Meet Dr. K

Laura Rosser Kreiselmaier (affectionately dubbed “Dr. K” by some of her HSP clients) is a holistic psychotherapist whose first career was in the field of music. Born in Knoxville, TN, she moved to Nashville in 2000 to attend Belmont University, where she studied Ministry with a Piano minor. Laura also received attention from national media for having synesthesia, years before “neurodivergence” came into our cultural vocabulary.

After building a career as a performer, accompanist, piano teacher, writer/arranger, and children’s choir director, Laura sensed there was another aspect to her sense of calling. She enrolled in Vanderbilt University’s Religion, Psychology, & Culture program and earned a PhD. Along the way, she discovered that she loved practicing psychotherapy, so she needed to get licensed. Tennessee is one of a handful of states that offer a license in Clinical Pastoral Therapy (CPT), which seemed like a perfect fit.

There was just one (big) problem—the American Association of Pastoral Counselors was about to close down, removing the pathway to CPT licensure. Not one to give up easily, Laura helped mobilize the leaders of the TN Association of Pastoral Therapists (TNAPT) to organize and lobby the state legislature to rewrite the law, creating a new licensure process. Laura then served from 2016-18 and 2020-24 as the president of TNAPT and guided the association into a new model of collaboration and sustainability.

Meanwhile, she had built a successful private therapy practice specializing in creative clients and other Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs). But just as Laura had sensed in 2008 that she had some sort of calling beyond music, by 2024 she felt ready to pursue a long-held goal: founding and leading an endowment-based, nonprofit, holistic healing center for her beloved Nashville.

She had seen firsthand how hard it is for most people to afford the kind of mental health care they need to heal and flourish. What if there was a beautiful place where HSP clients could form a long-term relationship with a gentle and skilled therapist, get their meds managed, have a cup of tea, pray or meditate in sacred space, maybe even make some music or art between appointments? And best of all, what if there were an endowment so that the center could be funded primarily off the interest, allowing low-to-no-fee service for the clients who needed it most, and attracting a top-notch treatment team who wanted to spend their careers there?

And thus, the vision for CATHARSIS was born.

With the guidance of the Shift Network‘s 2024 Visionary Mastermind program, the “What Ifs” have begun to turn into reality. Laura has recruited a top-notch governing board, created bylaws, registered CATHARSIS as a nonprofit corporation, secured its 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, and invested her own funds in getting started, in addition to decreasing her therapy practice (and income) by 40%. She and her husband, Dr. David Thornton, anticipate a season of fundraising concerts as they share the vision and seek major philanthropic support.

Laura (a.k.a. “Dr. K”) is thrilled to serve as the Lead Visionary and first CEO of CATHARSIS and sees this role as the culmination of the different facets of her vocation thus far (musician, therapist, nonprofit leader, and proud Nashvillian). She is deeply grateful to everyone who is offering encouragement and opening doors in order to bring this beautiful vision into reality!

Performing for Nashville’s Spiritual Friends Network (photo credit: Ruth Williams)
With family at Christmas
“Learning that I’m a Highly Sensitive Person has helped me understand why I have felt so different from most people for my entire life and how it has impacted my relationships through the years.”
-Jan B.
Being an HSP feels like walking around with an open wound all the time. I am learning to see it as a gift and a superpower instead of a detriment.
-Emily
I think the most important thing for fellow HSPs who are seeking therapy is to have trust that you are not alone; you are not just “a weirdo” and there are people who are more than willing to talk, listen, explain, and help in any way they can.
– Andy Nelson
Had it been anyone else, I would have considered the undertaking of such a nonprofit a pipe dream. In your case, it seems a sure bet. I’m a believer. Your outstanding concert lent total credence to your commitment and the level of brilliance to see this through.
– John Pell, composer and founder of Chet Atkins’ Nashville Guitar Quartet
You have been so thorough and wise in the way you have structured the organization.  It will provide encouragement and healing to so many who have been fractured by the environment in which we live.
-Dr. William F. Cooper, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Baylor University
CATHARSIS is a vision of a place for healing, a place for fellow Nashvillians to come and seek treatment in a setting that is non-intimidating, where you can come and see a therapist, you might get a cup of coffee, you might have a massage.
-Linda Kosack, Board Chair
We need a place like CATHARSIS in Nashville because there are a lot of creatives in Nashville who need a place to get therapy, a place to be seen and a place to be heard.
-Dr. Robbie Pinter, Board Time-Keeper
CATHARSIS is body services, it’s med management, it’s psychotherapy, it’s community and belonging. It’s beautiful. What excites me most is people coming and my getting to see them feel safe.
-Dr. David Thornton, Board Secretary
The downside of being an HSP is we can struggle more, can become overstimulated more easily. We’re more susceptible to mental distress, to anxiety and depression. But these are also the folks who tend to be deeply creative and spiritual and empathic.
-Dr. Laura Kreiselmaier, Founder and CEO of CATHARSIS