I’M KRISTIE
Before I was a therapist, I was just like you.
For three decades I've navigated hard transitions, raised a child with special needs, walked through grief, and rebuilt after life fell apart in ways I never saw coming.
My background began in Recreational Therapy and grew into a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Marriage, Family, and Individual Counseling. But what shapes how I sit with you isn't the degrees — it's having lived through hard seasons of my own.
Kristie Sullivan · MA, LMFTA
Kristie specializes in grief, loss, and difficult life transitions.
Before I was a therapist, I was just like you.
For three decades I've navigated hard transitions, raised a child with special needs, walked through grief, and rebuilt after life fell apart in ways I never saw coming.
My background began in Recreational Therapy and grew into a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Marriage, Family, and Individual Counseling. But what shapes how I sit with you isn't the degrees — it's having lived through hard seasons of my own.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
My path to counseling wasn't a straight line — it wound through hospitals, refugee centers, classrooms, and continents.
Every step taught me the same thing: no one heals alone.
EDUCATION
M.A., Christian Marriage, Family & Individual Counseling
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina
2026
Masters of Divinity
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Forth Worth, Texas
2000
B.S., Therapeutic Recreation
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma
1993
EXPERIENCE
Missionary, International Mission Board
(2001–2024)
Two decades of grief care, emotional support, and community-building across Russia and Canada.
Mentor & Advocate, Canada
(2016–2024)
Grief care and crisis support for immigrant and refugee families; founded a parent support network for families of military boarding-school students.
Refugee Support Coordinator, World Relief
(1997–2000)
Holistic care for refugee families navigating healthcare and resettlement.
Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, UT Medical Branch
(1992–1995)
Therapeutic programs for children in psychiatric crisis.
MY THOUGHTS ON THERAPY
Counseling should be a place where you don't have to pretend or perform.
I want to make space for the messy, honest,
complicated truth of being human.
MY THOUGHTS ON LIFE
In every season and role, I see my life as a story God is still writing — one that keeps shaping my purpose and calling.
A FEW THINGS ABOUT ME
Very into water — watermelon, water aerobics, water slides, the lake, the beach, the pool, cold plunge, or hot tub.
Deathly afraid of bugs.
Education.Degrees in Leisure, Theology, and Therapy. Apparently I like studying people, purpose, and fun.
This or that. Early bird · Beach · Coffee · Extrovert · Plants · Movies · Texting · Window seat.
On my shelf. Theo of Golden, The Help, and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.
Favorite tradition. Advent. Not because I love waiting, but for the anticipation — the belief that something good is coming even when you can't see it yet. It's a lot like therapy.
Expert skill. Packing weeks of clothes into a budget-airline personal item.
A day I'd give anything to relive. Any day with my mom.
Proud moment. I built this entire website myself. Zero experience, no clue about CSS — just a lot of love, research, and stubbornness. (Kind of like my approach to life, learning, and therapy.)
Something I know for sure. Starting over is hard. It's also possible.
MY STORY
Lying awake at 3 a.m., wondering what went wrong.
During one especially dark stretch, I couldn't keep pretending anymore. That's when I sat across from a counselor for the first time.
They didn't try to fix me. Didn't push or rush me. Didn't offer easy answers. They simply entered one of the hardest chapters of my life — and stayed.
Waited for me to find the words. Rediscover the goodness. Find hope again.