Dr. Vanacore, "Coach Kristy," is a warm, caring, and empowering Holistic Psychologist and Personal Development Coach, and a well-respected leader in the community. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University and continued her studies at The Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology where she earned a Master of Science Degree and a  Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology and School Psychology. Kristy has worked in schools, hospitals, outpatient mental health centers, and community-based care settings.

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Kristy has spent the last 20 years dedicated to empowering and nurturing the minds, bodies, and spirits of children, teens, adults and families with love, compassion, and genuine care.

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As her philosophy is rooted in the scientific connection between mind, body, and spirit, Kristy offers a unique integrative approach to working with the whole person. By practicing what she has defined as "Root Cause Psychology," Kristy explores the underlying root causes of symptoms, illness, and dis-ease, and offers support to heal those root causes so that her clients can thrive. She has particular expertise in various evidenced-based practices and philosophies including Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Family Therapy & Parent Coaching, Neuropsychological Evaluations, Educational Advocacy, Ecopsychology, Biofeedback, Meditation, Empowerment Coaching, and Nutritional Healing & Functional Medicine, Kristy incorporates the ancient wisdom of Shamanic Healing Practices, Reiki, Buddhist Psychology, Jungian Psychology, and others to bring profound healing experiences to modern seekers. 

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Kristy is certified in Reiki, Shamanic Reiki, and Craniosacral Balancing, and Conscious Dance with particular expertise in Somato-emotional release and trauma release work, She also has a ministerial license to provide hands on healing to those in need. 

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Kristy's unique approach integrates a variety of evidenced-based movement practices into all sessions, in order to release stuck energy in the body--the only way to restore harmony in the mind-body-spirit. Kristy is a certified Yoga teacher (RYT-200) for children, teens, and adults, through the prestigious Yoga Alliance, as well as a Green Belt-certified NIA practitioner. Nia- Neuromuscular Integrative Action- is a fusion of Yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method, Martial Arts, and Dance, and an expert in Somato-emotional release and Authentic Movement, and she incorporates these treatment modalities into her work to help clients release trauma and stored emotions that create illness in the body, mind, and spirit.

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As a certified Mindfulness in Schools Project leader, Kristy has spent the past decade bringing her mindfulness and wellness initiatives into schools to support students, as well as teachers and administrators.

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Kristy has created a unique and innovative personal development and empowerment program for children, teens, and adults. In addition, Kristy has particular expertise in the area of spiritual development for parents, as she has researched and written extensively about the rebirth of parents after the birth of their children. Kristy believes that all challenges represent an opportunity for rebirth and rediscovery of the true authentic self, and she shares her own personal revelations and transformations in her upcoming book to be published in late 2020.

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As a mentor, Kristy provides supervision to colleagues; as well as psychology and education interns at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Kristy has also provided training for local schools and has presented on topics of interest to various parent organizations as well as for staff development programs for teachers, administrators, and related service providers.

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She is a frequent speaker both in the community and nationally; as she offers workshops on topics including Mindful Parenting, Empowerment and Resiliency for children and teens, health and wellness for families, meditation, and spiritual development. 

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"Be the Change You Wish to See in the World" is Kristy's mantra; and to that end she has developed a charitable initiative called "Be the Change for Families" in which money and books are raised to benefit various organizations supporting families locally and internationally. She invites her clients to volunteer their time in order to truly be the change they wish to see in the world—seeing firsthand how small acts of kindness create meaningful and far reaching change in the world.

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Most recently, Kristy has authored her first book, her own memoir, which is scheduled to be published in late 2020. Kristy is a  "Sacred Storyteller," who believes in passing the wisdom of the elders to others through both the oral and written tradition. She also believes that excavating one's own story is the key to becoming a whole integrated being in mind, body, and spirit; and she coaches clients to use writing and storytelling in their healing journeys.  Kristy frequently writes blogs, articles for various publications, as well as collections of poetry.

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Kristy enjoys spending time "off the grid" in nature with her husband and two spirited sons ages 12 and 9. She also loves dancing, practicing yoga, hiking, sculpting pottery, painting, and traveling. 

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Her story:

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Like all humans, I am wounded. Traumatic experiences at various times shaped my life and suffering ensued. I spent years --since early childhood--trying to manage severe anxiety, depression, OCD, addictive behaviors, compromised relationships, and significant physical illnesses. Once I understood the purpose of the trauma was to evolve my soul, the game changed. No longer was I victim. I was a warrior, and the purpose of my life’s trauma became clear. I am a conduit and spirit sent life experiences to me and through me as a vehicle to heal others.

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I have used the light of my wounds to guide me in the creation of a safe, loving, and nurturing community in which individuals of all ages can come to discover their inner powers and learn how to use them for their highest good and the good of the world. Consistent with my whole-person, integrative approach, my mission is to integrate science with spirit, to empower each individual and family to thrive in mind, body, and spirit. Instead of seeing individuals as having problems and symptoms, my focus is on connecting individuals with their inner powers such that they become resilient, facing adversity with confidence, inner-grit, integrity, grace and poise. I believe illness or struggle of any kind represents an invitation for rebirth, renewal, and transformation, and that individuals can only truly thrive when they heal from the inside out. That is why my approach is designed to uncover and safely heal root causes. To guide others to use the light of their wounds to reveal outdated patterns of behaving and interacting with the world that no longer serves them, in order to release dis-ease and finally create a mind-body-spirit system that is healthy and well.

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“I help people as a way to work on myself , and I work on myself to help people. To me, that’s what this emerging game is all about.” -Ram Dass

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Creating an innovative center for collective healing and community has been my birthright and life’s mission. This is a sacred space in which I integrate science with soul to bring ancient healing medicine to modern people of all ages and stages. It’s where I share the wisdom that I have collected along my own healing journey, offering others an invitation to grow and evolve their own souls on their journey.

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I offer Individual and Group mentoring and coaching; Root-cause Psychology; Somatic/Body/Movement-based therapies; Conscious Dance; Craniosacral Balancing; Reiki: empowerment workshops; Mindful/Conscious Parenting; Somatic experiencing; Mindfulness and Yoga; Shamanic practices; Ecopsychology; creative expressive arts; sacred storytelling; collective healing for communities and organizations such as schools and businesses. 

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Whether you feel called to work me, or are just stopping by this page to browse, I am honored that you have chosen to read my words and I sincerely hope they offer you an invitation to go within to find your gifts and to shine your inner light on the world.

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kristy.vanacore@kmvgroup.org