How did you come to work with Katie?
Honestly? I was Katie’s client long before I was her collaborator. Back in 2022, a mutual friend told me about the Yoga Nidra evenings Katie was hosting. I booked onto a Yoga Nidra and massage experience — and loved it straight away. I’ve been a regular ever since: her Yoga Nidra evenings, her massages (which are genuinely excellent), and more recently her slow flow yoga. I loved it so much that three of my close friends followed suit and became loyal clients too. I even celebrated my 49th birthday with a private Yoga Nidra evening with Katie, inviting two of my closest friends.
It was only about a year ago that Katie approached me about doing some joint work. By then I knew her work inside out — so I didn’t need any persuading. What’s been an unexpected joy is getting to know Katie personally over this past year too. Working alongside someone whose work you already trust, and whose company you genuinely treasure, is a real privilege.
What should we know about Kristin? Tell us about you.
I’m a Clinical Psychologist and a Positive Psychology Coach, and I’ve been doing this work for 26 years. I’m originally from Germany but I’ve lived in Oxford for a long time now — I came over as a student and never left. I’m a midlife woman myself, with a family, so a lot of what I explore in my work isn’t just theory to me — it’s lived.
Outside of work, three things bring me joy. I sing in a community choir here in Oxford — and there’s nothing better than singing in harmony with other people. I swim in open water, a habit from growing up beside Lake Konstanz in southern Germany, where daily lake swims were completely normal (here in the UK, apparently, it makes you a legend). And I love a good thriller — I spend my working life inside people’s inner worlds, then relax by reading about murder. I’m aware of the irony.
What drew you to the line of work you do? Why and what’s your background?
I’ve spent most of my career as a clinical psychologist, including years in Oxford working in specialist NHS services and clinical research. I loved that work. But over time I realised something that quietly bothered me: so much of what we learn in therapy — about our minds, our beliefs, how our feelings and bodies are connected — is stuff most people only ever discover if they end up in a therapy room. And that felt wrong to me. Why should this wisdom be reserved for when we’re already struggling? So my work now is about bringing psychology out of the therapy room and into every day life — making it available to women who are well, but who sense they’ve lost touch with themselves a little.
Who do you work with and why?
I work with women in midlife — and I say that as one of them. So often, we’ve spent years, even decades, caring for everyone else, and somewhere along the way we’ve lost the thread back to ourselves. We’re functioning, coping, holding it all together… but quietly wondering, “is this it?”
I don’t see midlife as a crisis. I see it as a turning point — one that holds huge potential. It’s a chance to take stock, to look honestly at where you’ve been so far and where you want to go next. To start getting to know yourself again. To reconnect with the person underneath all the doing. There’s so much possibility in that — and it’s a privilege to walk alongside women as they find their way back to themselves.
What’s the most useful thing you’ve learnt and apply in real life?
That our brain isn’t neutral. It’s wired towards the negative — it evolved that way to keep us safe, constantly scanning for what might be wrong or threatening. Which was very useful when the threats were predators, less so when it means we end a lovely day replaying the one awkward comment. Left to its own devices, unguarded, the brain will primarily notice what’s wrong and skate straight past what’s good.
So it needs our help. We can gently train ourselves to do the opposite — to pause on the small good moments rather than let them slip by. I try to do this properly now: the first coffee of the day, the lake at dawn, a beautiful harmony in choir. It costs nothing, it takes seconds, and it genuinely shifts how you feel over time. It’s one of the simplest things I teach, and one of the most quietly powerful.
Find out more about Dr Kristin on her website, where you can also book a free discovery call: The Positive Psychologist. Meet Dr Kristin at our free zoom “Breath, body and a little psychology” on Wednesday 16th September 2026, and at our seasonal retreats.