Thorne: … because they sound really interesting. If I were to play off the idea of the word harmony, what do you think it means to live a life in harmony?
Kathy Hawkins: Harmony to me, and that’s interesting because I was a sommelier, and I dealt with wine, and a good wine was in balance. Everything was in balance, and I think harmony is part of balance. Harmony is the balance working together. Getting people balanced in their lives in all areas is going to make a harmonious life. That’s the way I look at it.
Gina Thorne: That’s a great answer. Thank you for that. And if someone were listening today, and they wanted to access services at your practice, how could they get in touch with you?
Kathy Hawkins: My website is www.kathyhawkinscounseling.com, and my phone number is 720-608-0174.
Gina Thorne: Wonderful. Thanks, Kathy, for taking the time to visit with us today.
Kathy Hawkins: Absolutely. My pleasure. Thank you.