About Kris
Hi, and welcome to my practice! My name is Kris Abrams. I practice psychotherapy and shamanic healing in Mancos, Colorado (just west of Durango in the Four Corners region), and work with clients around the world by phone.
Psychotherapy and shamanic healing are wonderful ways to help people live lives of authenticity, meaning and joy in a society that can make this challenging. Because each one of us is a beautiful and complex collection of thoughts, emotions, beliefs, memories, actions, relationships, a body, and a soulful/spiritual self, I work holistically with each individual and incorporate a range of therapeutic techniques. These techniques encompass both highly researched, evidence-based practices, as well as more creative, intuitive, and spiritual practices, including:
Cognitive behavioral therapy;
EMDR;
Mindfulness;
Somatic psychotherapy;
Gestalt;
Nature-based psychotherapy/wilderness therapy/Ecopsychology/Ecotherapy
And, if desired, shamanic journeying.
My formal education includes a Master’s of Philosophy from Oxford University, where I was a Rhodes Scholar; a Master’s of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Prescott College with a focus on Ecopsychology and Wilderness Therapy; and Bachelor’s degrees in Neuroscience and Philosophy of Science from Brown University. I am trained as an EMDR therapist. I have also studied privately with my shamanic teacher for well over ten years.
How does one become a psychotherapist and shamanic practitioner? My path has not been a linear one. As a young adult, I devoted myself to transformation at the level of society and systems. Believing in the transformative power of education and the media, I produced Democracy Now!, a national, independent news and public affairs program, from 2000-2003. Desperate for mountains, fresh air, and pace of life that felt more natural to me, I moved from New York City to Colorado. I went to work for the community radio station in Boulder, KGNU, and led KGNU's expansion campaign into Denver. I moved on to manage and direct communications and individual fundraising programs for Global Greengrants Fund and Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights. I also co-founded a non-profit in Denver, Let Us Rise, that supported different organizations and groups of people to envision the kind of world we want, and to come together around that vision.
All of this work was deeply meaningful to me. But somehow, it just didn’t feel like I was on the right path. For one, I kept burning out. Secondly, I was experiencing mounting frustration and alarm that our attempts to transform society often end up reproducing some of the same dynamics we oppose, such as treating each other cruelly, prioritizing being right and stoking our own egos, or falling into us vs. them, despite our commitments to peace and justice for all. So I dove into the work of personal transformation, taking trainings in transformational peacemaking and conflict resolution, doing my own psychotherapy, finding solace and wisdom and power in the natural world, studying shamanism, and eventually going back to school for psychotherapy. I emerged from all of this finally feeling whole in myself, and passionately committed to helping others find their own wholeness and true gifts. In 2017, I moved to the small town of Mancos, CO in order to deepen this work and my relationship with the natural world. These days, I continue to see individual clients on a limited basis, while working on opportunities to bring together individual and systemic change.
Public Trainings, Presentations, and Groups
Past:
Live with Joy: A nature-based therapy group for women I led for many years.
"Of Soul & Spirit: Conscious Incorporation of Spirituality & the Transpersonal into Wilderness/Adventure Therapy," a workshop co-created and co-facilitated with Katie Asmus and delivered to the Association for Experiential Education International Conference, Oct. 23, 2015 in Portland, OR, and to the International Adventure Therapy Conference, June 4, 2015 in Denver, CO.
"Working with Internalized Oppression in the Current Political Climate": An experiential workshop delivered to the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference of the Association for Experiential Education, shortly after the election of 45.
"How Does Nature Heal? An Experiential Introduction to Nature-Based Psychotherapy," Presented by The Women's Wilderness Institute at Summit Sisters, June 3-5, 2016.
"Towards Authenticity, Connection, Meaning and Joy: Lessons from Shamanism," Delivered January 20, 2016 at Interface Boulder. Click here to purchase an audio recording. Also delivered to the Prescott College Master's Students Colloquium, April, 2016.
Honoring Change: Ceremony, Ritual, & Rite of Passage as Tools for Transformation
A Prescott College Intensive for Adventure Therapy and Ecopsychology Master’s students, General Counseling and Education Master’s students, and alumni, therapists and educators. I was the assistant teacher for Katie Asmus, April 2-6, 2017.
"Collaborations with the Natural World: Nature-Based Interventions for working with trauma and nervous system regulation in educational and therapeutic settings." A Prescott College Intensive for Master's Students in Education and Counseling Psychology. I was the assistant teacher for Katie Asmus, April 11-14, 2016.
"The Alchemy of Change: Transforming Your Intentions into Action," a workshop delivered at the Boulder Bioneers Conference, Oct. 25, 2015. Click here for more info. Also delivered to the Prescott College Master's Students Colloquium, April, 2016.
"Why Nature Heals," a talk delivered to the Inaugural Symposium of MeSimple on April 25, 2015.
"Helping People to Live Lives of Connection, Meaning and Joy: Lessons from Shamanism," a talk delivered to the Boulder Institute for Psychotherapy and Research on June 19, 2015.
The Women's Wilderness Institute Presents: Live a Joyful Life! An 8-week, nature-based therapy group for women. September-November 2015.
Living What Matters: a 6-week workshop designed to help you clarify your vision for your life in partnership with nature.
Experiments in Joy: Exploring your spiritual relationship with Nature. A 4-week experiential training designed to help you deepen your spiritual relationship with Nature.