I’m so glad to meet you! I’m Karly, the founder and facilitator at growinghumankindness.

I help highly sensitive people who struggle with shame, sugar, and perfectionism and who want to heal painful habits of self blame, self criticism, and overconsuming. HSPs are often compassionate and gentle with others, but can find it difficult to offer this same compassion and understanding to themselves.

I help people bring kindness into their relationship with themselves so they can soften shame, soften patterns of overconsuming and soften the criticism that makes them feel small and separate. I call this journey growing human(kind)ness.

There’s a deeper story that lives underneath the surface story of your struggles, and this story is both more true and more merciful. It’s this story that together we witness and midwife into being. So much beauty – and so much tenderness – lives in and underneath your challenges.

As our hearts soften, we’re filled with tenderness towards our pain, forgiveness for our human messiness, and greater trust, confidence, and ease. We embody our wholeness, our deeper story, and live from our deeper knowing.

Growing human(kind)ness arose from two things – from my own experience with 20 years of multiple eating disorders, chronic depression, shame, and anxiety, and from bearing witness to others’ stories of challenge, growth and rebirth. I teach classes, write books and courses, and speak to groups.

I offer these teachings in service to all who feel the shame of human stumbling and who yearn for wholeness, and to presence a more compassionate and connected world. Underneath all my work you’ll find a love for the human heart.

I live in Austin, Texas with my husband Patrick and our family, two dogs, a very frisky cat, and beautiful oak trees. I love good stories, good music, good food, good words, lifting heavy things, and long walks.

Media inquiries & speaking start here

Working with me

If you want to learn more about softening shame and self criticism, or if you have a painful relationship with sugar and are wanting support to change, or if you’re wondering if my approach is the right fit for you, I invite you to explore my website, where you can find hundreds of articles and free resources.

You can start here where I’ve gathered all my free resources on one page, including resources for sugar addiction, caring for resistance and the inner rebel, and softening cravings with compassion. You can find this page here.

I also host free webinars regularly throughout the year – these are a great way to get a taste of my approach and to connect with others. The best way to learn about upcoming webinars is to sign up for my newsletter.

If my approach resonates with you and you’re ready to dive in, I invite you to join me for a group class, the best way to work with me. I offer online classes throughout the year, and you can find a list of my classes here.

How long will it take to see results?

In teaching classes for over 12 years now, I’ve learned that group classes are an affordable and helpful way to get support. Learning and sharing with a group makes the healing journey easier, more supported, and more fun. Shame, isolation, and self judgment soften in a group setting, creating a safe space for healing to unfold.

I teach almost all my classes online, so you can join me from anywhere in the world.

As for how long you’d need to work with me to see changes, I’ve found that people gain the most traction when they work with me for 9 to 18 months, which means joining me for 4 to 6 classes.

This can vary, depending on the other kinds of healing work you’ve done, or where you are in your journey – for example, some people gain a lot of benefit from just 1 or 2 classes. But in general, I encourage looking at this as year to 18 month long journey, with breaks for rest, integration, and reflection embedded within that time.

If you’re struggling with trauma or feel overwhelmed by strong emotions, I encourage you to reach out to a therapist in your community for more support. While my classes can be a great help, they’re not designed to heal trauma, and I’m not a licensed therapist. I want to honor the limits of my approach so you can get the help you need and thrive.

My teachers

My approach is grounded in self compassion/mindfulness, attachment theory, IPNB (interpersonal neurobiology), creative expression, and contemplative spiritual practices from many wisdom and indigineous traditions.

Many have blessed me with their teachings, but a few stand out in how their work has impacted me and shaped my thinking and perceiving. I share them with you to honor their great hearts.

• Bonnie Badenoch, therapist and teacher, author, The Heart of Trauma
• Tara Brach, Buddhist meditation teacher, psychologist, and author, Radical Compassion, True Refuge and Radical Acceptance
• Dr. Gordon Neufeld, theorist, developmental psychologist, founder of the Neufeld Institute
• Abby Seixas, therapist, facilitator, author, Finding the Deep River Within
• Mark Silver, business coach and Sufi healer
• My teachers on grief, culture, and human making, Francis Weller and Stephen Jenkinson

We also pay homage and respect to IFS, Internal Family Systems; Focusing, the work of Eugene Gendlin, and the power of creative expression to facilitate healing.