Welcome, I’m Dr. Kerstin Hecker.

I work with people who have been affected by relational harm or overwhelming life events, and who want a space where their experience can be held, explored, and met with care. I support individuals, couples, and groups who want to understand the deeper patterns that shape their relationships. Together, we pay attention to how your story lives in your body, your relationships, and your inner world, so that what has felt confusing, painful, or overwhelming can gradually become more understandable and workable.

My own path into this work began with a need to understand my story, why we protect ourselves the way we do, and how early relationships shape the way we trust, love, and connect in adulthood. Somatic and depth psychology have taught me that health begins in relationship: with our bodies, our nervous systems, and the environments we live and work in. When we bring care and curiosity to these relationships, our life experiences can become a doorway into a different way of being with ourselves and others.

In this process, I also stay in contact with what Jungian depth psychology calls soul: the inner, living reality of the psyche that links everyday consciousness with deeper, unconscious layers of experience and orients us toward meaning and greater wholeness. For many people, this brings a sense that their life experience is a doorway into a different relationship with themselves and others.

In our work together, I draw from approaches in which I have received extensive clinical training, and I pay careful attention to your pace and capacity. Over the years, I have studied and worked with Interpersonal Neurobiology, attachment and trauma resolution, Family and Systemic Constellations, and other body‑oriented psychotherapy approaches. Just as importantly, I have spent many hours in my own therapy and personal process, so I am not asking you to go anywhere I have not carefully explored in myself.

I hold a doctorate in Depth Psychology with a specialization in Integrative Therapy and Healing Practices from Pacifica Graduate Institute and am a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP™), holistic counselor (SIAF), and board‑certified holistic health counselor (AADP). The depth of my education, clinical supervision, and ongoing personal work allows me to support the complexity of individual and group human experience and to be attentive to how personal histories, relationships, and unconscious group and power processes show up in your everyday life.

I also teach existential and transpersonal therapy in a graduate program, guiding students through experiential work with existential concerns, Jungian depth, somatic and symbolic experience, and numinous states. Students often describe this as personally and professionally transformative, and the same care I bring to teaching is what I bring into my work with clients.

My clinical and research work centers on abuses of power in professional and relational contexts, including workplace bullying, covert aggression, and other hard‑to‑name psychological harms. I have presented this work at international conferences on workplace bullying and mobbing and draw on these insights to help people make sense of confusing or undermining experiences, especially at work. Alongside my clinical practice, I write and speak about depth and somatic psychology, unconscious group processes, and the dynamics of power and relational safety. With more than 25 years in corporate roles and a BA in Business Studies, I understand the realities and pressures of organizational life and bridge psychological depth with everyday work realities.

Ethics and the quality of the relationship are central to how I practice. Our work moves at a pace that respects your nervous system, history, and current life circumstances, with an emphasis on safety, collaboration, and your own unfolding sense of meaning. Whether I am working one‑to‑one, with a group, or with an organization, my intention is the same: to help create spaces where people can come into deeper contact with themselves and with others, with more dignity, clarity, and choice.

During difficult times, it's important to have compassionate support and the unwavering backing or Rückendeckung of capable individuals. Psychological abuse can often go unnoticed, but healing can begin in the safe space of a therapist's office or a supportive virtual environment. — Dr. Kerstin Hecker

Education

Doctor in Depth Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, CA, USA: 2018-2024
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing International, Broomfield, CO, USA: 2017-2019
Holistic Counselor, Societa' Italiana Armonizzatori (SIAF), Florence, Italy: 2012-2014
Holistic Health Counselor, State University of New York, NY, USA: 2010-2012
Bachelor of Arts in Business, Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsakademie (VWA), Frankfurt, Germany: 1993-1997
Industrial Management Assistant, German Chamber of Commerce, Gütersloh, Germany: 1993-1995

Certificates, Trainings, AND Masterclasses

Attachment-Focused EMDR to Heal Trauma & Empower Women Actualise their Potential, Dr. Laura Parnell, Dec 2025
Building Personal Resilience, Managing Anxiety and Mental Health, Dr. Luana Marques, Harvard University, Apr-Jul 2025
Narcissistic Abuse In-Depth Workshop, Dr. Ramani Durvasula, Apr 2025
Interpersonal Neurobiology Workshop: How Attachment, Trauma & Temperament Shape Personality, Dr. Daniel Siegel, Apr 2025
IFS for Trauma & Loss Masterclass, Dr. Diane Poole Heller and Dr. Frank Anderson, Mar 2025
Mindfulness and Interpersonal Neurobiology in Clinical Practice, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Daniel Siegel, Mar 2025
Healing Attachment Wounds and Building Emotional Safety Masterclass, Dr. Diane Poole Heller, Feb 2025
Decoding Disorganized Attachment Masterclass, Dr. Diane Poole Heller, Oct 2023
Interpersonal Neurobiology Training with Certification: Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind, Dr. Bonnie Badenoch, Jan-Dec 2022
Polyvagal Masterclass, Dr. Stephen Porges and Dr. Raja Selvam, Nov 2022
Fight, Flight or Freeze: Threat Response System Masterclass, Dr. Diane Poole Heller, Oct 2021
Somatic Adult Attachment Training with Certification: Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience, Dr. Diane Poole Heller, Nov 2020
Build Healthier Relationships and Navigate Conflicting Attachment Styles Masterclass, Dr. Diane Poole Heller, Mar 2020
Embodied Trauma Symposium Colorado, Various Presenters, Aug 2019
Integrative Healthcare Symposium, New York, Various Presenters, 2018
State-Dependent Memory, Perception, and Communication Masterclass, Dr. Stan Tatkin, Jan 2017
The Myth of Self-Regulation Masterclass: How Our Inner Community Supports Us Every Day, Dr. Bonnie Badenoch, Jan 2017
New Brain Science Masterclass: Brain Integration and Patient Healing, Dr. Daniel Siegel, Apr 2015
Somatic Psychology Workshop, Dr. Peter Levine, Lisa Loustaunau, Bo Forbes, Kripalu, MA, 2011
Professional Training in Regression Therapy with Certification, Dr. Brian Weiss, Omega Institute, NY, Jul-Aug 2011
Certificate in Kinesiology for Self-Care, New York Open Center & International College of Healing Arts, NY, May-Aug 2011
NLP Sleight of Mouth Masterclass, New York Open Center, NY, Doug O'Brien, Mar 2009

Professional Memberships

APA, American Psychological Association
IAWBH, International Association on Workplace Bullying & Harassment
SEI, Somatic Experiencing International
SIAF, Societá Italiana Armonizzatori Familiari
Psychology Today US