Hi, I'm Korenna
I'm here to help you connect with yourself, deepen your relationships, and elevate your life from good to GREAT.
Many of us were never taught how to have healthy relationships. We lacked good “relationship role models” and were left to try our best to figure things out for ourselves.
This often leaves us...
- fearing conflict instead of learning to navigate it effectively
- feeling like we need to hide who we are in order to get what we want
- compromising our own needs and desires because we simply do not know how to balance them with our partner’s in a collaborative way
We find ourselves in perpetual power struggles, either feeling like we need to give our power away or gain power over another in order to secure our experience of love and safety.
Get to Know Me
When the guidance counselor at my very Catholic high school asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I told her I wanted to be the “Den Mother” of a medium-sized commune. After several meetings with parents and principals — convincing people I was not on the road to becoming a cult leader — it became clear that my true passion was helping individuals lead healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives.
Although I have not have found my commune (yet!) I feel blessed to have spent over 25 years of my professional career living my dream of supporting the lives and growth of thousands of individuals, couples, and families.
Although I am a licensed professional counselor, I prefer the title of Relationship Coach. Presently I spend a considerable amount of time developing and teaching programs for experts in the fields of relationships and personal growth, including the Hold Me Tight program I developed for Dr. Sue Johnson, and the courses I co-create and teach at the Circling Institute.
Because supporting people is my passion, I still reserve time to work with a select group of motivated clients who can appreciate my down-to-Earth attitude, unyielding support, and ability to provide just the right balance of academic expertise and comic relief.
A Word on My Style
I give you the highest level of personalized support
Therapy and coaching (at least with me), isn’t about focusing on problems or digging up issues from the past. It’s about creating strategies for moving forward using practical tools, understanding, and positivity so you can have the most loving relationship and fulfilling sex life possible.
Many Couples Therapists aren’t trained to deal with the parenting struggles or sexual challenges that often arise in a relationship. Similarly, most Sexologists and Sex Therapists have little training in dealing with relational and communication challenges. I address all of these according to your individual needs and goals, so your relationship can thrive.
Professional Qualifications
(in case you’re into that sort of thing)
When you work with me, you’re getting research based advice and practical tools from the decades of professional education I’ve completed, including:
- Masters Degree in Counseling
- PhD in Psychology & Clinical Sexology
- Post-Graduate certification in Somatic Sexology
- Board Certified Kink Conscious Therapist (specializations include: helping people expand their sexual repertoire, explore consensual non-monogamy, and use sexual fantasy and role play to address relationship challenges / injuries)
- Certified Erotic Blueprint Coach & Mentor
- Certified Attachment Parenting International Group Leader
- Certified Attached at the Heart API Parent Educator
- Master Level Circling® Method Practitioner
- President: International Circling Federation
- Co-Owner, Core Faculty & Director of Programming: Circling Institute
- Brainspotting
- Polyvagal Theory
- Compassionate Inquiry (Gabor Mate)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (Levels 1&2)
- Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy (Levels 1-3)
- Conscious Uncoupling
- Blending Families
- Affair Repair Training
- John & Julie Gottman
- Esther Perel
- Reality Life Therapy
And, having shared all of that, I'll also say: People don't work with me because I have a lot of information. They work with me because they desire the transformation that my decades of training and experience help them achieve.
And now for the fun stuff...
I made sure to install a water feature in our new yard — so everyone could enjoy the soothing soundscape of falling water — before I bothered to furnish some of the rooms inside the house!
I can get absorbed easily into projects and endeavors, so I got the phrase: “remember to die” tattooed on the bottom of my foot in Sanskrit as a reminder.
I have a 15 cubic foot hydroponic garden in my dining room.
In addition to Katie our therapy dog, we’ve raised two Chinese laying hens, a rat, and a leopard gecko. Still on our wish list: a pair of pigmy goats!
I am an avid yogi and daily meditator…but I also have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and love a good kettlebell workout.
Despite having a large, expensive, shoe collection, I spend most of my time barefoot.
I feel so moved by watching people accomplish their dreams, I’ve been known to cry when watching Reality TV shows like American Ninja Warrior and Shark Tank.
I was once knocked unconscious by a greedy kangaroo!
What Makes Me Human
Our flaws and differences make us unique, and it is those unique imperfections that make us magical. Here are a few tidbits about mine to give you an inside peek at who I am and what makes me, me!
Introverted & Proud
I am extremely introverted, but I also love facilitating fun experiences for people. I can lead a large retreat, or be the life of the party for a few hours, and then I need to disappear someplace dark and quiet to be by myself for several hours!
Always A Rebel
As a child, I tried to stow away in a living museum of a village from the 1800s because I wanted to live there forever! Later in life, when I watched M. Knight Shyamalan’s the Village like it was #LifeGoals!
Ever A Seeker
I became disenchanted during my doctoral program and took a hiatus to run away to Colorado to live in a Buddhist ashram and work with Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute. (That's how this Grade A Nerd handles an existential crisis 🙂 )