Katie Grace MacElveen, PhD
Adult Clinical Therapist
Dr. Katie Grace MacElveen is delighted to bring her skills as a therapist to Open Sky Wilderness Therapy. She has a passion for the natural world and this extraordinary time of development, and the special challenges families face, as young people cross over into adulthood. She loves bringing potential to life, helping to clarify the challenges, exploring solutions, and offering guidance through this part of the life journey for young people and their families.
A Colorado native, her BA in Experiential and Environmental Education is from Regis College in Denver, Colorado. She has a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the Union Institute & University with emphases in Developmental and Body-Centered Psychology. A natural systems thinker, her doctoral dissertation is a cross-cultural study of the power of embodiment practices, like Adventure Education (a close kin to Wilderness Therapy), and somatic practices, like yoga, to support development in girls and women in the United States. She discovered that power is a body-based experience, and once gained becomes a resource for confidence in many different life expressions.
Katie Grace brings diverse and rich professional experiences to Open Sky. She has worked in inpatient adolescent and adult psychiatric programs, and maintained a private practice in Durango, Colorado. In her therapy work, she specializes in transitions, educational challenges, emotional and behavioral difficulties, grief, trauma and addiction recovery. She taught psychology and high performance teaming and communications to young adults in several colleges and universities, including Naropa University, Fort Lewis College, and the Duke University MBA program. She has been a leader in the development and application of integrated systems of communications, supporting healthy relationships, innovative business and sustainability practices, and presenting at national and international conferences. She has also successfully launched two children of her own, who are dynamic young adults, now in their 20s.
Katie Grace has lived in southwest Colorado for nearly 30 years. She was the founding Executive Director of Faraway Adventure Programs and Telluride Teamworks, designing and delivering adventure programs to support development for populations from youth to senior executive teams, including those with special needs. She has had an organizational consulting, training and coaching business that has taken her to many parts of the world to support high performance leadership, teaming, and diversity awareness among educators, entrepreneurs, and executives in firms including: UBS, PricewaterhouseCooper, Motorola, and Microsoft. Through her many experiences in therapy and education, she has learned that to grow, at times, we all need time away to focus on specific development in a safe and supportive environment, clear guidance, time in nature and healthy nourishment, chances to integrate and practice new skills and experience applying the new learning with a group of like-minded individuals. Open Sky offers just such a place for young people and their families.
A long time dancer, martial artist, and meditator, Katie Grace also co-leads dance practices and silent meditation retreats, bringing her love of dance and movement to participants in community and wilderness settings. Katie Grace loves to play outside, especially with her kids! You will find her swimming wild waters, surfing, wandering on foot/skis through the backcountry of these high mountains, or playing her guitar near the lake. Whether in the mountains, the desert or near the water's edge, she is often captivated by the light!
Nothing is more precious or challenging than playing our part as parents to support the success, health, and well being of our children, especially through their adolescent and young adult years. Sometimes, at this time of transition, families need support in helping youth to find their feet and live in balance as they make their way in the world.
~ Dr. Katie Grace MacElveen
