Cultural Advice for ISSC Kiritaki

How can shamanism provide cultural support to me/my kiritakI?

Shamanism generally emphasises balance between the body, mind, and spirit. Kim works with the individual to restore harmony within themselves, often through rituals, breathing exercises, and meditations. The goal is to help the person feel more grounded, centered, and whole. Kim’s approach provides a strong complement to talk therapy and/or medication for PTSD.

How can I bring Kim on board in my care/the care of my kiritaki?

Kiritaki have an allowance of 10 sessions per 12 months which you request through your ACC supplier. These sessions are pre-approved.

Kim works with kiritaki who are experiencing the following PTSD/ CPTSD symptoms

*Flashbacks

*Nightmares

*Dissociation 

*Anxiety

*Depression

*Moderate to severe mental illness (BPD, Bipolar, OCD, ADHD, ODD)

*Struggles with self worth

*Shame

*Body dysmorphia

*Gender identity

*LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui communities

*Relationship challenges

*Addiction

*Sleep disturbances

*Disordered eating

*Suicidal ideation 

*Attachment injuries

*Sexual trauma 

*Nervous system dysregulation

*Emotional suppression 

*Self harm behaviour 

*Auto- immune disorders 

*Chronic stress 

*Need for support on physical and medical healing journeys

*Spiritual and cultural needs 

*Religious trauma

*Gay conversion therapy 

*Neurodivergence

Qualifications:

•Master Practitioner of Energy Medicine, Four Winds Society

•Reiki Levels I-III

•Yoga Certified, Registered with Yoga Alliance; trained in Yoga for Trauma & Addiction, Yoga for Cancer Patients/Survivors

•Trained in the Amherst Writers & Artists method of guiding creative journaling as a wellbeing practice and leading creative writing workshops

•Trained and experienced in working with youth with high and complex needs

•MFA in Writing: Poetry

Kim’s Mahi:
Kim has been practicing energy medicine for over 20 years. She has been working with ACC Sensitive Claims kiritaki in New Zealand for the past year. Kim also facilitates a 21-hour ACC group therapy programme alongside Nel Fentiman (ACC Counsellor). This programme is called Soul Bonsai: Creative Journaling as a Wellbeing Practice.

About Kim:

Originally from California, Kim is currently completing  a PhD in English Literature focusing on the establishment of personal sovereignty through the poetry of three queer, Indigenous women poets. She teaches creative writing courses for the University of Otago and runs creative writing workshops for various groups, including retreats, educators, and community circles. Kim is a seeker, surfer, and healing arts practitioner. She is the mother of two grown children and a lover of nature, food, and music/dance.

Kim takes a spiritual, cultural, and energetic approach to working with individuals who have PTSD and CPTSD. Kim incorporates the following in her sessions:

*Nervous system regulation in a safe space

*Experience of a safe attachment relationship 

*Breathwork and visualisation/meditation to reset fight/flight activation 

*Somatic practices to release stored trauma in the physical and energetic bodies

*Facilitation of brain/heart coherence

*Shifting and erasing stuck energy (imprints) around traumatic events 

*Ancestral constellation (articulating and shifting orientation to/relationships with whakapapa, living and passed)

*Dream work

*Grounding practices using the elements, energy centres (chakras) and nature

*Ceremonies and rituals to create new neural pathways to support neuroplasticity 

*Sound therapy (drums, rattles, chanting)

*Yoga tailored to mobility/ accessibility needs, including chair yoga

*Somatic therapy 

*Creative journaling

*Sensory modulation

“I have been fortunate enough to have done a number of healing sessions with Kim. Her combination of empathy, calm, openness, and humour makes it easy to relax and ease into difficult spaces. I trust Kim completely as a guide through rocky terrain, and after our sessions I feel reinvigorated, in touch with a zest for life that I thought I had lost. I appreciate that Kim is constantly adding new approaches and techniques to her healing repertoire, because it means she can find what connects to the individual she’s working with, whether that’s creative practice, energy work, ritual, or a listening ear and good advice. Most of all, Kim has helped me get in touch with my deeper self, using her strength to empower my own. Thanks, Kim, for reintroducing me to myself.” ~C, Ōtepoti Dunedin

“My recent experiences of sessions with Kim have been transformative. She has an innate ability to help you feel seen and heard. During these sessions Kim has guided me through some hard wired emotional issues that over time impacted my physical and spiritual bodies. Her techniques were gentle but effective. You move at the pace you are ready for. Her insights resonated and connected, helping me to uncover and release long held energetic blockages. I was also able to take away practical advice to integrate into my daily life. I left feel lighter and more at peace. Sessions with Kim are a holistic experience. I highly recommend her to anyone seeking compassionate and comprehensive healing.” ~M (Ōtepoti Dunedin)

"Kim is a compassionate and  intuitive healer with warm and peaceful energy. From my first session with her, I experienced a sense of safety and calm that I'd never been able to access before. After the session, other people noticed a positive shift in my energy too. I highly recommend her." ~K (Ōtepoti Dunedin)

“Kim is kind, non judgemental,  strong, gentle, open, intuitive. I can't explain in words what the energy healing is, but it feels safe, and right.” ~M (Ōtepoti Dunedin)