I’m a hiker, biker, tree hugger, nature lover, repeated failed gardener, traveler, and mover. I’m a supporter, mother, wife, writer, nana, speaker, and friend. I’m a feeler, observer, connector, and an all over general human with a lot of energy.
Professionally; I have undergraduate (BS ’92) and graduate (MS ’97) degrees from Emporia State University. As a licensed professional counselor (KS LPC 739) and National Board Certified Counselor I adhere to NBCC Code of Ethics (2023). I received my infant and early childhood mental health specialist (IMHS) endorsement (’12) through KAIMH, and I am currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tabor College (Masters in Education: Neuroscience & Trauma).
I have been a Certified Conscious Discipline® Instructor (2005-2023) as one of a handful of Instructors with a background in mental health. The training, coaching and mentoring I provided to teachers, administrators, mental health, and early childhood professionals across the United States was one of the most joyous times of my life as I spent time in direct contact with children and adults with a focus on effective responses to behaviors stemming from trauma.
I am a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (2025) to help you begin to access your body’s inherent and intuitive wisdom, in order to identify and access the thwarted energy of your own self-protective responses that may have been inhibited during a traumatic event. Somatic Experiencing® is based on the work of Dr. Peter Levine, who spent decades of his life dedicated to the research and study of trauma healing, Later developing Somatic Experiencing® as a way to restore balance to the nervous system after stressful or traumatic experiences. In our work together we will focus on learning tools for regulation while learning the language of our bodies, and then find ways to process and complete defensive responses, leaving you with more ease, and a richer, more vibrant life.
The scope of my practice: focuses on pre-teens and young adults dealing with ADHD, anxiety, relational trauma, depression, or issues surrounding self-worth…sometimes simultaneously. Successful therapy requires connection, and I’m here for it!
I believe the best way to show up in relationship is by being human. For me, being human looks like vulnerability. Being open, honest with yourself, honoring your boundaries, and massaging the little curiosities in life.
The years have brought surprises and sorrows which challenged me to fight societal, religious and ancestral beliefs to find what is true. For me, love was the winning truth, through my journey I wrestled with old beliefs and came to find my own truth. This truth remind me of my favorite tree the Giant Sequoia:
The life story of the giant sequoia begins with a very small seed. To germinate and survive, sequoia seeds must fall on the mineral soil left bare by fire – without it, seeds will not successfully grow into new sequoia seedlings. The trunk of the sequoia is specifically built to not be destroyed by fire, but even beyond that they actually need the fires in order to develop and thrive. After enduring the fire, the seed must first be buried under a blanket of snow. Once the seed is put down in the harshest of weather, it begins to crack apart in order to grow.
It’s hard enough to fathom that these enormous trees came from a tiny seed. It’s even more difficult to comprehend that in order to grow, these seeds can not only withstand, but actually require, what to us seems like unbearable conditions.
What feels like it might destroy us will actually become our strength.
May we never stop growing.
May we have what we need to endure, and even flourish.
May we know that every difficulty in relationships, every hard circumstance, every struggle, every loss – none of it would be wasted. That every seed planted in the harshest of moments will produce something great.
Shana Lynn Schmidt, LLC 