Kate Kiker, aka “Kate the Cownselor” is a licensed professional counselor and certified animal-assisted intervention specialist. Her practice opened in 2023 and is run out of her family’s farm, where her understanding of psychology, human development, nature, and animal behavior have all become an integral part of her philosophy of healing.

Therapeutic Interventions

Kate draws upon several types of healing modalities to help clients with emotional, cognitive, and behavioral issues. Her goal is to help clients relate to themselves with compassion and gain a deeper understanding of their mental health struggles.

She uses an integrated approach for the mind and body, combining the following interventions: mindful self-compassion, humanistic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and polyvagal theory/somatic therapy, the Gottman method and attachment theories.

Qualifications

Board Member- Secretary | 2025-2027
Southeast Texas Counseling Association

Certified Animal Assisted Intervention Specialist (C-AAIS)
Granted by the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals | 2024-present

Polyvagal Equine Institute Member | 2024- present
Using polyvagal theory with clients and animals.

M.Ed. in Counseling and Human Development | Lamar University
October 2020-August 2023

B.S. in Psychology, Minor in Sociology | Lamar University
August 2016-May 2020
Summa Cum Laude | McNair Scholar

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