Hello
I am Kaitlyn Wilson, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. I prefer to go by Kait with she/her/hers pronouns.
I wear a ton of hats. Besides this practice I also am a Complex Trauma Treatment Network Faculty Member (National ARC trainer), I am the Foundation Trust Training and Resource Development Associate (co created complextrauma.org) , and am the Master TA for the Complex Trauma Training Consortium
I am honored you have come to my website! My strength and skill lies in my passion for reframing the narrative survivors experience, building resilience and, most importantly, doing so in a way that honors their unique individual and cultural experience. Why, you ask? Well, read more about my journey below! :)
My Story
Like so many before me my strengths and skills grew through a mixture of experience and training.
My family of origin is diverse; wrought with racism, intergenerational trauma, disruptions, separations, homophobia, systemic failures. Our collective story was perceived outwardly as looking like violence, poverty, homelessness, intense perfectionism, promiscuity, substance use, illegal activity, mental health, health challenges, early deaths.
What I experienced , however, was the experience of survivors who harbored innate strength, creativity, problem solving, a longing and desperation for a better life for each future generation. I did not understand until my training how BOTH of these concepts could be simultaneously true.
This is where my training came in. I took a class in social work simply because someone told me it would be a great career choice. I was innately curious about how people existed in the world, I had a diverse familial and relational background, and I had personal experiences which led an inherent ability to see situations deeply, with awareness and understanding. This class was life changing.
I learned how our earliest experiences shape, at our core (literally our brain too!) how we viewed ourselves, our emotional, behavioral and physical selves, our relationships with others and our experience in the broader world. All I could think was "well duh." Now I needed to know how can we change this? How can we change the way people viewed those whose outward behaviors were perhaps unhelpful, unhealthy, and hurtful but who inwardly were using every skill and strength they had to survive and experience a life better than before.
This is how I created my approach and the treatment I provide.
If I can shift one persons understanding and narrative from "something is wrong with them" to "something happened to them" I know I have helped to create change that is needed and deserved for survivors. However, the greatest privilege I have is to see the shift in a survivor themselves. It is a gift to witness and I am truly grateful to have each and every client in my professional life.