Hi, I’m Kathryn. I am a full-time writer-artist living and working in San Francisco since 2006. I began writing as a business in 2006 when getting paid to blog was a brand new thing, and over the years I covered almost every topic from tech news to personal finance, travel to nightlife. But it wasn’t too long before I started finding my real niche: Where Art Meets Mental Health.
I came to this work first through lived experience. I’ve spent my life as a full-time creative while also navigating a chronic mental health condition. At one point, when nothing else seemed to help, I found solace in crochet. It wasn’t a cure, but it was a lifeline - a rhythmic, grounding, tangible practice that gave me something to hold onto. That discovery led me down a path of research, education, and conversation. I wrote a few books. I created some big art initiatives. I interviewed hundreds of people about crochet as therapy. I went to a couple grad school programs (Psychology and Visual/Critical Studies).
And then I branched out into an exploration of the more complex, nuanced relationship between art and wellness. I don’t believe in the tortured genius myth, nor do I think art is always therapeutic. Instead, I sit in the messy, magical middle where creativity meets real life. I know exactly what it’s like to try to navigate a creative career in an expensive city as a single woman while dealing with health challenges and all of the other challenges of simply being human. I know that it’s tough and I know that it’s possible.
And that’s where my work lives:
in utilizing my skills, experience, research, understanding, education and storytelling ability to help other artist/ makers/ creatives/ helpers/ healers in their own process of navigating a complex life and career.
I offer services that help people engage with creativity in ways that support them - through workshops, one-on-one guidance, written words, and art initiatives.
If you’re looking for a writer who understands the psychology of creativity, a workshop facilitator who can help you reconnect with art as a healing practice, or a creative companion who can help you achieve holistic wellness (creative, financial, social …), you have probably landed in the right place.
Writing for Therapists
Therapists do life-changing work. But finding the right words to communicate that work to the world? That’s where I come in.
I specialize in writing for therapy practices, particularly group practices and collectives, helping you craft website content, blog posts, and newsletters that reflect your unique approach. I have a background in psychology, years of experience writing for therapists, and a deep understanding of how to translate your expertise into compelling, client-attracting language.
If you need writing that is clear, compassionate, SEO-friendly, ethical-and-legal, and actually sounds like you, let’s talk.
Craft to Heal Workshops
Fifteen years ago, crochet saved my life. Since then, I’ve spent years researching, experimenting, and learning about how creativity supports mental health—and also about what to do when it doesn’t seem to be helping.
Craft to Heal is my immersive, structured program designed to help you explore how creativity can be a tool for personal growth, grounding, and connection. It’s not a how-to-craft class, and it’s not therapy—it’s something in between and beyond. Each month, we dive into a theme (mindfulness, fear, creative balance, letting go) through guided creative exercises, reflection, and discussion.
If you’ve ever felt like art or craft could support your well-being but weren’t sure how, this is for you.
1:1 Creativity Sessions
Sometimes you need a guide, a sounding board, or just a space to work through what’s keeping you stuck. I offer one-on-one creative guidance sessions for artists, writers, makers, and creatives of all kinds.
These sessions are about you—your creative practice, your roadblocks, your goals. Whether you’re struggling with creative blocks, navigating burnout, figuring out how to balance your art with the realities of life, or just need a reset, I can help. I bring my experience as a working creative, my background in psychology, and my understanding of the art-business-wellness intersection to these conversations.
If you want to talk things through, I’d love to support you.
Art Initiatives
In addition to writing about the intersection of creativity and mental health, I actively create and lead community-driven art projects that explore healing, identity, and social change. From Mandalas for Marinke, a global crochet project raising awareness about depression, suicide and crafting to heal, to my collaboration with artist Badri Valian on In My Fluffy Pajamas, an interactive storytelling series on migration and resilience, my work blends fiber arts, storytelling, and activism. I especially enjoy large scale collaborative projects like the Liberty Crochet Mural and the Substack Blackout Poetry Exchange. Each of these initiatives is a way to engage with creativity as a tool for connection, conversation, and transformation.
Substack: Create Me Free
I’ve spent years studying, writing about, and living in the space where art meets mental health. My primary Substack, Create Me Free, is where I share everything I learn along the way - essays, interviews, research, and personal insights on the relationship between creativity and health.
This is where you’ll find deep dives into topics like how depression impacts artistic productivity and why creativity sometimes feels like both a blessing and a burden. You’ll also find profiles of artists from history and interviews with contemporary creatives, including visual interviews for situations where images say more than words. If you want to be part of the conversation, subscribing is the best way to stay connected.
