I grew up splitting time between two different worlds, Atlanta, GA  and East Glacier, Montana on the Blackfeet Reservation. In Montana, I was plunged deeply into the landscape abiding closely and intimately with nature and learning her rhythms. 

 I was also lucky enough to be exposed to meditation and indigenous healing practices at a very young age. My father, who as Muskogee was separated from his own people and lineage. I was fortunate to be welcomed by peoples into their healing lineages.   Both meditation and indigenous healing practices resonated strongly with me and have informed my life and my work as both an artists and a therapist. 

I attended undergraduate school at Whitman College  (in Washington State) where I studied anthropology and linguistics. Later I attended tribal college at Sinte Geska University on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. In 2011 I received my MFA from GA State in Studio Art (you can learn more here: karenecleveland.com) and I spent the next four years working in higher education as an art professor (New Mexico, Georgia and North Carolina).

When I felt more deeply called into healing work, I left my teaching position to pursue an MSW at UGA. Before moving into private practice, I spent 8 years working in Mental Health Residential Facilities in Atlanta. I have also worked as a community artist, wilderness guide, grant writer and with at risk youth on Reservations.