Hello wonderful people! I am so grateful you stopped by to get to know me a little bit better!
I am Kristen Swart, and to start with, I grew up near Cincinnati, Ohio and moved when I was 12 to the middle of nowhere Indiana (near Batesville, Indiana for those wondering). During my 7th grade year, I went on trip to France with a church group of “grandmas and grandpas” (I had gone with my Uncle & one of my many cousins). On the trip we got to bathe in the spring water at Lourdes, France. If you’re Roman Catholic, you may know what those are. Supposedly people bathe in them and miracles, like being able to walk again have happened. I was fortunate enough to bathe in them. When we returned from our trip; I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). And I do believe God used the experience at Lourdes, France to intervene so I wasn’t as sick as many people are when they are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I am grateful for that every day.
When I was 22, I married my high school sweetheart. We were together for about 10 years, though only married for about 3. We had a daughter, and when she turned 2, we divorced. I thought, “This isn’t real! It can’t be happening to me!” But it was. There was much healing that needed to take place, but it wasn’t the time yet. I ended up going back to school to get my graduate degree and graduated in 2016. During the time it took me to get my graduate degree, I married my current husband, and we had two kiddos together.
When I graduated, I took about a year off to spend time with my kiddos because as I finished my degree, I was basically laying on the operating table to have a C-section! Don’t ask me how I managed that (because I am not really sure)!
After a year, I started looking for a job in private practice. I needed a supervisor since I wasn’t clinically licensed yet. My mother-in-law mentioned Nancy to me several times, so finally, on a whim, I emailed her. We met for lunch and hit it off. She began supervising me before the doors to her therapy practice were even open! And the rest, as they say, is history. Now we get to not only be colleagues, but best friends too!
While in the group practice, I have learned a lot about Bowen Family Systems, Internal Family Systems(IFS), Brainspotting, and most recently (though not therapy related) Reiki. I have used all these modes on my own healing journey. The journey has not always been fun, but the end results (so far) are completely worth it!
I am a certified Brainspotting Practitioner and Brainspotting Consultant.
I am currently working on being trained in Reiki (particularly interested to see how it fits within my Christianity). I am not officially level trained in IFS, but I have studied it in Indianapolis as a deep dive into it and done a lot of online training. Between, Nancy & Bowen, IFS, Brainspotting, and Reiki—they all have sort of thrown me into healing in ways I didn’t know were possible. Now I am curious about how to expand them for me, and my coaching clients. Sometimes I hear people describe this as Baptism by FIRE! Sink or swim! And I have loved all the methods I learned and used.
I decided to make the transition into life coaching because it gives me more freedom to be able to work with people and really watch their potential thrive! I love working with people who are curious and want to try out new ways of looking at things. And maybe some other methods haven’t worked for you before, or you’re ready to dive deeper. If you haven’t tried Bowen Theory, Brainspotting, IFS, or Reiki; it is a trip worth taking (IMO). It is a powerful combo! Whether you are looking to expand yourself (with any of the above), your own Brainspotting practice, or both, I am excited to join you in that journey!
In my, um, free time (what’s that??), I unwind by playing video games and having crazy kitchen dance parties with my family. We listen to a lot of “Popcorn” by Hot Butter and “Super Mario Bros” by F4ST on Alexa (if you haven’t listened to them, I recommend them). We dance like silly monkeys around the kitchen together. Those are some of my favorite times. I also enjoy reading anything I can get my hands on. At the moment it is Books/articles on the idea of attunement (connection with ourselves and others). I also enjoy writing, and I am hoping to be able to write some meditations up for you to enjoy! And most recently, I have taken up diamond painting. It is a great brain scrubber if you have anxiety! Thank you so much for stopping by to get a little glimpse into my world. I look forward to working with you!
I offer private online coaching sessions with individuals and couples. My work with clients includes walking alongside each individual as they truly get to know who they are at their core, which leads to greater self-awareness, greater self-confidence, and healthier relationships.