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.”

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.

• Pregnancy and Postpartum: Michelle is a mother herself and has a huge heart for women on the journey of motherhood. There is a lot of misunderstood information regarding how to eat for optimal health during this time. How we eat and move supports mother and baby throughout pregnancy and the months and even years after. 

• Psychology of Eating: Helping individuals understand where their eating challenges stem from, how to overcome them, and strategies for understanding and coping with emotional eating, binge eating, compulsive eating, body image, and more. In this realm, it is not uncommon to address challenges such as anxiety, depression, and even ADHD tendencies.

• Improving Metabolism: Many people struggle with sluggish metabolisms nowadays. Whether this stems from poor diet, chronic dieting, eating disorders, thyroid issues, adrenal dysfunction, digestive upset, etc., our metabolic function impacts everything from weight, cardiovascular health, sleep, energy, moods, and more.

• Blood Sugar Regulation: This overlaps with the above topics. By addressing blood sugar balance, patients notice improved moods, better appetite regulation, hormone balance, more energy, improved understanding of their bodily reactions to foods, and more. 

In the ever changing research in the nutrition realm, Michelle is often finding herself working with patients with various ailments, leading her to stay on her toes and up to date on the current research and experts in the field. She also does lectures and presentations in the community and leads retreats provided by HartsSpace. Outside of working, Michelle loves to hike, knit, read, and spend time with family and friends. 

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"Your relationship with your body and food is the longest relationship you will ever have. It's dynamic, filled with highs and lows. No perfect diet or program can fully cater to your needs until you cultivate the skill of collaborating with your body, attentively listening to its signals and biochemical responses. You can dedicate time and energy to this partnership, and you'll discover the optimal way of eating and moving that genuinely benefits both you and your body."

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