Gina Kiem, MEd MA LCPC CCC
My work is dedicated to helping those who are struggling with issues related to trauma, family relationships, cultural identity, and spirituality. Whether it is the story of your nervous system, the story of your family, the story of your relationships, or your story of Spirit, your own unique voice will be invited to be heard in a safe and warm space. I am excited to work with you because YOU are willing and ready to show up and do the work with wherever you are in your personal and professional journey of growth and development.
Working with Professionals
I understand the complexity of working within a professional environment. I have worked in the field of education and the helping profession for over 25 years and was a high school language teacher for ten years. I left the teaching profession to pursue my dream of becoming a counselor – a calling that I had been preparing for since I was in my early twenties.
Throughout my professional career, I have always appreciated strong role models who presented themselves with confidence, showed respect and compassion to others, animals, and nature, were experts in their fields, portrayed great resilience to challenges in their lives, had a heart filled with sincerity and peace, and were down to earth beautiful human beings. I have been grateful to have met many individuals like those I describe in my work life, personal life, and my travels internationally.
What I realized through my experiences working with professionals is that they have also suffered from a lack of self-worth, a loss of connection to themselves, had difficulties with regulating their emotions, had dysfunctional family issues, or lacked purpose in their lives and were searching for spirituality to deepen their connection to themselves. I could empathize with what they were feeling and had compassion and understanding of how life had shaped them into who they had become. I knew they were still the same person filled with this enormous potential and hidden talents, as I too had experienced those same doubts and was also searching and seeking to connect more deeply with my own Self. By exploring a variety of different holistic practices and therapies in my own life, I learned how each approach brought out a different dimension of healing, offering me a new insight and understanding of my personal experiences.
By returning to school and getting my Counseling degree to become a Professional Counselor, I was able to combine my education and experiences so that I could serve others and ultimately help them with their own path to discovering their uniqueness and wholeness. I have experience working with many diverse populations, adolescents, parents, teachers, psychotherapists, and diverse healers, who have all helped me along the way.
Along with my professional background as both a counselor and educator, I am blessed to have a marriage of thirty-four years, two beautiful daughters- a new son-in-law, and two cats. My family continues to bring me joy and laughter and I have deep gratitude for all they have given me. I was born in Indonesia, am Chinese Canadian, and have traveled and lived in many diverse continents, Asia, Europe, and North America. I grew up listening to many different languages, Indonesian, Dutch, and English, and I love speaking the French and Spanish language. I do speak French fluently as well and am a life-long learner. I love hiking in nature, love the ocean, and have a beautiful extended family and strong friendships.
Professional Affiliations
- Member of America Counseling Association.
- Member of Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association
- Member of National Board for Certified Counselors
Professional Certifications and Additional Training
- Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) – Maryland State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists
- National Certified Counselor with the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
- Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC)
- Consultant for the Polyvagal Institute and Trainer for the Rhythm of Regulation (with Deb Dana)
- Realization Process Embodiment Teacher certification (with Judith Blackstone)
- Fully Certified Realization Process teacher (with Judith Blackstone) – completed all three trainings:
Nondual Meditation, Embodiment, and Healing Ground of the Realization Process. - Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation: Foundations of Polyvagal Informed Practice
- Certified Family and Systemic Constellation Facilitator
- Foundations in Somatic Abolitionism for Bodies of Culture (with Resmaa Menakem)
- Communal Consultation and Somatic Abolitionism for All Bodies of Culture (with Resmaa Menakem)
- Certified Virtues Project Facilitator
- Reiki practitioner –Third Degree/Master level in the Reiki Method of Natural Healing
- Narrative Therapy certification module
- Master of Education, Curriculum Studies
- Bachelor of Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Majors in Psychology and French
- Professional Certification Program for Language Teachers
I’m looking forward to starting you on your journey to peace and wholeness. Please click below to book an initial consultation with me.
Reconnect With Your True Nature 