Katrina Sterling

Founder, Mindful-Nest Designer & Coach

Welcome! You can call me Tri (TrEE). I am the founder of Sterling Sanctuaries and proud mastermind behind The Mindful-Nest Design Theory™. I am a transdisciplinary healer and designer, a researcher, Mindful-Nest Life Coach, and therapeutic-space designer. I am dedicated to empowering individuals to stand in their authenticity and to live mentally, emotionally, and spiritually well. I believe relational bonds with our dwelling spaces–and spaces designed to center mental health needs–can heal attachment wounds, grow authenticity, and facilitate radical healing and mental freedom. 

I integrate evidence-based principles from both design and clinical psychology to help my clients overcome barriers to safe vulnerability and to reach their personal and professional goals. I have 6 years of clinical mental health counseling training and have successfully completed a extensive course on transitioning from professional counseling to coaching. I have been training and working as an interior designer since 2021 and studying academic research on Mindful-Nest Design and sacred spaces since 2020. My graduate education started in clinical mental health counseling with a keen focus on trauma counseling. I eventually decided to divest from the licensed counseling route in which I decided to navigate to a more individualized credentialing path. This allowed me to blend my design research with my passions for mental wellness, and ultimately practice non-licensed-counseling and in a more non-westernized, expansive, and value-aligning way. I received my Individualized Masters of Science degree in Social Science with specialization in mental health coaching and therapeutic space design, from Antioch University and my Bachelors of Science degree in Individual and Family Development from Seattle Pacific University. 

Education

Bachelors of Arts with specializing in Human Development, Seattle Pacific University (a private liberal arts university)

Masters of Science with specialization in Therapeutic-Space Design and Mental Health Coaching, Antioch University (a private liberal arts university)

Credentials

Certifications

ADHD Coach Certification - Efficient Coach

Certified Alternative Healing Practitioner - Place of Bliss Academy

Certified Trauma Professional Certificate - Evergreen

Certified Anxiety-Informed Professional - Evergreen 

Conflict Resolution and De-escalation Certificate - Right Response

Trainings

2-Day Intensive Training: Mindfulness Certification - Richard Sears, PhD

Emotion-Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) for Attachment Trauma - Sue Johnson and Leanne Campbell

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy: 2-Day Intensive ACT Training - Daniel J. Moran

EMDR, CBT, Somatic-Based Interventions to Move Clients from Surviving to Thriving - Arielle Schwartz

Changing the ADHD Brain: Moving Beyond Medication - David Nowell, PhD

Building Evidence for Home Spaces as Co-Therapy - Porshia Daniels, Ph.D.

From Counseling to Coaching - Shaquinta Richardson, PhD

Work Experience

Senior Designer - Perigold

Senior Design Assistant - Great Living Company

Home Stylist and Designer - West Elm

Government Contracted Housing Program Manager - Keys To Home, DESC

Team Lead (Wraparound Client Care) - Rapid Re-Housing Program, DESC

Government Contracted Housing Specialist and Team Lead (Landlord Liaison and Relationship Manager) - Keys To Home, DESC

Residential Youth Group Counselor - Pioneer Human Services

Research Assistant (Psychology Lab, ASD & Child Social Development) - Seattle Pacific University