Katie Hart, MS, LMHC, CN 

Founder, Mental Health Counselor and Certified Nutritionist

Katie has a passion for health and people; she works with helping people create sustainable health for themselves and for their families. Treatments use combined approach to health: mental and emotional wellness, helping people manage the challenges they face daily. Nutrition and mental health impact us all, families, parents, children, and individuals. HartsSpace is a place where understanding and healing can happen from the inside out!

Training /Approach

Katie’s academic background began at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science and Theater.

Years later, after many personal adventures and life experiences, she obtained a Master’s degree from Bastyr University, MSNCHP, in Nutrition and Clinical Health Psychology.

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Katie’s training encompasses a mind, body, spirit approach to mental health and nutrition. She believes that the power of nutrition and therapy can heal a person. Her background and passions have driven her to create a clinic where a person may grow using their own intuition and cultivating healing from a place within their own resources. She sees people as their own expert and uses techniques and tools to help people to better understand and create the change they desire.  Her unique approaches have helped many create sustainable change. Children also find a friendly space for healing, and a place to be seen using play. 

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Her goal is to make a mark on the health and nutrition climate working with patients to find better ways to manage their bodies, minds and spirits. She strongly believes that our systems and our beings are connected, and we cannot fully treat our wellness without taking into account all the aspects of a person's life!

For this reason she chose to create a practice model combining Functional Medicine Nutrition and Mental Health. This was the beginning of HartsSpace. Since 2008, she has seen a need for a farther-reaching approach for patients. In addition to one-on-one provider support, there is a deep missing need for interconnection with people and their health pursuits. We can do better when we are seen, heard, and accepted on our journeys; we thrive in community and also weather the struggles better.  

In 2022, in collaboration, HartsSpace launched Live Well, Eat Well and Be Well a FREE accountability group for wellness, and its add-on components of trainings, retreats, provider and peer support.

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"I vision the world and the people in the world like plants. What was put on this earth is here to nourish us mentally and emotionally. When we find the proper balance of nutrients to thrive, mental and emotional wellness and mindful approaches to balance we sustain ourselves we are in full bloom. Children too can blossom when given the nutrients and tools for success. Sustainable health is the key to future generations of better health.”

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• Expert Nutritionist and Mental Health Therapist - Katie is a specialist in both nutrition and mental health therapy, offering a comprehensive approach to healing that encompasses the mind, body, and spirit.

• Harnessing the Power of Nutrition and Therapy: Katie firmly believes in the transformative potential of combining nutrition and therapy, advocating for their synergistic effects in promoting overall well-being.

• Empowering Self-Healing: Katie facilitates a space where individuals tap into their intuition and inner resources to cultivate their own growth and healing, recognizing that true healing comes from within.

• Client-Centered Approach, (Psychodynamic and CBT skills)  Katie sees each person as their own expert, guiding them with techniques and tools to understand themselves better and facilitate the change they desire.

• Catalyst for Sustainable Change and Better Health:  Through her unique methodologies, Katie has empowered many to create lasting changes in their lives, fostering long-term wellness.

• Transformating the Health and Nutrition Landscape: Katie's mission is to revolutionize the health and nutrition landscape, partnering with patients, providers and teams to discover effective ways to manage their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

• Interconnected Wellness Advocacy: Recognizing the intricate connection between systems and beings, Katie emphasizes the importance of addressing all aspects of a person's life for comprehensive wellness.

• Community Building and Group Support: Katie assists individuals in finding community and support through groups, retreats, and holistic approaches that cater to the whole person they are.

•  Navigating Eating Confusion: Katie helps individuals navigate the complexities of eating, including chronic health conditions, metabolic problems, performance nutrition, and nutrition for longevity and stress management.

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Michelle Benson, MS, CN

Functional Nutritionist and Eating Psychology Expert

Michelle has a passion for helping individuals find the nutrition and lifestyle strategies that work best for their individual needs. She believes there is no one size fits all approach to health and considers a combination of her patients’ lived experiences, history, labs, current stressors, and preferences to generate plans and strategies catered to each of her patients. In addition to nutrition and lifestyle interventions, Michelle utilizes her past training in Eating Psychology to help patients understand why they eat the way they do and address various eating behaviors.

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A lover of biochemistry, neurobiology, and research, Michelle has been involved in the nutrition and wellness space for over a decade. She received her Eating Psychology Certification in 2014 knowing full well that much of the battle of nutrition and diet change is psychological. After working in various multi-faceted wellness offices and exploring the vast realm of nutrition, she pursued her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon, graduating in June of 2022. Her collaborative approach through the Functional Medicine lens and the background of Eating Psychology gives her patients a thorough understanding of their symptoms, behaviors, and strengths, leading to lifestyle and diet improvements that feel empowering, rather than restrictive.

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In general, Michelle works with patients in multiple areas.

• Individuals seeking to improve their relationship with food and body (craving management, emotional eating, binge eating, compulsive eating, etc.)

• Patients wanting to understand behaviors around food. Together we will utilize mind-body nutrition using eating psychology concepts (i.e. frame of mind around food, history with eating, etc.,)

• People with suspected neurotransmitter imbalances: Neuro-nutrient therapy (using amino acid therapy to assist in mood and cravings in conjunction with the psychological aspects discussed above)

• Those suffering from metabolic disorders and blood sugar regulation. Using a functional medicine approach to improve metabolic health, repair metabolism, and manage blood sugar to improve lab markers, increase energy, and create better moods.

• Patients looking for fertility, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition support. Women looking to get pregnant, support their pregnancies, and improve postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, etc.

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"My philosophy in working with patients is to develop a healthy cross-talk between the mind and body by approaching health and nutrition from a psychological and physiological perspective together. In a world of diet culture, mixed messaging, and increasing stressors (both mental and physical), many of us have lost touch with how to relate to our mind and body in a loving, understanding, and empowering way. My aim in working with patients nutritionally is to improve health outcomes while creating a peace around food and body so individuals can have the energy and space to live happily and bring their best selves into the world."

Karin Lund, MS, CN
Now Accepting New Patients!

Functional Nutritionist and Women’s Health Expert,

specializing in hormone balance and food addiction.

Karin’s passion for women’s health and nutrition began while researching natural ways to relieve her own painful periods and endless quest to lose weight. At the time, she was burned out, anxious and overwhelmed, trying her best to be Super Mom, Super Wife, and a career woman. She discovered that as women, our biochemistry changes throughout our cycle and our nutritional needs change along with it. Armed with the knowledge that women have a unique physiological make up, Karin made gradual, sustainable changes to her diet and lifestyle, losing her excess weight, and healing her relationship with food and her body.

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She shifted her career in Health Care Administration to Functional Nutrition. Using food as medicine, Karin is dedicated to helping women treat the root cause of hormonal, menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms through evidence-based treatment and patient-centered functional medicine practices. Together, you will create your own personalized design for living that empowers you to partner with your body, make peace with food, and cultivate connection.

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Her clinical interests include PMS/PMDD and irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis, PCOS, thyroid disorders, and perimenopausal challenges in addition to mood balance, adrenal fatigue, and food addiction. Karin works with women of all ages, to inspire them to live in balance, health, and peace.

Upon graduation in summer 2023, Karin will receive a Master of Science (MS) degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon. Karin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Administration and has been working in health and wellness for over twenty years. More than a degree or certification, Karin knows firsthand a woman’s extraordinary capacity for natural healing when given simple and practical tools that align with her season of life.

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Karin is the author of the Becoming Fiercely Free Food & Gratitude Journal for women, a unique guide to living in harmony with your body.

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A firefighter wife, endometriosis warrior, and mama of four, Karin is a lover of words and early mornings. She lives for nature walks, dancing with her young daughters, and delivering treats to her girlfriends with the new moon.

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"As women, our needs are not static. They flow as our hormones shift. We simply do not operate within the same 24-hour clock that men do. Learning to live in a way that honors our natural rhythm as a woman, empowers us to say yes to what feels good and practice saying no to what holds us back."

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Ideal Clients: 

• People susceptible to food addiction, correcting the root cause of cravings through neuro-nutrient therapy and establishing habits to support long term success .

• Nutrition for First Responders, making a healthy lifestyle practical for individuals with careers that predispose them to cortisol and dopamine dysregulation.

• Women suffering from hormonal imbalances (PMDD, endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids), optimizing each phase of the menstrual cycle and reducing disruptive symptoms.

• Women experiencing perimenopausal symptoms such as mood changes, insomnia, and night sweats, understanding the science behind this significant transition and transforming it into a powerful experience.

• Patients interested in learning about plant-based eating in a way that optimizes energy and strength.

I help health-conscious humans between the ages of 15 and 55 who struggle with feeling like their health is less than optimal to improve their hormone and neurotransmitter function. While working with me, they develop tools and practices to move forward with increased energy, balance and peace around their food and their body.

Using the power of storytelling, I seek to listen and interpret the messages of the body to act on the underlying concerns. I strive to create a therapeutic relationship of trust and empathy that leads to nourishing interventions and understanding of the health situation. 

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We are thrilled for Karin to build her practice with us here at HartsSpace, she is accepting new patients now!