About Kyoko Katayama, MSW, Ph.D, LICSW
I was born and grew up in Tokyo, Japan. Although my
biological father was an American, I was raised as a Japanese, speaking and
knowing only Japanese language and culture. Since then I have crossed and
bridged many cultures and learned several languages. With my mother, I came to
the US when I was 17. I lived in Italy for six years where some of my children
were born. I returned to the US and earned my Master of Social Work (MSW) from
the University of Minnesota and began working as a psychotherapist in 1982. I
received my Ph.D. in Cross-cultural and Transpersonal Psychology from the Union
University in 1997. I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW).
I have been in private practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, since 1994.
I have been on a spiritual journey since I was a teen. I
have studied widely on topics related to spirituality, healing, and
neuroscience. I am a senior member at Common Ground Meditation Center http://commongroundmeditation.org
where I sometimes give a dharma talk on mindfulness practice and teach a class
on Befriending Death.
I am also an end of life educator and offer support for life
transitions. I teach a course, Befriending Death, and offer my services in the
broad community as a resource and support person for mindful living and
conscious dying. I am a member of Minnesota Threshold Network, a non-profit
organization dedicated to supporting family-oriented, natural end-of-life
transitions.
I have a life-long love and proclivity in visual arts and
writing. I began the practice of drawing and journaling when I was twelve years
old and bedridden for over a month from an accident. I published a chap book, Wings above the Sea in 2017. My poems have appeared in Asian
American Renaissance Journal and Intersecting Circles: The Voices of Hapa
Women in Poetry and Prose. An excerpt from my memoir-in-progress was
published in Where the Tree Falls, the Forest Rises: Stories of Death and Renewal in
2013. http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1479320374
I am a grandmother of three delightful grandchildren and a befriender of a rescue dog — a yellow lab/Akita mix who sometimes accompanies me to sessions. I am a member of an amateur Japanese chorus.