Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Conway.
Kim, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A Centered Self was born in March, 2017. I dreamed for a year about opening my own healing center. Something shifted inside of me this past January and suddenly, I was willing to take on all of the risks and endless work. It was as if the choice was no longer mine, but rather the universe pushing me with a force I could not resist. People around me grew excited by my ideas, and to my great fortune, decided to join me in this venture. Like a trickling stream flowing ever more strongly to join a river, word spread and my new way of practicing was in full gear.
My entire professional career was based upon the medical model and scientific theory. Somewhere deep inside of me, this did not always sit well. I was uncomfortable with looking at people as “sick” and needing to be “fixed”- and sometimes only feeling better by a little bit. There were a handful of times sitting with a patient experiencing psychosis that I wondered, “What if they just have a greater ability to connect to information most of us can’t access?” I believe inside of our core selves we possess all we need to feel better and evolve. How could I access this with others?
This question motivated me to change myself professionally and personally. I became spiritually focused, paying attention to that beautiful trinity of our mind, body and spirit. I took my love of working with multiple disciplines in a psychiatric hospital and applied it to A Centered Self. Psychotherapy alone feels incomplete to me. I became a Reiki Master and Certified QHHT hypnotist to give my clients another way of achieving balance. I then added other alternative therapies to my center. I feel certain over time, the services provided will evolve and change. My clients combine these services to enhance, and I believe expedite, their healing process. Psychic Mediumship and my trance/hypnosis sessions, in particular, open up a whole world of guidance and wisdom which is life changing for my clients. We access root causes of their struggles, and how to move forward and evolve from their pain. We find this information in just one of these sessions, rather than months and months of psychotherapy. It is truly amazing and transformative. This process is like eating an artichoke, pulling off one leaf at a time, eventually uncovering that sweet delicious heart.
Who hasn’t at one time asked the question, “Why did this happen to me?” This question can make us feel sorry for ourselves, and powerless. My clients can find the answer from this spiritual perspective. It gives them a feeling of peace. They shift from feeling like victims to feeling empowered. They begin to look at their struggles as opportunities for enormous growth rather than feeling sunk deep in their sorrow. It is such a privilege to witness them understand themselves from this new perspective. They literally transform in front of my eyes. It is profoundly moving for both of us. This way of working is different as it removes some of the rigid boundaries between therapist and client. We go on this journey together. It is like going on a trip, exploring parts of the world you never thought you would see. It is exciting and exhilarating. I am their tour guide.
Many of us feel isolated within our struggles. I believe we are all connected together like a web, each strand having an important purpose supporting the web. It is our concept of individuality that promotes fear and isolation. Each of us are like a pebble thrown into the water, creating ripples all around us, reaching out to others and changing them. We do this through our joys and laughter as well as our hardships and sadness. We teach each other and help one another grow.
I am shifting people’s perspectives from looking at others as ill or sick, to seeing them as healthy individuals who merely have pieces that need transforming. At A Centered Self, a seed has been planted and is growing. I don’t know if it is a small flower or a giant tree, but whichever it is, a difference occurs for those who walk through my doors.
The universe gave me a great gift by removing my fears and pushing me into this office space. The energy here is magical, cleansing and healing. I can’t explain it. Everyone who enters says the same. I have wonderful coworkers and clients and we enrich one-another’s lives.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Is anything ever quite smooth? I am a social worker, not a business woman, so this is a huge learning curve for me. My husband is my silent partner, guiding me along the way – and quite honestly, without him A Centered Self would not even exist.
My biggest struggle has been expressing who I am now professionally. I am different from others in my field. At first, I was quite hesitant to really voice how I want to practice. But as time passed, I have abandoned those fears. I am confident in my methods and know this is the right way for me. I have changed from gently encouraging alternative therapies, to explaining this is how I work, giving clients the option right away to find another therapist. I can’t work solely traditional anymore. It isn’t me.
It has also been difficult for me to manage the logistics of running a center. I have a clear vision how I want everything to be and need to constantly remind myself to be patient. It is a bit like building a house from the ground up. I want to add furniture and hang pictures, but I have to wait for all of the electrical and plumbing to be installed before the walls go up. Even though my concepts are what drew my coworkers in, this is a huge learning curve for them as well. None of us have ever worked this way before, integrating and client sharing. I have found myself in the role of teacher, and was not expecting that. As each of us finds our own way, I have to be clear about what I want for my center. It is a shift for me to put A Centered Self first. I have no choice. I am the one with the photo in my head of that completely decorated house.
Please tell us about A Centered Self.
A Centered Self is a small healing center. We offer psychotherapy, Reiki, a Healing form of Hypnosis, Psychic Mediumship, Bereavement Support, Yoga and Essential Oils Healing Touch. Our clients have the unique opportunity to combine a variety of therapies simultaneously in order to expedite and optimize their own journey towards reaching their goals and healing. Our focus is spiritual and mindful. We view people from a healthy perspective, as a whole person, not as a diagnosis or sick. We believe people organically possess the internal strength to overcome obstacles and transform. The majority of our clients have had trauma or traumatic experiences in their lives. Many have tried traditional routes of therapy without great success. They are looking to understand how their histories have shaped them and come out on the other side. Coping skills are a great start, but they want to get to a place where they don’t need the coping skills anymore. We are offering an opportunity to heal, to appreciate all they have survived and to become familiar with the inner core part of themselves that is always ok, allowing it to emerge into the forefront of their lives. We teach clients they are an important strand of the web, beautiful, strong and vital to all around.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have two childhood memories that have lead me directly to how I work at A Centered Self. My sisters and I would stay with our grandmother who lived in a small country town, filled with farms and meadows. We would play for hours in a creek at the edge of her yard. It was just a small creek, but to us it felt like a huge river. With great excitement, we would place small stones in the water building bridges and watching it change the current of the creek. Just one stone would create a change. This taught me an important lesson. I learned each interaction can alter us in ways unexpected. The event can seem as small as a single pebble, but it can have a profound impact. This knowledge helps me with my clients, connecting the dots of their experiences to understand how their core selves have been shaped.
My second childhood memory involves my great grandmother, Tut-toosh. Tut-toosh was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. She endured unspeakable horrors and trauma, and yet, she was all sweetness, kindness and love. One day, I told her I was tired and wanted to take a nap. I laid on her bed and she lay beside me, gently rubbing my back to help me fall asleep. When I awoke, she was still there, gently rubbing my back. She had never left my side. In such a simple gesture, she taught me that despite our own hardships, we can continue to offer love, kindness and compassion. We can choose a life of kindness. I would sit with her well into her 90s, helping her through her panic attacks, and soothing her grief of the loved ones she lost. She showed me that trauma and grief transform us, but do not define us. She taught me nothing can taint our Souls. Our Souls are all pure love, despite what they have seen and endured. This lesson helps me as a practitioner. It reminds me to define my clients by their Souls rather than by their experiences.
Contact Info:
- Address: A Centered Self, LLC.
2 Elm Square
Suite 314, Andover, MA 01810 - Website: www.acenteredself.net
- Phone: 978-494-3763
- Email: acenteredselfkc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acenteredself/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acenteredself/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Image Credit:
Kim Oswald Photography
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