
I bring a wide variety of tools and wisdom to my practice of deeply listening to people and guiding them to access what they need to make desired changes in their lives, feel supported in their transitions, understand their choices and access their full potential.
I'm interested in what brings you joy, gives you meaning in your life and to explore together how your wounds have held you back and given you wisdom. When growing up, we all have made experiences that have send us messages that certain feelings or emotions weren't okay, that made us feel wrong about ourselves and who we are.
By facilitating a deep inquiry of what is present in your mind, heart and body, you learn to love and accept yourself more fully and can discover more spontaneity, flow, meaning and ease in your life.
Expressive Arts and psychotherapy can support you to find an internal balance which allows you to live in alignment with your soul and being present with yourself; listening to your emotions rather than shunning them.
Often we don't just live our story but also the story of our ancestors, and are affected by the pressures and imbalances in our environments. The imbalances that are experienced internally and externally are often expressed in addictions, anxiety, depression, anger, stress, traumatic triggers and fears.
I invite clients to share themselves through talking, movement, poetry, drawing, painting, photographs, music and stories. Moving, drawing, writing, role-playing, playing an instrument and paying attention to your breath and exploring what is present in your body and dreams, supports a deeper process with your whole being and supports the transformation of stuck patterns and energies.
Being engaged in the creative process allows traumatic memories and experiences to be transformed. Expressive Arts offer a beautiful container to feel, be with and experience the paradox of life and enhance our well-being by supporting our authentic true self. Simple inquiries of body sensations support the access to emotions and inner guidance to make choices in your life that are true to you and heal old wounds.
My style is interactive and guided by intuition, training, experience and most importantly an open heart.
As Rumi says:
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
ADULTS:
A warm and safe environment is provided to explore your identity, creativity, sexuality and spirituality and the roadblocks in your way. I specialize in supporting people going through major transitions such as divorce, separation, adjusting to a new culture, going to college, making career changes, dark nights of the soul and those seeking to live more authentic lives.
Couples can explore their intimacy issues and communication difficulties through talking, inquiry, somatic awareness and the expressive arts with the guidance of a compassionate listener.
Parents can explore questions of parenthood and all the challenges that arise with someone who has worked with many different parents from diverse cultural backgrounds and constellations. I support parents in developing compassion in their struggles that emerge in the process of parenting so they experience less stress and can be a better parent for their children.
Nicki Koethner received her MA in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She currently has a private practice in Berkeley. She has worked with various populations, specializing in spirituality, sexuality, creativity, dream-work, trauma, attachment issues, effective communication, substance abuse and recovery, parenting, separation and divorce, anxiety, depression, anger and stress management, self-care and non-violence to self and others, and LGBTQI concerns.
She interned and worked at the Pacific Center for Human Growth, the Ann Martin Center, and the Fred Finch Youth Center. She is a former facilitator/coordinator for Kids Turn (psycho-educational workshops for families going through divorce and separation), has worked in the Resolve to Stop Violence Project (RSVP) as a Theater for Change Facilitator, worked in the rehabilitation and recovery field at Baker Places and the East Bay Recovery Project. She also worked with people with Chronic Pain at Advanced Medicine. She co-supervised and managed the Expressive Arts Therapy Program of Art of Health and Healing at the Contra Costa County Regional Medical Centers until its closure in 2020. She is Adjunct Faculty at Sofia University and California Institute of Integral Studies.
Her work is influenced by her practices of Expressive Arts Therapy, Psychodrama, Drama Therapy, Guided Imagery, Focusing, Authentic Movement, Body Tales, Yoga, Meditation, Buddhism, Mindfulness, Non-violent communication, Shamanistic practices, Somatic Inquiry, and Energy healing. Her philosophical framework is humanistic, transpersonal, psycho-dynamic, client-centered and relational oriented with a somatic focus.
She is a multi-media artist, expressive art psychotherapist, supervisor and educator. She served many years as a board member in various roles for the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (http://www.ieata.org), as a priestess at Terra's Temple (http://www.terrastemple.com) and on the board of Body Tales (www.bodytales.com). She is also a past organizer and teacher for the Northern California Dance Collective (www.ncdcdances.org).
MORE INFO ABOUT NICKI'S WORK:
An interview describing my approach to Expressive Arts Therapy and Workshops, in particular Mask-Making: http://www.transformreality.libsyn.com/webpage/2012/05.
A blog post by Kathleen Horne of the Expressive Arts Florida Institute:
http://www.expressiveartsflorida.com/expressive-arts-in-the-world-3-nicki-koethner/
Know Thyself- by Nicki Koethner
(process and philosophy of psychotherapy)
There is a source deep inside of us from which we have been separated.
I call this source wisdom, inner knowing –
a deep connection to being, to life in all its forms.
Through connection, we can be guided to trust this force in us.
The force that is alive, creative and loving.
We can nourish ourselves and others.
We can live a life that fulfills us.
We will take different paths and find different meanings.
We will seek different roads and encounter stumbling blocks.
We will need more or less time.
We will find peace and be stirred up again.
We will learn what we need to understand
no matter how many times we have to repeat our mistakes.
One day we might be free and sing with our own voices,
Dance with our bodies no matter what color, shape or size.
Breathe in and out, out and in.
Trust that touch, that inner knowing,
Your heart that beats in joy and cries in pain;
The body that needs to move and wants love;
The sound that is stuck and seeks release.
Don’t worry about what others think…
Be.
Just be and take your time…
Be what you need to be.
What you are in this very moment
With all your memories of the past
and dreams of tomorrow.
There is no questioning of your truth
But listening and guidance to find
what makes you who you are.
Helping you to trust yourself:
Your Power
Your Beauty
and uniqueness.
You might not be in touch with this right now
And there are many good reasons for this.
Many years of injury and injustice,
Continuing structures that hurt,
Pain that makes it hard to reach out, to connect –
To be in your power, to be yourself.
And there is hope, that things could be different,
That change could take place.
That hope is your stepping stone -–
the gateway to more and less.
I bring a wide variety of tools and wisdom to my practice of deeply listening to people and guiding them to access what they need to make desired changes in their lives, feel supported in their transitions, understand their choices and access their full potential.
I'm interested in what brings you joy, gives you meaning in your life and to explore together how your wounds have held you back and given you wisdom. When growing up, we all have made experiences that have send us messages that certain feelings or emotions weren't okay, that made us feel wrong about ourselves and who we are.
By facilitating a deep inquiry of what is present in your mind, heart and body, you learn to love and accept yourself more fully and can discover more spontaneity, flow, meaning and ease in your life.
Expressive Arts and psychotherapy can support you to find an internal balance which allows you to live in alignment with your soul and being present with yourself; listening to your emotions rather than shunning them.
Often we don't just live our story but also the story of our ancestors, and are affected by the pressures and imbalances in our environments. The imbalances that are experienced internally and externally are often expressed in addictions, anxiety, depression, anger, stress, traumatic triggers and fears.
I invite clients to share themselves through talking, movement, poetry, drawing, painting, photographs, music and stories. Moving, drawing, writing, role-playing, playing an instrument and paying attention to your breath and exploring what is present in your body and dreams, supports a deeper process with your whole being and supports the transformation of stuck patterns and energies.
Being engaged in the creative process allows traumatic memories and experiences to be transformed. Expressive Arts offer a beautiful container to feel, be with and experience the paradox of life and enhance our well-being by supporting our authentic true self. Simple inquiries of body sensations support the access to emotions and inner guidance to make choices in your life that are true to you and heal old wounds.
My style is interactive and guided by intuition, training, experience and most importantly an open heart.
As Rumi says:
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
ADULTS:
A warm and safe environment is provided to explore your identity, creativity, sexuality and spirituality and the roadblocks in your way. I specialize in supporting people going through major transitions such as divorce, separation, adjusting to a new culture, going to college, making career changes, dark nights of the soul and those seeking to live more authentic lives.
Couples can explore their intimacy issues and communication difficulties through talking, inquiry, somatic awareness and the expressive arts with the guidance of a compassionate listener.
Parents can explore questions of parenthood and all the challenges that arise with someone who has worked with many different parents from diverse cultural backgrounds and constellations. I support parents in developing compassion in their struggles that emerge in the process of parenting so they experience less stress and can be a better parent for their children.
Nicki Koethner received her MA in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She currently has a private practice in Berkeley. She has worked with various populations, specializing in spirituality, sexuality, creativity, dream-work, trauma, attachment issues, effective communication, substance abuse and recovery, parenting, separation and divorce, anxiety, depression, anger and stress management, self-care and non-violence to self and others, and LGBTQI concerns.
She interned and worked at the Pacific Center for Human Growth, the Ann Martin Center, and the Fred Finch Youth Center. She is a former facilitator/coordinator for Kids Turn (psycho-educational workshops for families going through divorce and separation), has worked in the Resolve to Stop Violence Project (RSVP) as a Theater for Change Facilitator, worked in the rehabilitation and recovery field at Baker Places and the East Bay Recovery Project. She also worked with people with Chronic Pain at Advanced Medicine. She co-supervised and managed the Expressive Arts Therapy Program of Art of Health and Healing at the Contra Costa County Regional Medical Centers until its closure in 2020. She is Adjunct Faculty at Sofia University and California Institute of Integral Studies.
Her work is influenced by her practices of Expressive Arts Therapy, Psychodrama, Drama Therapy, Guided Imagery, Focusing, Authentic Movement, Body Tales, Yoga, Meditation, Buddhism, Mindfulness, Non-violent communication, Shamanistic practices, Somatic Inquiry, and Energy healing. Her philosophical framework is humanistic, transpersonal, psycho-dynamic, client-centered and relational oriented with a somatic focus.
She is a multi-media artist, expressive art psychotherapist, supervisor and educator. She served many years as a board member in various roles for the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (http://www.ieata.org), as a priestess at Terra's Temple (http://www.terrastemple.com) and on the board of Body Tales (www.bodytales.com). She is also a past organizer and teacher for the Northern California Dance Collective (www.ncdcdances.org).
MORE INFO ABOUT NICKI'S WORK:
An interview describing my approach to Expressive Arts Therapy and Workshops, in particular Mask-Making: http://www.transformreality.libsyn.com/webpage/2012/05.
A blog post by Kathleen Horne of the Expressive Arts Florida Institute:
http://www.expressiveartsflorida.com/expressive-arts-in-the-world-3-nicki-koethner/
Know Thyself- by Nicki Koethner
(process and philosophy of psychotherapy)
There is a source deep inside of us from which we have been separated.
I call this source wisdom, inner knowing –
a deep connection to being, to life in all its forms.
Through connection, we can be guided to trust this force in us.
The force that is alive, creative and loving.
We can nourish ourselves and others.
We can live a life that fulfills us.
We will take different paths and find different meanings.
We will seek different roads and encounter stumbling blocks.
We will need more or less time.
We will find peace and be stirred up again.
We will learn what we need to understand
no matter how many times we have to repeat our mistakes.
One day we might be free and sing with our own voices,
Dance with our bodies no matter what color, shape or size.
Breathe in and out, out and in.
Trust that touch, that inner knowing,
Your heart that beats in joy and cries in pain;
The body that needs to move and wants love;
The sound that is stuck and seeks release.
Don’t worry about what others think…
Be.
Just be and take your time…
Be what you need to be.
What you are in this very moment
With all your memories of the past
and dreams of tomorrow.
There is no questioning of your truth
But listening and guidance to find
what makes you who you are.
Helping you to trust yourself:
Your Power
Your Beauty
and uniqueness.
You might not be in touch with this right now
And there are many good reasons for this.
Many years of injury and injustice,
Continuing structures that hurt,
Pain that makes it hard to reach out, to connect –
To be in your power, to be yourself.
And there is hope, that things could be different,
That change could take place.
That hope is your stepping stone -–
the gateway to more and less.
Contact: Nicki Koethner, MA, MFT: 510-779-2842
MFC 46109
MFC 46109