November 11, 2025 • 24 mins
What if your care team actually worked as a team—and treated your whole life, not just your latest symptom? We sit down with licensed clinical social worker, Kristina Scaglione, co-founder of Root & Rise Clinical Specialists, to explore a model of integrative care. The result is coordinated support that blends evidence-based medicine with time-tested Eastern modalities, designed to help you take charge of your health with clarity and confidence.
Kristina explains how long, unhurried visits enable better diagnostics and how a simple shift speeds recovery. We also talk about client agency: screening for clinical fit, honoring preferences for tough-love direction or gentle pacing, and building plans that feel personal, not prepackaged.
Kristina opens up about EMDR and EFT training, completing the Hoffman Process for deep inner-child work, and the disciplined way she uses intuition to inform trauma-informed therapy. This conversation shows how integrative medicine, holistic mental health and functional wellness can coexist in a grounded, practical way.
Kristina Scaglione, LCSW
https://www.kscaglionetherapy.com/
https://www.rootandrisecs.com/
Shannon Sullivan:
Artful Touch Therapies – my professional website
https://www.artfultouchbyshannon.com/
Shannon Sullivan, International Meditation Teacher on Insight Timer
(Download Insight Timer app. Then click link to my teacher page)
Link Tree Information:
https://www.linktr.ee/silverlunastarseed
Blue Heron Creates
This is my music artist name where I share mantras and original songs from many different faith traditions.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4I0l8GxlFZ0dD5acKgsabs?si=hVSjJSt7Quudh0-yGBQEBg
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shannon (00:02):
Hi, thank you so much for joining me today.
I'm Shannon, and this isStarseed Evolution, bringing the
wisdom and insight of thecosmos to you.
I'm grateful that you'relistening.
A poem by Mary Oliver.
I want to think again ofdangerous and noble things.
(00:29):
I want to be light andfrolicsome.
I want to be improbable,beautiful, and afraid of
nothing.
As though I had wings.
I hope you enjoy this interviewtoday with Kristina Scaglione,
(00:50):
licensed clinical social workerbased from New York.
She's a co-founder of Root andRise Clinical Specialists and
focuses on helping people deepentheir self-awareness and a
journey into healing.
I look forward to sharing ourinterview with you.
Kristina (01:10):
My name is Kristina Scaglione.
I am a licensed clinical socialworker.
That's what I do full-time.
And I have a private practicecalled Root and Rise Clinical
Specialists.
And my co-founder and I, weoperate in two different states,
but we collaborate by travelingback and forth between the two.
The other section is Florida.
Okay.
So we have an office in Boca,and then we have an office here
(01:31):
in Port Jefferson, New York.
Okay.
And so in my practice ofhelping clients reach their
goals, I decided that you knowit would be possible to create a
wellness collective so thatpeople can have access to more
than just me and more than justmy clinical specialists.
So it was a development thathas, I would say, started seven
(01:55):
or eight years ago, uh,regarding having the actual
individuals to, you know, referto.
Shannon (02:01):
Yeah.
Kristina (02:01):
And then in COVID, when everything got shut down
and we were doing everythingvirtual, it became a little bit
harder for my clients to just gointo an office as a referral.
So I had to really wait untilindividuals created online
versions of their offerings.
And so from 2020 to 2022, allof us pretty much did that.
Yeah.
And uh we've all we've allsustained as as best as we can.
(02:23):
And with that being said, Iwould say in the middle of
COVID, I also was strugglingwith some autoimmune conditions.
And so I really started to tryto blend an Eastern and Western
model.
Okay.
And that was Eastern andWestern approaches also in
therapy, eastern and westernapproaches when it comes to
health and wellness and not justmental health, but all things
(02:44):
encompassing the individual.
So long story short, uh, in2024, I found a location that
was large enough that I couldcollaborate with all the
clinicians under one roof.
And so now I have a locationwhere I have an IV vitamin
specialist, I have a conciergepsychiatrist, I have a concierge
MD.
(03:05):
Okay, I have a hypnotherapist,I have a Reiki clinician, I have
a massage therapist, I have asound healer, I have uh a
nutritionist, a personaltrainer, all these different
modalities have come together totry to create a model to help
someone take charge of theirhealth.
Shannon (03:22):
So when you um which is awesome to be able to, you
know, create uh a whole approachto wellness, you know,
physical, mental, emotional.
And so when you talked abouteastern and western, right?
So I'm gonna have you just namesome things that you consider
(03:46):
the eastern side and then thewestern side, and then how you
think they work together to helppeople.
Kristina (03:53):
Sure.
So eastern would beacupuncture, uh, massage, Reiki,
um, intuitive coaching, thingsthat wouldn't be considered
Western trained modalities.
Um, there's also some some ofthe nutrition, I would say, even
walks the line between the twothings because there are
supplements, there's a lot ofsupplement-based suggestions,
(04:14):
but there's also uh, you know,blood work that you can get done
uh to try to assist in some ofthese things, which would kind
of fall on Western.
So, Western that I have herewould be the nurse practitioner
or the you know, the familymedicine uh medical doctor that
we have that provides yourtraditional medicine approach.
So, you know, you have a cold,she's there to examine you and
(04:37):
help you from that.
If you need an antibiotic,she'll coach you through that.
However, how they can marry isthe doctor that I have here
doesn't really, she doesn't haveany reservations regarding
integrating other functions tosomeone's health.
So let's say you did have anantibiotic, right?
She would suggest that you makesure you have a probiotic, make
(04:59):
sure you have your vitamins inorder, make sure you're
hydrated, make sure you havethings to help your gut health
to help you heal properly,because she doesn't like to
over-antibiotic people.
So, you know, she it's it'sreally not something she doesn't
she's coming from a a placewhere they kind of pushed a lot
of unnecessary medications,which is and they also inundated
(05:21):
her with clients, and so herquality of care diminished.
Shannon (05:24):
Okay.
Kristina (05:25):
And so she's like, I can't operate like this and I
can't treat my clients the waythat I want, which is having a
full hour with them and reallydoing a better diagnostic
approach when I have to, I have15 minutes and then I've got 48
people left for the day, and Idon't get a break and I don't
get a chance to you know takecare of herself.
So she got burnt out in thatsystem and started to kind of
(05:46):
come to some of our networkingevents, met with our other
clinicians, was like, I lovethat.
If I have somebody goingthrough menopause and wants to
sit with the nutritionist, shecan.
And I can also help her withhormones if she needs them, and
she can get her vitamin IVinfusion, right?
And she can also go to themassage therapist, and all these
women work together to helpmarry the two blends.
So it's like a team.
(06:06):
That's kind of how it works.
Yeah, it's a team.
And everybody worksindependently, but they work
collaboratively, right?
Shannon (06:11):
If that makes sense, which is great.
My other question for you is Iknow you have local practices.
Do you guys do anything foronline people that are
interested?
Okay.
Kristina (06:23):
Yeah, so how does that work?
So not every clinician that Ihave is actually based in New
York.
I have some that are in Canada,some that are in New Orleans,
some that are in Florida.
Okay, some that are in otherparts of the world too.
Yeah.
So the one individual that wehave who does spiritual
intuitive coaching, she travelsthe world.
So at any point, she could beanywhere in the globe.
Shannon (06:42):
Okay.
Kristina (06:43):
But uh, because of COVID, like I was saying
earlier, we've all kind oftransitioned to be able to offer
virtual services outside of avitamin IV, which you can't do
virtually.
Shannon (06:52):
Yeah.
Kristina (06:53):
Um, she's also she's able to consult with vitamins
and and she does do psychiatry,um, okay concierge.
So she does that virtual.
I have the doctor who providestelehealth medicine.
I have uh the hypnotherapist,the nutritionist, the spiritual
coaches, even the personaltrainer does online workouts.
Yeah.
So every single, yeah, and andas far as the clinical side of
(07:16):
it, as far as the therapy goes,we offer telehealth.
So as long as we're licensed inyour state, right to do that.
And we're licensed in fourstates.
Okay.
So I would say almost everysingle person here, minus my
massage therapist who couldn'tmassage you uh, right.
Shannon (07:32):
I get it.
Kristina (07:34):
She can do other coaching and other there's uh
pretty much everybody here hasan online model, but only for
specific services.
Okay.
And we hope to we hope to brandin a way that we're able to go
into other states, and this willbe limitless integrative
wellness, will be a householdname.
Shannon (07:49):
Yeah, and I think that is uh a direction that this can
go, you know, because I similarto the direction you have gone
with COVID, you know, andturning it into this place of
being able to expand on things.
I'm a massage therapist um for25 years.
I also do Reiki spiritualdirection and all that, and
(08:12):
being on Insight Timer um as uha live person.
Um, before Insight Timerstarted their live events, it
was all recording.
So I would record guidedmeditations and prayers and
things like that for people forspiritual direction.
(08:33):
And then when they startedtheir live events to allow
people to connect online becausethey couldn't go out in the
world, then I began to be ableto connect with people globally.
Um, and all these differentways.
So I see how uh what you guysare doing with your uh direction
(08:54):
and business is as you'reexpanding, I think eventually
you will be able to be, youknow, available for people
globally, you know, not just allover the United States, but you
know, around the world.
So, you know, that's that'sgood.
Kristina (09:09):
Yeah, we hope to.
We definitely hope to.
And and because we can do somany different things online
now, yeah.
I think it'll be a it's we'realready doing that.
So I think it's already what'sthe word I'm looking for,
accessible.
Shannon (09:19):
Yeah, that's awesome.
And so what I wanted to do now,because we talked about what
you are currently and whatyou've created, but just as
enjoyment for people thatlisten, because having the
personal connection um withthose I'm interviewing, is just
talking about how did you moveinto becoming a social worker?
(09:45):
You know, what pulled you inthat direction, you know, things
that you have gone through thathave directed you in that
direction before, you know,moving into this larger space.
Kristina (09:58):
I would say that I've I never thought I was going to
be a social worker.
When I went to my undergrad, Idid criminology and political
science.
And I will I was actually aprivate investigator for a
number of years.
Okay.
And that, you know, around thetime that we were experiencing
um a recession in the country,yeah, I kept having people in my
(10:22):
life just approach me and say,like, you know, you would be
really good at X, Y, and Zsocial work, and you would be a
great therapist.
You would do this.
And I always kind of said no, Iwould, I don't want to do that.
Yeah.
Uh and then um, you know, fastforward, you know, a decade, and
I was in my own therapyjourney.
Shannon (10:40):
Uh-huh.
Kristina (10:41):
An excellent therapist, uh, Diane Friedman,
who's now retired.
And she in my EMDR that I wasdoing with her, she was like, I
think this, I I think thatyou're a gifted individual.
I think you should really go toget your master's in social
work.
And, you know, at the time Iwas like, I'm not doing this.
Um, and so long story short,she actually pushed me to fill
(11:06):
out the application and youknow, kind of she she pretty
much did half of it for me andwas like, You this, you gotta do
this, you gotta do this.
And so I ended up in socialwork school.
And for the first year that Iwas there, the icebreaker was
why did you choose to become asocial worker?
And I couldn't answer thequestion.
Right.
So I was like, I don't know,I'm here to find out.
Shannon (11:27):
And so and that's how it goes sometimes, you know.
We don't have to have all theanswers, and I think you saying
that actually is helpful forpeople because I think some
people a lot of times think thatthey have to know the absolute
answer before doing anything.
And so, you know, I think it'simportant that you said that.
Kristina (11:46):
Oh, I feel like I never have the answer.
Shannon, I never have theanswer, and I'm always like,
let's see what happens.
So I I end up in this in thisprogram at Stony Brook
University, which is theuniversity over here, and I met
my now best friend andco-founder, uh Julie Stark.
And and during the first year,I really couldn't make a
(12:07):
decision on the focus that Iwanted.
Shannon (12:08):
Oh, yeah.
Kristina (12:09):
So I made a I made a decision to do, I wanted to do
hospital social work, and shewas like, You're not doing that.
She's like, I get it, you'renot, you're not doing that.
She's like, You'll be here foranother whole year.
And she was, she was like, I'mgonna graduate before you by uh
12 months.
She's like, I gotta changethis.
She's like, No, you don't needto do that, you can do this
instead.
And so along the way, a lot ofindividuals kind of helped me to
(12:33):
define what I was going to dobecause I really wasn't clear.
I knew I liked helping people.
I knew I liked I knew I couldtalk to anyone.
You could put me in a bus stopand I can talk to pretty much
anybody that's right.
So I I knew that I was capableof holding a conversation.
I just didn't know what Iwanted to do with it.
So, you know, it's been it'sbeen 15 years since then.
So I I pretty much know whatI'm doing now.
(12:54):
And yes, and that's and so youknow, I kind of I took a
holistic approach.
I I've been in many differentsettings in social work.
I was in a macro setting at anonprofit, and then I was in uh
an I guess it was kind of a mesomiddle section of uh a
residence and adult home uhsetting with severe and
persistent mental illness for 55and older.
(13:14):
Did that for a number of years,and then I was always doing
private practice in tandem, butnot not full time.
I was doing it here and therein different types of of
practices, and I I got trainedin a bunch of different holistic
models like EFT, which istapping, uh-huh, EMDR, uh
holistic counseling approachesthat combine CBT and DBT.
(13:35):
So, you know, I in the lastdecade I've been able to define
that I really enjoy privatepractice, but I like treating
the whole person's life, notjust the presenting issue that
caused them to call me.
Shannon (13:47):
Yes.
Kristina (13:48):
And that's kind of that's kind of how we that's how
we got here.
Shannon (13:51):
Good.
That is awesome.
And I have two questions foryou.
One question is this what isyour inner weakness and how do
you guide yourself through it?
And then I have anotherfollow-up question after that.
That's on the okay.
Kristina (14:09):
How would you define inner weakness?
Shannon (14:11):
If you were to look inside yourself, the shadow side
of ourselves, everybody haslight and shadow, right?
And so there's parts ofourselves that is the shadow
self of things that we grew upwith, you know, usually based in
childhood.
And that weakness eventually,if we work on it, can become a
(14:36):
strength.
So if you imagine a shadow sideof yourself that you know
that's in there, you know, thatyou've worked with, you know,
what what how would you describeit?
And then how when after you'veworked on it and shifted it into
something that has become agood leader part of you?
Kristina (15:01):
I did the Hoffman process.
I don't know if you've heard ofthat before, but uh it's a
inner child uh retreatessentially.
So um I did that two years ago.
And what I learned during thatwas how to manage the parts of
me that I don't love, like theparts that I'm that, you know,
(15:22):
the one that has boundaries orhas, you know, a short temper or
anything that, you know, Imight have inherited from my
parents.
Yeah.
And so I would say that I didthat work in that process and
was able to integrate it into away that now helps me help my
clients.
Shannon (15:39):
Uh-huh.
And that's, you know, and Ithink that's what people need to
understand is that when we arethere to assist others on their
journey, we are not expected tobe perfect and ahead of
everybody all the time.
When we are aware of where weare in ourselves and the things
(16:00):
that we work on, that's how youknow somebody is a great
practitioner, a good person, anindividual you want to be with
that they've taken the time tounderstand themselves so that
they can sit with others too,you know, and it's a um, it
happens at the same time, youknow.
So I think that's important forother people to know, you know,
(16:21):
just they don't overlay that onthe clients that they're
working on, right?
You are doing this journey, butI think it's important for
people to know that we are justpeople too, you know, going
through our stuff, but beingaware of it is important.
As you see those weaknessesthat you've worked on becoming
(16:42):
strengths that help you not onlywith yourself, but with those
that you connect with.
Um, so the other question isthis if you saw what is the
secret inner power that youhave, you know, like uh my
intuition?
Yes, exactly.
And so how how does yourintuition speak with you?
(17:07):
Because it can come in allways, whether it's um audio,
visual, feeling, you know.
So how do you get messagesconnected with your intuition as
that secret power within?
Kristina (17:19):
I get audio, visual, and sense.
Shannon (17:23):
Okay.
Kristina (17:24):
So um, and the visual and audio can be mixed.
It's sometimes is in dreamform, sometimes it's a download.
Um other times I think someonesaid something to me.
And so it's a couple differentways.
Uh, and I lead my sessions, areall led with intuition.
Shannon (17:43):
So, what I'm gonna say, which is awesome, is this
what's nice for people to hearis like a specific example, and
you don't have to use realpeople's names if you don't want
just to protect others, but anexample of how that has come
forward for you.
So people just hear like, oh,like I got this message, I
(18:05):
talked to this person about it,and this is how it works.
So if you want to give like anactual like example of it that
you've encountered, because thestories I think help people
visualize the things that wetalk about.
Kristina (18:20):
I deal with a lot of trauma.
So it's I I'm not sure I cangive a specific example about a
case, but I think what I can sayis I've had people come to me,
yeah, sit with me for uh asession or two, and I intuition
had led the guidance that Iprovided, and and they've left
because they didn't like whatthey heard, and then they've
(18:42):
come back and they've said, Howdid you know?
Shannon (18:46):
Got you.
And that's perfect, and Iappreciate you sharing it like
that.
Have you ever had yourintuition give you that
information?
If buying groceries ortraveling, or yeah, at an
airport getting racing, you seesomebody and you have a
visualization.
And you know, do these thingshappen as well just in public
(19:09):
type of settings for you?
Kristina (19:11):
Um, the visual stuff, no.
I would say it's usually whenI'm I it's usually in a dream
state that I get visual any anydata that way.
Um, but what I will say is if Idon't have a good feeling about
something, I will alter whatI'm doing because of that.
Shannon (19:26):
Uh-huh.
Kristina (19:27):
Um, it's important to preface that you need to be
grounded to receive informationand be and to have discernment
when you're getting information,because if you're not grounded
and you're not level, yeah, youaren't sure if it's your
intuition or your anxiety that'sspeaking.
So it's important for you tohave a clear antenna when you're
getting information like that.
I will say though, when I wasyounger as a child, I didn't
(19:49):
understand that and I wouldblurt things out all the time.
Yeah.
And my mom and my grandmotherare both psychically inclined,
and and they were, oh, youcan't, you got, you cannot just
walk around saying that stuff.
Shannon (20:02):
And when you think about it, kids have no filter,
which I think is normal.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
It is.
Kristina (20:09):
But when I got older, I didn't understand.
Yeah, I would say, like, eveninto my 20s, sometimes I didn't
understand that I needed tofilter certain things because it
would get a funny reactionsometimes.
And that was also enjoyable formy friends, and like we would
laugh, and like it was a littlemore of an amusing trait.
But then as I got moreclinically trained, I was like,
(20:30):
You understand?
Yeah, you're less funny whenyou're when you're disserting.
Shannon (20:36):
People don't take it quite the same way, yeah.
And exactly, yeah.
As a professional, I thinkthat's important, you know, and
I think that's why it shows thatthe work that you do for others
along with your business, youknow, and how to exactly so and
so I do market myself as a no BStherapist.
Kristina (20:56):
I have a blunter approach.
So when I do screen if we wouldbe a good fit, I ask, you know,
if they want somebody more aslower pace or more
compassionate or more ahand-holding type of therapist.
I have other clinicians thatmight be better fits for them in
the practice, and then there'sif they wanted a more tough love
of blunter approach, then thenyou get paired with me.
(21:16):
So we do have a screeningsystem so that people are paired
with individuals that that youknow are the same speed.
So I but I do happen to have alot of calls for the my
approach.
Shannon (21:28):
Yeah, and I think that's important that you just
said that because the truth iseach person is different.
And I think peopleunderstanding themselves, some
people need slower, like uh lessdirect.
Kristina (21:43):
Nurturing.
Yeah, a more nurturing one.
Shannon (21:45):
Yeah.
And but some people need directand you know how you come
towards it.
And so, yeah, I think, and I'mglad that you share that with
others that there's this uhprocess of discerning like the
direction for people to go.
Kristina (22:01):
Well, I also want people to choose what they want,
you know, like sometimes youdon't get the luxury of choosing
the type of therapist you get,you get stuck into a um lottery
system in a lot of practices,and then you end up with whoever
has an opening.
Shannon (22:13):
Yeah.
And so I think that's awesome.
Kristina (22:15):
Yeah, they don't necessarily even have expertise
or even experience treating inwhatever you're coming in for.
So we do a lot of screeningahead of time, which is why this
is you know an aside I didn'tmention, but we're uh we're a
private pay, okay, self-payboutique practice.
And I think that we have aluxury to take our time in
curating how the person'ssession will look, because you
(22:38):
don't get to do that when youhave um, you don't always have
that choice when you go onlysolely through insurance.
Because our world is taking aturn when it comes to how health
is managed.
I think it's important to statethat you have authority over
yourself, over your body, andover what you experience when it
comes to your health andwellness.
(22:59):
And I think it's important tomention that when you invest in
yourself, it'll always pay youback.
And if that means you you findthe integration that works for
you, then you would, I wouldsay, I would even go as far as
to say if you come across aclinician that naysays you, you
should find a new clinician.
Shannon (23:16):
And I agree.
Um, and I think that's animportant statement so that
people know to take ownership ofthemselves, know that they have
choices, and that's how thatstrength gets involved inside
themselves to to heal, to moveforward, and to bring the people
that are important to them intotheir lives.
(23:36):
So thank you so much, Kristina,for being here today.
And I'm grateful for ourinterview.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
You can find the information toChristina's website in the
links below.
May your day be full of light.
(23:58):
Even if there are places insideyourself where there are
shadows present, we can alwaystake our darkened spaces inside
of us into beautiful strength byunderstanding ourselves more
deeply.
I look forward to sharing mynext podcast episode with you.
(24:20):
And until then, if you'd liketo join me live, I teach on
Insight Timer.
You can always go to my teacherpage and see the upcoming
classes.
I'm Shannon, and you'relistening to Starseed Evolution.
Have a beautiful day.
Hi, thank you so much for joining me today.
I'm Shannon, and this isStarseed Evolution, bringing the
wisdom and insight of thecosmos to you.
I'm grateful that you'relistening.
A poem by Mary Oliver.
I want to think again ofdangerous and noble things.
(00:29):
I want to be light andfrolicsome.
I want to be improbable,beautiful, and afraid of
nothing.
As though I had wings.
I hope you enjoy this interviewtoday with Kristina Scaglione,
(00:50):
licensed clinical social workerbased from New York.
She's a co-founder of Root andRise Clinical Specialists and
focuses on helping people deepentheir self-awareness and a
journey into healing.
I look forward to sharing ourinterview with you.
Kristina (01:10):
My name is Kristina Scaglione.
I am a licensed clinical socialworker.
That's what I do full-time.
And I have a private practicecalled Root and Rise Clinical
Specialists.
And my co-founder and I, weoperate in two different states,
but we collaborate by travelingback and forth between the two.
The other section is Florida.
Okay.
So we have an office in Boca,and then we have an office here
(01:31):
in Port Jefferson, New York.
Okay.
And so in my practice ofhelping clients reach their
goals, I decided that you knowit would be possible to create a
wellness collective so thatpeople can have access to more
than just me and more than justmy clinical specialists.
So it was a development thathas, I would say, started seven
(01:55):
or eight years ago, uh,regarding having the actual
individuals to, you know, referto.
Shannon (02:01):
Yeah.
Kristina (02:01):
And then in COVID, when everything got shut down
and we were doing everythingvirtual, it became a little bit
harder for my clients to just gointo an office as a referral.
So I had to really wait untilindividuals created online
versions of their offerings.
And so from 2020 to 2022, allof us pretty much did that.
Yeah.
And uh we've all we've allsustained as as best as we can.
(02:23):
And with that being said, Iwould say in the middle of
COVID, I also was strugglingwith some autoimmune conditions.
And so I really started to tryto blend an Eastern and Western
model.
Okay.
And that was Eastern andWestern approaches also in
therapy, eastern and westernapproaches when it comes to
health and wellness and not justmental health, but all things
(02:44):
encompassing the individual.
So long story short, uh, in2024, I found a location that
was large enough that I couldcollaborate with all the
clinicians under one roof.
And so now I have a locationwhere I have an IV vitamin
specialist, I have a conciergepsychiatrist, I have a concierge
MD.
(03:05):
Okay, I have a hypnotherapist,I have a Reiki clinician, I have
a massage therapist, I have asound healer, I have uh a
nutritionist, a personaltrainer, all these different
modalities have come together totry to create a model to help
someone take charge of theirhealth.
Shannon (03:22):
So when you um which is awesome to be able to, you
know, create uh a whole approachto wellness, you know,
physical, mental, emotional.
And so when you talked abouteastern and western, right?
So I'm gonna have you just namesome things that you consider
(03:46):
the eastern side and then thewestern side, and then how you
think they work together to helppeople.
Kristina (03:53):
Sure.
So eastern would beacupuncture, uh, massage, Reiki,
um, intuitive coaching, thingsthat wouldn't be considered
Western trained modalities.
Um, there's also some some ofthe nutrition, I would say, even
walks the line between the twothings because there are
supplements, there's a lot ofsupplement-based suggestions,
(04:14):
but there's also uh, you know,blood work that you can get done
uh to try to assist in some ofthese things, which would kind
of fall on Western.
So, Western that I have herewould be the nurse practitioner
or the you know, the familymedicine uh medical doctor that
we have that provides yourtraditional medicine approach.
So, you know, you have a cold,she's there to examine you and
(04:37):
help you from that.
If you need an antibiotic,she'll coach you through that.
However, how they can marry isthe doctor that I have here
doesn't really, she doesn't haveany reservations regarding
integrating other functions tosomeone's health.
So let's say you did have anantibiotic, right?
She would suggest that you makesure you have a probiotic, make
(04:59):
sure you have your vitamins inorder, make sure you're
hydrated, make sure you havethings to help your gut health
to help you heal properly,because she doesn't like to
over-antibiotic people.
So, you know, she it's it'sreally not something she doesn't
she's coming from a a placewhere they kind of pushed a lot
of unnecessary medications,which is and they also inundated
(05:21):
her with clients, and so herquality of care diminished.
Shannon (05:24):
Okay.
Kristina (05:25):
And so she's like, I can't operate like this and I
can't treat my clients the waythat I want, which is having a
full hour with them and reallydoing a better diagnostic
approach when I have to, I have15 minutes and then I've got 48
people left for the day, and Idon't get a break and I don't
get a chance to you know takecare of herself.
So she got burnt out in thatsystem and started to kind of
(05:46):
come to some of our networkingevents, met with our other
clinicians, was like, I lovethat.
If I have somebody goingthrough menopause and wants to
sit with the nutritionist, shecan.
And I can also help her withhormones if she needs them, and
she can get her vitamin IVinfusion, right?
And she can also go to themassage therapist, and all these
women work together to helpmarry the two blends.
So it's like a team.
(06:06):
That's kind of how it works.
Yeah, it's a team.
And everybody worksindependently, but they work
collaboratively, right?
Shannon (06:11):
If that makes sense, which is great.
My other question for you is Iknow you have local practices.
Do you guys do anything foronline people that are
interested?
Okay.
Kristina (06:23):
Yeah, so how does that work?
So not every clinician that Ihave is actually based in New
York.
I have some that are in Canada,some that are in New Orleans,
some that are in Florida.
Okay, some that are in otherparts of the world too.
Yeah.
So the one individual that wehave who does spiritual
intuitive coaching, she travelsthe world.
So at any point, she could beanywhere in the globe.
Shannon (06:42):
Okay.
Kristina (06:43):
But uh, because of COVID, like I was saying
earlier, we've all kind oftransitioned to be able to offer
virtual services outside of avitamin IV, which you can't do
virtually.
Shannon (06:52):
Yeah.
Kristina (06:53):
Um, she's also she's able to consult with vitamins
and and she does do psychiatry,um, okay concierge.
So she does that virtual.
I have the doctor who providestelehealth medicine.
I have uh the hypnotherapist,the nutritionist, the spiritual
coaches, even the personaltrainer does online workouts.
Yeah.
So every single, yeah, and andas far as the clinical side of
(07:16):
it, as far as the therapy goes,we offer telehealth.
So as long as we're licensed inyour state, right to do that.
And we're licensed in fourstates.
Okay.
So I would say almost everysingle person here, minus my
massage therapist who couldn'tmassage you uh, right.
Shannon (07:32):
I get it.
Kristina (07:34):
She can do other coaching and other there's uh
pretty much everybody here hasan online model, but only for
specific services.
Okay.
And we hope to we hope to brandin a way that we're able to go
into other states, and this willbe limitless integrative
wellness, will be a householdname.
Shannon (07:49):
Yeah, and I think that is uh a direction that this can
go, you know, because I similarto the direction you have gone
with COVID, you know, andturning it into this place of
being able to expand on things.
I'm a massage therapist um for25 years.
I also do Reiki spiritualdirection and all that, and
(08:12):
being on Insight Timer um as uha live person.
Um, before Insight Timerstarted their live events, it
was all recording.
So I would record guidedmeditations and prayers and
things like that for people forspiritual direction.
(08:33):
And then when they startedtheir live events to allow
people to connect online becausethey couldn't go out in the
world, then I began to be ableto connect with people globally.
Um, and all these differentways.
So I see how uh what you guysare doing with your uh direction
(08:54):
and business is as you'reexpanding, I think eventually
you will be able to be, youknow, available for people
globally, you know, not just allover the United States, but you
know, around the world.
So, you know, that's that'sgood.
Kristina (09:09):
Yeah, we hope to.
We definitely hope to.
And and because we can do somany different things online
now, yeah.
I think it'll be a it's we'realready doing that.
So I think it's already what'sthe word I'm looking for,
accessible.
Shannon (09:19):
Yeah, that's awesome.
And so what I wanted to do now,because we talked about what
you are currently and whatyou've created, but just as
enjoyment for people thatlisten, because having the
personal connection um withthose I'm interviewing, is just
talking about how did you moveinto becoming a social worker?
(09:45):
You know, what pulled you inthat direction, you know, things
that you have gone through thathave directed you in that
direction before, you know,moving into this larger space.
Kristina (09:58):
I would say that I've I never thought I was going to
be a social worker.
When I went to my undergrad, Idid criminology and political
science.
And I will I was actually aprivate investigator for a
number of years.
Okay.
And that, you know, around thetime that we were experiencing
um a recession in the country,yeah, I kept having people in my
(10:22):
life just approach me and say,like, you know, you would be
really good at X, Y, and Zsocial work, and you would be a
great therapist.
You would do this.
And I always kind of said no, Iwould, I don't want to do that.
Yeah.
Uh and then um, you know, fastforward, you know, a decade, and
I was in my own therapyjourney.
Shannon (10:40):
Uh-huh.
Kristina (10:41):
An excellent therapist, uh, Diane Friedman,
who's now retired.
And she in my EMDR that I wasdoing with her, she was like, I
think this, I I think thatyou're a gifted individual.
I think you should really go toget your master's in social
work.
And, you know, at the time Iwas like, I'm not doing this.
Um, and so long story short,she actually pushed me to fill
(11:06):
out the application and youknow, kind of she she pretty
much did half of it for me andwas like, You this, you gotta do
this, you gotta do this.
And so I ended up in socialwork school.
And for the first year that Iwas there, the icebreaker was
why did you choose to become asocial worker?
And I couldn't answer thequestion.
Right.
So I was like, I don't know,I'm here to find out.
Shannon (11:27):
And so and that's how it goes sometimes, you know.
We don't have to have all theanswers, and I think you saying
that actually is helpful forpeople because I think some
people a lot of times think thatthey have to know the absolute
answer before doing anything.
And so, you know, I think it'simportant that you said that.
Kristina (11:46):
Oh, I feel like I never have the answer.
Shannon, I never have theanswer, and I'm always like,
let's see what happens.
So I I end up in this in thisprogram at Stony Brook
University, which is theuniversity over here, and I met
my now best friend andco-founder, uh Julie Stark.
And and during the first year,I really couldn't make a
(12:07):
decision on the focus that Iwanted.
Shannon (12:08):
Oh, yeah.
Kristina (12:09):
So I made a I made a decision to do, I wanted to do
hospital social work, and shewas like, You're not doing that.
She's like, I get it, you'renot, you're not doing that.
She's like, You'll be here foranother whole year.
And she was, she was like, I'mgonna graduate before you by uh
12 months.
She's like, I gotta changethis.
She's like, No, you don't needto do that, you can do this
instead.
And so along the way, a lot ofindividuals kind of helped me to
(12:33):
define what I was going to dobecause I really wasn't clear.
I knew I liked helping people.
I knew I liked I knew I couldtalk to anyone.
You could put me in a bus stopand I can talk to pretty much
anybody that's right.
So I I knew that I was capableof holding a conversation.
I just didn't know what Iwanted to do with it.
So, you know, it's been it'sbeen 15 years since then.
So I I pretty much know whatI'm doing now.
(12:54):
And yes, and that's and so youknow, I kind of I took a
holistic approach.
I I've been in many differentsettings in social work.
I was in a macro setting at anonprofit, and then I was in uh
an I guess it was kind of a mesomiddle section of uh a
residence and adult home uhsetting with severe and
persistent mental illness for 55and older.
(13:14):
Did that for a number of years,and then I was always doing
private practice in tandem, butnot not full time.
I was doing it here and therein different types of of
practices, and I I got trainedin a bunch of different holistic
models like EFT, which istapping, uh-huh, EMDR, uh
holistic counseling approachesthat combine CBT and DBT.
(13:35):
So, you know, I in the lastdecade I've been able to define
that I really enjoy privatepractice, but I like treating
the whole person's life, notjust the presenting issue that
caused them to call me.
Shannon (13:47):
Yes.
Kristina (13:48):
And that's kind of that's kind of how we that's how
we got here.
Shannon (13:51):
Good.
That is awesome.
And I have two questions foryou.
One question is this what isyour inner weakness and how do
you guide yourself through it?
And then I have anotherfollow-up question after that.
That's on the okay.
Kristina (14:09):
How would you define inner weakness?
Shannon (14:11):
If you were to look inside yourself, the shadow side
of ourselves, everybody haslight and shadow, right?
And so there's parts ofourselves that is the shadow
self of things that we grew upwith, you know, usually based in
childhood.
And that weakness eventually,if we work on it, can become a
(14:36):
strength.
So if you imagine a shadow sideof yourself that you know
that's in there, you know, thatyou've worked with, you know,
what what how would you describeit?
And then how when after you'veworked on it and shifted it into
something that has become agood leader part of you?
Kristina (15:01):
I did the Hoffman process.
I don't know if you've heard ofthat before, but uh it's a
inner child uh retreatessentially.
So um I did that two years ago.
And what I learned during thatwas how to manage the parts of
me that I don't love, like theparts that I'm that, you know,
(15:22):
the one that has boundaries orhas, you know, a short temper or
anything that, you know, Imight have inherited from my
parents.
Yeah.
And so I would say that I didthat work in that process and
was able to integrate it into away that now helps me help my
clients.
Shannon (15:39):
Uh-huh.
And that's, you know, and Ithink that's what people need to
understand is that when we arethere to assist others on their
journey, we are not expected tobe perfect and ahead of
everybody all the time.
When we are aware of where weare in ourselves and the things
(16:00):
that we work on, that's how youknow somebody is a great
practitioner, a good person, anindividual you want to be with
that they've taken the time tounderstand themselves so that
they can sit with others too,you know, and it's a um, it
happens at the same time, youknow.
So I think that's important forother people to know, you know,
(16:21):
just they don't overlay that onthe clients that they're
working on, right?
You are doing this journey, butI think it's important for
people to know that we are justpeople too, you know, going
through our stuff, but beingaware of it is important.
As you see those weaknessesthat you've worked on becoming
(16:42):
strengths that help you not onlywith yourself, but with those
that you connect with.
Um, so the other question isthis if you saw what is the
secret inner power that youhave, you know, like uh my
intuition?
Yes, exactly.
And so how how does yourintuition speak with you?
(17:07):
Because it can come in allways, whether it's um audio,
visual, feeling, you know.
So how do you get messagesconnected with your intuition as
that secret power within?
Kristina (17:19):
I get audio, visual, and sense.
Shannon (17:23):
Okay.
Kristina (17:24):
So um, and the visual and audio can be mixed.
It's sometimes is in dreamform, sometimes it's a download.
Um other times I think someonesaid something to me.
And so it's a couple differentways.
Uh, and I lead my sessions, areall led with intuition.
Shannon (17:43):
So, what I'm gonna say, which is awesome, is this
what's nice for people to hearis like a specific example, and
you don't have to use realpeople's names if you don't want
just to protect others, but anexample of how that has come
forward for you.
So people just hear like, oh,like I got this message, I
(18:05):
talked to this person about it,and this is how it works.
So if you want to give like anactual like example of it that
you've encountered, because thestories I think help people
visualize the things that wetalk about.
Kristina (18:20):
I deal with a lot of trauma.
So it's I I'm not sure I cangive a specific example about a
case, but I think what I can sayis I've had people come to me,
yeah, sit with me for uh asession or two, and I intuition
had led the guidance that Iprovided, and and they've left
because they didn't like whatthey heard, and then they've
(18:42):
come back and they've said, Howdid you know?
Shannon (18:46):
Got you.
And that's perfect, and Iappreciate you sharing it like
that.
Have you ever had yourintuition give you that
information?
If buying groceries ortraveling, or yeah, at an
airport getting racing, you seesomebody and you have a
visualization.
And you know, do these thingshappen as well just in public
(19:09):
type of settings for you?
Kristina (19:11):
Um, the visual stuff, no.
I would say it's usually whenI'm I it's usually in a dream
state that I get visual any anydata that way.
Um, but what I will say is if Idon't have a good feeling about
something, I will alter whatI'm doing because of that.
Shannon (19:26):
Uh-huh.
Kristina (19:27):
Um, it's important to preface that you need to be
grounded to receive informationand be and to have discernment
when you're getting information,because if you're not grounded
and you're not level, yeah, youaren't sure if it's your
intuition or your anxiety that'sspeaking.
So it's important for you tohave a clear antenna when you're
getting information like that.
I will say though, when I wasyounger as a child, I didn't
(19:49):
understand that and I wouldblurt things out all the time.
Yeah.
And my mom and my grandmotherare both psychically inclined,
and and they were, oh, youcan't, you got, you cannot just
walk around saying that stuff.
Shannon (20:02):
And when you think about it, kids have no filter,
which I think is normal.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
It is.
Kristina (20:09):
But when I got older, I didn't understand.
Yeah, I would say, like, eveninto my 20s, sometimes I didn't
understand that I needed tofilter certain things because it
would get a funny reactionsometimes.
And that was also enjoyable formy friends, and like we would
laugh, and like it was a littlemore of an amusing trait.
But then as I got moreclinically trained, I was like,
(20:30):
You understand?
Yeah, you're less funny whenyou're when you're disserting.
Shannon (20:36):
People don't take it quite the same way, yeah.
And exactly, yeah.
As a professional, I thinkthat's important, you know, and
I think that's why it shows thatthe work that you do for others
along with your business, youknow, and how to exactly so and
so I do market myself as a no BStherapist.
Kristina (20:56):
I have a blunter approach.
So when I do screen if we wouldbe a good fit, I ask, you know,
if they want somebody more aslower pace or more
compassionate or more ahand-holding type of therapist.
I have other clinicians thatmight be better fits for them in
the practice, and then there'sif they wanted a more tough love
of blunter approach, then thenyou get paired with me.
(21:16):
So we do have a screeningsystem so that people are paired
with individuals that that youknow are the same speed.
So I but I do happen to have alot of calls for the my
approach.
Shannon (21:28):
Yeah, and I think that's important that you just
said that because the truth iseach person is different.
And I think peopleunderstanding themselves, some
people need slower, like uh lessdirect.
Kristina (21:43):
Nurturing.
Yeah, a more nurturing one.
Shannon (21:45):
Yeah.
And but some people need directand you know how you come
towards it.
And so, yeah, I think, and I'mglad that you share that with
others that there's this uhprocess of discerning like the
direction for people to go.
Kristina (22:01):
Well, I also want people to choose what they want,
you know, like sometimes youdon't get the luxury of choosing
the type of therapist you get,you get stuck into a um lottery
system in a lot of practices,and then you end up with whoever
has an opening.
Shannon (22:13):
Yeah.
And so I think that's awesome.
Kristina (22:15):
Yeah, they don't necessarily even have expertise
or even experience treating inwhatever you're coming in for.
So we do a lot of screeningahead of time, which is why this
is you know an aside I didn'tmention, but we're uh we're a
private pay, okay, self-payboutique practice.
And I think that we have aluxury to take our time in
curating how the person'ssession will look, because you
(22:38):
don't get to do that when youhave um, you don't always have
that choice when you go onlysolely through insurance.
Because our world is taking aturn when it comes to how health
is managed.
I think it's important to statethat you have authority over
yourself, over your body, andover what you experience when it
comes to your health andwellness.
(22:59):
And I think it's important tomention that when you invest in
yourself, it'll always pay youback.
And if that means you you findthe integration that works for
you, then you would, I wouldsay, I would even go as far as
to say if you come across aclinician that naysays you, you
should find a new clinician.
Shannon (23:16):
And I agree.
Um, and I think that's animportant statement so that
people know to take ownership ofthemselves, know that they have
choices, and that's how thatstrength gets involved inside
themselves to to heal, to moveforward, and to bring the people
that are important to them intotheir lives.
(23:36):
So thank you so much, Kristina,for being here today.
And I'm grateful for ourinterview.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
You can find the information toChristina's website in the
links below.
May your day be full of light.
(23:58):
Even if there are places insideyourself where there are
shadows present, we can alwaystake our darkened spaces inside
of us into beautiful strength byunderstanding ourselves more
deeply.
I look forward to sharing mynext podcast episode with you.
(24:20):
And until then, if you'd liketo join me live, I teach on
Insight Timer.
You can always go to my teacherpage and see the upcoming
classes.
I'm Shannon, and you'relistening to Starseed Evolution.
Have a beautiful day.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.