Mental Health Champions: Why & How Rebecca Kase Of Kase Co Is Helping To Champion Mental Wellness

An Interview With Michelle Tennant Nicholson

Sleep is one of the most important factors for my well-being. If I don’t get 7–8 hours of sleep, I will feel off, anxious, and out of sorts. I guard my sleep time like it’s my most precious resource. Sleep does the nervous system good!

As a part of our series about Mental Health Champions helping to promote mental wellness, I had the pleasure to interview Rebecca Kase.

Rebecca Kase is a licensed clinical social worker and yoga instructor, living in Gig Harbor, WA. She is an EMDR Consultant & Basic Trainer, and the owner of Kase & CO, an EMDR Training and Consulting company. She is the author of “Polyvagal informed EMDR: A Neuro-informed Approach to Healing.”

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

I grew up in rural Missouri on 120 acres of land. My playground was the forest, climbing trees and running around the woods.

My mom inherited my great-grandfather’s house when he passed away. He was a psychiatrist, and rumor has it he was pen pals with Sigmund Freud. We had a library that held several of his psychiatry books and writings. I used to spend time looking through them, finding them to be so peculiar as they depicted old-school thinking in the earlier days of mental health treatment and psychiatry. There was a lot of misinformation about hysterical women, and everything seemed to be about syphilis. I feel that influenced my development as a psychotherapist as I grew up curious about mental health and psychology.

I grew up with two parents who were married until my adult years, and I have a younger sister. I went to a small school, knowing the same kids from kindergarten to high school. With so much land, we always had dogs and cats, and at various points, we had a pony, chickens, turkeys, and peacocks. My parents were always taking in stray animals, and they taught us to love nature and to treat animals and people with kindness.

I went to undergrad at MIZZOU and then moved to Colorado to pursue my master’s degree. I now live in Washington State with my husband and four fur babies, and am a licensed clinical social worker, yoga instructor, and entrepreneur.

You are currently leading an initiative that is helping to promote mental wellness. Can you tell us a bit more specifically about what you are trying to address?

My focus is twofold. First, is teaching psychotherapists how to heal and treat trauma with EMDR therapy, Polyvagal Theory, and mind-body practices and techniques in shame-free, compassionate learning environments. I am passionate about not only teaching therapists how to heal trauma, but also about creating safe, inclusive, and empowering learning spaces in my professional community.

The academic field of psychotherapy is a strange place — it’s ridden with patriarchy, rigidity, big egos, shame, and a lack of safety. I often find it ironic that experts in trauma therapy can’t seem to create trauma-informed spaces for people to learn their techniques, so I am just as passionate about how I teach and train as I am about the content. I believe in creating shame-free, embodied spaces for learning where therapists walk away feeling inspired by the team that helped teach them and the content and techniques they learned.

One of Ghandi’s quotes is “Be your message”, which speaks to me and is one I try to embrace as a leader and business owner. I believe that as a thought leader in the field of professional education, my business needs to embody the messages and lessons of healing from the ground up.

My second initiative is in speaking to the general public and teaching people how to unlock the power of their nervous systems to heal and become more resilient. Your nervous system is your greatest ally and resource for personal growth, transformation, and healing.

The difficult emotions, problematic thoughts, and maladaptive behaviors we all struggle with in various flavors are all products of your nervous system and how it’s functioning. You wouldn’t feel anxious, depressed, happy, sad, hungry, tired, or loving without your nervous system. It’s what allows you to form memories, relationships, and ultimately what we are describing when we say we are peaceful or depressed — but we never talk about this.

All of your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and behaviors are products of neurophysiological functioning, and that also means that health and wellness lie in a functional nervous system. You’re only as healthy as your nervous system, and when we recognize this, we can start to care for our nervous system accordingly.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

I have been passionate about trauma therapy since I began my professional training as a therapist. Trauma is a common experience that most people encounter in their lifetime. It never ceases to amaze me to witness the power of the nervous system and the body, to heal and overcome; not only can we heal from trauma, but research shows that we can actually grow into more resilient and adaptive beings in the process. This is something known as post-traumatic growth, a concept that speaks to the incredible resiliency of the human spirit to heal and overcome.

I believe that we all have an innate potential to heal, and that healing is part of everyone’s life purpose. It is humbling and inspiring to be a part of that healing process with clients and to every day bear witness to the power of the human spirit. I can attest to this, as I have recovered from PTSD and anxiety myself. I have personally done my healing work and can speak to how good it is to get to the other side of your recovery process, so I believe in this work both personally and professionally.

I’ve been practicing psychotherapy for almost two decades now. I found EMDR therapy early in my professional career, got trained, and am now an expert in this evidence-based therapy for trauma. In addition to direct practice with clients, I’ve also had a passion for teaching therapists how to treat trauma effectively. I started contract work with professional training right out of graduate school and have been training in trauma therapy techniques since 2010. I love supporting people’s growth, whether that’s clients or the therapists who treat them. There’s something so inspiring to me in that process.

I have never been afraid of public speaking or being on stage. A fun fact about me: I was a wedding DJ while I was in undergrad. I loved the energy of that job, the feel of performing and entertaining, having a lot of fun, and being a part of someone’s special day. I can feel some similarities in my role as a professional trainer, as I have to perform, entertain, and create an experience. I even play music in my trainings and often get compliments on my playlists!

Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?

I started my own EMDR and trauma training company, Kase & CO, in 2017. I was burnt out from my work in community mental health, toxic work environments, and feeling constantly disappointed with the leadership of the field. I started planning my exit strategy from my leadership position at a mental health agency and exploring my options. An opportunity came across my path at that exact time, and it felt like the universe was sending me a sign, in flashing neon lights, saying, “This way, now!”

I suddenly had an opportunity to start my own EMDR training business. It was an exciting and terrifying idea — one that made me feel alive with energy and inspiration and that also activated my imposter syndrome and a lot of fear. So, I took all that as a sign it was the right thing to do.

I started Kase & CO in 2017 as a one-woman show. I expected to stay a one-woman show, only doing a few EMDR trainings each year in Colorado, where I lived at the time. I wanted to create shame-free learning spaces and do a good job teaching people EMDR. The universe had other plans for me, and my business quickly blossomed into what it is today, which is a 7 figure training business and one of the largest training businesses in psychotherapy in the US.

I truly, honestly, never envisioned myself here. I followed my intuition, my heart, and the signs, and always showed up embodying my message. I see my success as an outcome of aligning with myself, my passion, and my purpose.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?

Learning to harness my intuition and mindfulness practices as a leader has been my secret to success in my business. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined my company being what it is today. I didn’t dream that or put that on a business plan. I got here by following my heart, listening to my intuition, and sticking to my values as a human being.

I value integrity, humor, and compassion, and I carry those values with me at every step of my personal and professional journey. I set yearly business goals and look at my financials daily, but I don’t have a business plan or “this is where I want to be in 5 years” plan. I use my values and my intention setting to guide my business. Rather than saying, “I’m going to develop this online course that will generate this amount of revenue in this amount of time,” I think, “How do I meet my community’s needs thoughtfully, mindfully, and intentionally?” Those are different ways of going about things. The first is a very patriarchal, masculine way of leading a business, and the other is a more intuitive, feminine way of doing things. It’s my way of infusing my spiritual practice into my business.

As a 7 figure training company, and one of the only women-owned 7 figure companies in my field that I know of, I’d say that approach has worked out pretty well for me. It’s also supported me in building a community of like-minded followers and maintaining the absolute best work culture for those who work for Kase & CO.

None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?

I have had many people who have helped guide me and inspire me over the years, but what I’ve had more than mentors are examples of who I don’t want to be, what not to do, and what poor leadership looks like. It’s really disappointing to say that, but it’s true.

Since I began working in mental health — my first job in 2007 right out of graduate school — I have had more poor leadership experiences than I can count. I’ve witnessed chief executives losing focus of their purpose and company values, supervisors who weren’t safe or supportive, leaders who cared about productivity over burnout and mental wellness, and example after example of poor business practices. Mindless and intentionless marketing, failing to manage high turnover rates, and neglecting to care for your company’s culture are all common blind spots for leaders in the mental health field.

Owning a business in the field of psychotherapy means that you are in the business of helping people. I believe that focusing on the people who run your company and keeping your staff and employees happy is the most important thing you can do to run a successful company. When the people who work for you feel fulfilled, valued, and supportive, that ripples out to customer service and interactions. It shows up in the form of low turnover and innovation. It creates consistency, stability, and loyalty. This creates a culture that can be felt throughout my teams, social media, marketing, and training spaces.

I believe in being an authentic, embodied, mindful leader and that showing up consistently with those values, it ripples out to my bottom line. To date, my turnover is minimal to non-existent, and our number one source of referrals is word of mouth.

According to Mental Health America’s report, over 44 million Americans have a mental health condition. Yet there’s still a stigma about mental illness. Can you share a few reasons you think this is so?

Mental health is one of the few fields of healthcare that doesn’t examine the system we treat. Psychotherapists and psychiatrists treat the nervous system, yet we never actually scan or examine the nervous system. Can you imagine going to your doctor for heart palpitations and, without even putting a stethoscope to your chest or getting an EKG, they declare you need open heart surgery? Or going to the dentist and, without an XRay, declaring you need a root canal? That’s ludicrous! But our standards of care are different from physical health because mental health and physical health are seen as separate. This isn’t accurate, but it’s the perception.

Your mental health is completely dictated by your biology, your physical health, and the functioning of your nervous system. It’s your nervous system that causes you to feel anxiety and panic, the nervous system that produces feelings of depression, and the nervous system that lets you feel happy and peaceful. All those feelings and sensations are products of your nervous system — a physical part of your body. We wouldn’t tell someone to think their way out of a heart attack because you can’t consciously control a heart attack, and this is true for mental health too. If we could just think our way out of feelings and sensations, I wouldn’t have a job! Therapists wouldn’t have long waitlists, and there wouldn’t be access to care issues.

Until we recognize that mental health is a product of biology and the physical processes of the body, I think the stigma will continue. Because people see feelings as made-up constructs that can be buried or ignored. If we keep with the comparison to a heart attack, we see how erroneous that thinking is. You can’t ignore or stuff down a heart attack, just like you can’t ignore and shut down your feelings and sensations.

I think it’s up to each of us to share this message and point out that it’s all about the body, the nervous system, and biology.

In your experience, what should a) individuals b) society, and c) the government do to better support people suffering from mental illness?

As individuals, I think it’s important that we examine our beliefs about mental illness and mental health. Can you shift your perspective to seeing that it’s all about the nervous system, and if you did so, what beliefs would be challenged? Do your beliefs prevent you from going to therapy if needed?

We have to stop seeing going to therapy as a sign of weakness and rather see that avoiding therapy is actually a sign of weakness. Your choice to avoid doing your work doesn’t solely impact you. When we don’t do our work and heal our wounds, we bleed on people who didn’t cut us. Our hurt oozes out onto our loved ones, pets, families, and communities. There’s nothing tough about that.

What are your 5 strategies you use to promote your own well-being and mental wellness? Can you please give a story or example for each?

1. Sleep. Sleep is one of the most important factors for my well-being. If I don’t get 7–8 hours of sleep, I will feel off, anxious, and out of sorts. I guard my sleep time like it’s my most precious resource. Sleep does the nervous system good!
2. Exercise. I do something to move my body and get those endorphins flowing every day. That may be a weight lifting session at the gym, a gentle yoga flow at home, or a walk. I have to move my body or my issues get stuck in my tissues.
3. Find inspiration. I am always looking for new ideas, inspiration, and ways to grow myself spiritually and intellectually. I accomplish this with podcasts, books, and workshops. I always have something I’m engaged in that is feeding my spiritual self and helping me stay connected to a higher power.
4. Quiet mornings. I love to wake up early, get my cup of tea, and sit quietly. When it’s nice outside, I’ll sit on my porch, listen to the birds, and watch the sunrise. On other days, I’ll sit quietly in my office with a candle lit. I meditate and take time to just let my mind wander, ponder, and be curious. Sometimes my best ideas come in the early morning hours before my filtered brain has time to wake up.
5. Get cozy. My nervous system loves cozy time. It helps ground, soothe, and nurture my mind, body, and heart. Cozy time for me might look like a bath, comfort food, snuggles with my husband and pets, a good movie, or some cozy clothes and blankets. Or it might be all of those things if I’m going all in. These are regulating activities for me that slow down my mind and help me to feel safe and grounded.

What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that inspire you to be a mental health champion?

Some of my favorite podcasts are “We Can Do Hard Things” with Glennon Doyle, “FRIED. The Burnout Podcast,” and Tami Simon’s “Sounds True: Insights at the Edge.”

For books, it’s “An Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer, “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk, and anything by Pema Chodron.

If you could tell other people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

Recognize that self-care is intentional self-regulation time. The more regulated we all are the better we can show up for our responsibilities, our families, our loved ones, and our communities. We are living in a world where people are continuously overwhelmed and flooded with danger and stress. We can easily transfer that onto one another as human beings are social creatures influenced by one another’s biology. If you want to live in a happier, healthier world, it has to start with you. The larger social issues that plague us are only reflections of how unhealthy we are as individuals. Peace can only come when we learn to be peaceful creatures. It starts with you.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can check me out on my personal website at rebeccakase.com or on my professional training website at kaseandco.com. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!

Thank you for the opportunity, it was my pleasure.

About the Interviewer: Inspired by the father of PR, Edward Bernays (who was also Sigmund Freud’s nephew), Michelle Tennant Nicholson researches marketing, mental injury, and what it takes for optimal human development. An award-winning writer and publicist, she’s seen PR transition from typewriters to Twitter. Michelle co-founded WasabiPublicity.com