Meet Our Supervisors:

Kari Kelcher, MA, LMFT

Clinical Intern Coordinator 

 

What’s your supervision style? I really enjoy working with individuals on developing their clinical skills and focusing on self-as-therapist work. As a supervisor, I believe it is important to build a sense of safety in the supervision relationship, so I often spend a lot of time working with supervisees to understand their own experiences, increase their self-awareness, exploring counter-transference, and using reflective supervision.

Every supervisee’s journey is unique, each with their own goals and challenges. I find it valuable to take the time to understand each individual’s needs and adjust supervision accordingly to support professional development, clinical skills, and administrative tasks. I employ various activities throughout the duration of supervision to help supervisees build a strong foundation for their clinical career.

What’s your favorite part of supervising? Hmm, that’s a hard one! There are so many things I enjoy about supervising. I am passionate about helping new therapists gain confidence, learn tools, and have the moment when it all ‘clicks.’ Supervision is a unique opportunity where you can try different things – whether it’s an intervention, modality, or presentation alongside a supervisor who can help every step of the way.

 Tell us about your clinical experience: I really value working from a behavioral neuroscience lens. I find that psychoeducation is my number one go-to for interventions, as increasing our own knowledge and understanding equips us well for handling life’s challenges. In my career I have worked in a variety of settings, including school-based, outpatient, in-home, and walk-in crisis counseling. I have experience working with individuals of all ages and families. Currently, I work with adolescents and teens in a school-based setting.

 My theoretical approach is eclectic, I have found so many pieces of different approaches to be helpful in working with people – consider it a Mary Poppins bag of therapy interventions. I am trained in EMDR and TF-CBT, I pull from all sorts of theories including Somatic Processing, Experiential, Narrative, CBT, Solution-Focused, Polyvagal, and I am always learning something new!

 

Nora Eiesland, LMFT

What’s your supervision style? My supervision style is collaborative and exploratory. I work alongside my intern as a “detective,” examining a client’s lived environments and experiences to better understand behavior through the lens of how the mind interprets events and how the nervous system seeks safety and protection. I value helping clinicians develop a therapeutic style that feels authentic to them and that best meets the needs of the clients they serve.

What is your favorite thing about supervising? I genuinely enjoy teaching and sharing the many articles, books, and resources I have collected over the years. I love learning, and I am energized by learning alongside others. Engaging in ongoing dialogue and mutual discovery keeps me inspired and connected to the work.

Tell us about your clinical experience: I began my career in the field at the largest residential treatment center in Minnesota. While working toward my MFT licensure, I was employed by a five-county consortium where I saw clients of all ages and diagnoses in outpatient, in‑home, and correctional settings. I also facilitated groups addressing a wide range of mental health concerns. Having such comprehensive exposure early in my career was invaluable.

I later spent several years at a facility specializing in six‑month assessments for children and adolescents with complex presentations, referred through both private and state systems. There, I worked as a family therapist on a multidisciplinary team that included a medical doctor, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, and behavioral specialists. During this period, I also provided supervision while raising my son until he reached school age. I then began my 19‑year career with FamilyMeans.

Currently, I work with individuals, couples, families, adolescents, and teens, with a particular interest in complex trauma cases. My training and study have focused heavily on trauma and attachment theory, as well as Ericksonian hypnotherapy through the Minnesota society of clinical hypnosis. I place strong emphasis on understanding developmental stages and attachment needs, which I find essential when assessing behavioral patterns that interfere with healthy functioning.