Katie R
Katie, a native Alabamian, came to Birmingham in 2012 to pursue a master's from UAB in Mental Health Counseling. She works as a Licensed Professional Counselor in her practice, Present Wellness Counseling, LLC, as well as in a residential treatment center for substance abuse. She and her husband were married in 2007 and have a son, Harpin, who's been keeping them busy since 2016. She is learning daily how to bridge her child development background with real-life motherhood moments, and she is excited to share these experiences with her BMB readers. Katie loves any time spent outside, loves opening her home to share meals with friends, and loves her faith community. She practices yoga and Reiki, and leads meditation groups for developing self-compassion. You can find out more about her practice and her upcoming community trainings at her website, PresentWellnessCounseling.com.
Love Lessons :: Words to Our Children About Race and Racism
There are endless difficult conversations parents know they must have with children over the course of their lives. World-wide Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George...
Balancing Fear and Love During the Covid-19 Pandemic :: Why I Stay Home
The fall of 2013 is a season I will never forget. But if it weren’t for coronavirus (Covid-19), the memories of that time would feel far away and almost insignificant. Now I think back...
It’s a Very Mad World Wide Web :: Respectful Discord in the Digital Age
For years, I’ve seen friends post about taking a hiatus from social media, particularly around the season of Lent. I’ve rarely felt inclined to do that myself, as I'm usually minimally involved digitally.
For me,...
Dropping Hate, Not Weight, This New Year
#LoseHateNotWeight
If you are a woman living in the U.S., odds are good that you, like me, have attempted to lose weight in the New Year at some point in life. Perhaps even most years...
Our Own Monsters in the Closet, Part 2 :: Shame Resilience in Children
If you have not read Part 1 of this two-part series on dealing with shame in motherhood, you can read it here.
When Shame Instincts Begin
Recently, my three year old was playing with a toy...
Our Own Monsters in the Closet, Part 1 :: Dealing with Motherhood Shame
Meet My Shame Monster
The morning had been going fine until it was time to leave a fun-filled library story hour. My two-year-old son was refusing to exit and a tantrum was quickly escalating to...
Becoming a Mompreneur :: Support for the Self-Employment Journey
Mom Entrepreneur (A.K.A. "Mompreneur")
Work was going well. I had a great job counseling hospital patients as part of an exceptional team. My position was flexible, offering me more time with my child than the...
Enjoying the “Wow” :: Learning to Stay Present Through Difficult Transitions
This past spring, my husband and I got the crazy brilliant idea that maybe it was finally time to move out of our beloved Crestwood house. We decided it would be a low pressure,...
It’s OK To Not Feel OK :: 5 Ways to Support Your Maternal Mental...
Remember adolescence? Raging hormonal shifts. Rapid physical growth and development. Significant changes in roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Reconfiguring social support with family and friends. As a society, we generally understand these changes and make...
A Mother’s Voice :: What Laryngitis Taught Me About My Voice
Recently, I had the good luck of losing my voice. Thank you, cold and flu season! As a counselor, having a voice is pretty essential for the job. But what I haven't appreciated until...