About Katie Asmus

 Awe of Human Being-ness

I have held a deep and unquenchable desire to understand humans, what motivates us, and how we are much more similar than we are different. At the age of 12, I decided to begin meeting the people I least understood so I could learn about our shared humanness.  

Over time, this led me to many personal, volunteer and professional experiences working and living with people with a variety of diverse abilities and backgrounds. I volunteered at summer camps and at a child development center in the Appalachian Mountains; worked with people in domestic violence and homeless shelters, in the local jail, and at an AIDS hospice; and coached basketball for 6th graders, volunteered in nursing homes and worked with people with severe psychosis in their group living abode. In addition, I traveled extensively, visiting six continents.

What I have found in this lifetime of exploration is that at our core, as humans, we all long for basic safety and care. We all have good times and hard times, and emotions based on these experiences. I also believe that we all secretly want to be connected to something bigger than ourselves, whether to human community, the natural world, the deeper meaning of our life purpose, or that mysterious essence within and beyond this life. I have witnessed and been brought to my knees many times by the strength and tenacity of the human spirit, the power of kindness and love, and the miraculous results that can occur when there is someone holding the possibility of change.

Connection to the Natural World

Growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, when I said I was going out to play in “the woods”, that meant to the row of shrubs in the backyard, or to climb and hang out in the mulberry tree in our front yard. I have a confession to make, I HATED to get dirty. If I fell and got my pants dirty, I would cry and demand to go home to change my clothes (yes, this is true!). I find that quite humorous now, as I have spent the past 30 years of my life hanging out and leading others on trips in the wilderness. It was Girl Scout summer horse camp that changed all of that. Being away from home in a supportive outdoor environment filled with people, learning, growth, song, movement, fresh air, new relationships, and new experiences won over my heart. 

Over a decade later, during my first semester of college, as part of a leadership course, our professor took us to an outdoor education center. For the first time in my life, I did a low teams challenge course, and a high (30 feet above the ground) ropes challenge course. I rock climbed and rappelled. That day, after moving through some extreme fear of heights, feeling adrenalized, and quite in awe of myself, I exclaimed out loud, “This is what I want to do with my life!” Looking back, what I now realize that meant was that I wanted to spend my time outdoors supporting others to learn more about themselves and know in their bones that they are capable of much more than they can imagine.  I have been working outdoors doing just this ever since!

Growth and Transformation

As a child I was an avid reader, and at a young age, my aunt introduced me to my first self-help book. I was hooked! Growing up I also had the good fortune of being connected to supportive communities of people through my roles participating in and leading spiritual youth group retreats, attending camp, and eventually being a camp counselor, leading and teaching in a variety of indoor and outdoor arenas. 

Through these experiences, along with working for programs such as Outward Bound, and eventually training in a Holistic model of psychotherapy, I was steeped in environments, processes, and relationships that held reflection, growth and possibility at their essence. I realized early on the privilege of these opportunities and perspectives and vowed to share what I had and knew with others. Through these experiences, I came to value the power of consciously marking life transitions, losses and transformations through ceremony and ritual. Some of my most profound moments in life have involved planned as well as spontaneous markings of what has deep meaning to me and others, and I love bringing these intentional practices to others.

And, of course there is so much more to my story as there is to us all.  I look forward to connecting with you in a session, training, supervision or mentorship capacity, or at your next event!