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Meet Kathleen

Hi, I’m Kathleen. A teacher at heart, and a bit of a leprechaun.

I train therapists to work with people who have trauma, and I take care of the therapists while they learn. I’ve been doing this work since 2001, and I keep adding new skills. What you see is what you get.

See Upcoming Trainings Read my story
Kathleen Fitzgerald smiling outdoors in front of a holly tree
  • EMDRIA ApprovedTrainer & Consultant
  • Since 2001A therapist for 25 years
  • 10+ yearsTeaching at Duke Medical Center
  • Since 2012Training therapists in EMDR
A warm mug held over an open book

Why I do this

Being a therapist is hard work. I want to make it less lonely.

Working with people who have trauma is hard work for therapists. We need exceptional trainings, and we need encouragement and support as we learn and apply new things with our clients. We constantly need new information. And we need compassion, too.

I like people. I like teaching and seeing people learn. But learning is hard. We need more than facts. Some of the most important learning is about how to value yourself and love others. We need solid, well-studied information, and then we need caring as we take it in and figure out how to use it.

“I want to teach you new information. And I want to support you as you use it.”

Kathleen

What I love most is the aha moment: the second a therapist realizes they can do this, and that they matter. That’s the whole job, right there.

My story

A teacher first.

Before I was a therapist, I was a teacher. Everything I do in a training room comes from that.

  1. 1

    The classroom

    Two master’s degrees in education

    I earned an M.Ed. in Learning Disabilities and Emotional Handicapping Conditions and an M.Ed. in Counselor Education, and I taught. I learned how to build a lesson, run a room, and make sure the quiet kids got as much as the loud ones. Later I spent more than ten years teaching health care professionals at Duke Medical Center.

  2. 2

    The therapy room

    A clinician since 2001

    I became a therapist in 2001 and ran my own practice in Chapel Hill for more than two decades, working with trauma, relationships and attachment, and with people who have ADD and other learning differences. I no longer see therapy clients. These days, every hour goes to therapists.

  3. 3

    The training room

    Training therapists since 2012

    On day one of my own EMDR Basic Training, I met Liz. We practiced on each other, became lifelong friends, and started training therapists together in 2012. I’m now an EMDRIA Approved Trainer and Approved Consultant, and I’m still adding tools: EFT, EFIT, EFFT and IFS certification, nature therapy, DBT.

Credentials

The letters after the name, in plain English.

I take my role as educator and consultant very seriously. I offer strongly developed classes, and I keep training so I have more to give you. Here’s what backs that up.

  • EMDRIA Approved Trainer, Approved Consultant, and Certified Therapist. All three, listed in EMDRIA’s directory.
  • Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina.
  • Certified in EFT, EFIT and EFFT, the attachment-based therapies for couples, individuals and families, and certified in IFS.
  • Certified nature therapist, and intensively trained in DBT.
  • Two master’s degrees in education, plus ten-plus years teaching at Duke Medical Center.

I also volunteer with the Learning Disabilities Association. Learning differences are close to my heart.

What I bring to your training

  • Organized, clear, well-built classes
  • Substance first, with a little fun woven through
  • Strong group management, so no one or two people dominate
  • High expectations for myself, and real support for yours
  • A rare weave: trauma, attachment, the body, nature and spirit
  • Someone in your corner for the good, the bad and the long haul

What guides me

Four things I won’t compromise on.

Smarts

Superior trainings, intellectually and personally. Well-studied information, taught in order, with real practice. No fluff, and no magic bullet.

Caring

To teach therapists while making them feel seen and understood. You should leave with a deeply felt sense that you matter.

Connectedness

We are whole, interwoven people living in families and communities. Learning is nuanced and interwoven, too. Turn to each other, and to the Earth.

Patience

Learning takes as long as it takes. I’m here for the beginning, middle and end of your career, and for the good, the bad and the long haul.

The human side

Outside the training room.

I love to be outside and to hike. I have a lavender garden and I’m still learning how to garden; it’s fun, and I kill about as many plants as I save. So I am learning to have a sense of acceptance and patience.

I paint, and I’m part of a poetry class. I dance, too, including hip-hop with teens, veterans and young adults. I have an enormous family, and I try my best to make each youngen think I love them best of all. I’m blessed with many friends, and each one is vitally important to me. I work at being a very good friend.

I’m smart, warm, funny, a bit of a leprechaun, and a bit of a pain in the neck. No one is a stranger. And I mean business.

  • EMDRIA Approved Trainer
  • EMDRIA Approved Consultant
  • EMDRIA Certified Therapist
  • EFT · EFIT · EFFT Certified
  • IFS Certified
  • Certified Nature Therapist
Kathleen Fitzgerald, smiling

“Slow people down. Help them turn to each other and the Earth, and to know they are unique and have something to offer to others.”

Kathleen · on the change she hopes to make

Come learn with me. You don’t have to do it alone.

Questions about a training, consultation, or whether you’re eligible? I answer my own email.

See Upcoming Trainings Contact Kathleen

The Lavender Letter

Be the first to hear about new trainings.

An occasional note from Kathleen with one EMDR teaching tip, upcoming training dates, and a little news from the garden. Seats are limited, and subscribers hear first.

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