Daily Inspiration: Meet Nate Krumsieg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Krumsieg.

Hi Nate, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
During adolescence, if I remember correctly, I felt drawn to the ‘people business’ in some way. I suppose I have always been a bit more interested in human beings than things. That is, human behavior, the mind, our drivers, and how people present with themselves and others. Through my own journey in therapy, and based on some helpful prompting from people I trust, becoming a therapist just made sense. I think it fit my gifting, and also got me excited which is a revealing combination. Something to pay attention to. In asking the question, “how can I engage a hurting world and also make a living,” this was it. I’m deeply grateful to have had that type of alignment in my life. I realize not everyone can say that.

Prior to graduate school at 29, I had various jobs that provided as stopgaps and necessities. Some good experiences and predictable failures. I felt lost professionally, and so when life lined up in a way where I was able to get the training I needed, I took the risk. To be clear, it was indeed a risk. Any life altering decision is.

Graduate school was 2.5 years full time. God bless my wife, who carried us financially. We BOTH took the risk. We moved from Chicago to Denver with no jobs, and few prospects, but fairly quickly, she landed something in her field and I was able to establish something part-time as I engaged my coursework. We didn’t have kids at the time, so we were able to flex and adapt as needed, and looking back, those were some of the best years of our lives.

I finished my masters in 2018. Fortunately, I was able to join a group practice fairly quick and spent 5 years there, cutting my teeth as a therapist. The collaboration and supervision I received there was invaluable. Thousands of hours with clients, formal trainings, and office pop-ins set the table for me to take the leap to private practice.

Since 2023, I have been on my own full-time, and there have been zero regrets. It’s a gift to work for yourself, stand-up a business, and dream about the future. It’s mostly humbling and I’m entrusted with stewarding this thing along as best I can.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Maybe this is some light cynicism, but I’m not sure much of anything is smooth in adulthood. That doesn’t mean our endeavors are not worth it, or that there isn’t beauty in it. So much of your 20’s and 30’s is a toil, but you can attribute meaning to it, since we are cultivators and creators by nature.

I suppose the primary struggles were financial and then emotional. Standing up a business takes times and patience, and that isn’t conducive to living in an expensive city. So there were certainly stressors about money. As far as the emotional struggle goes, our morale is not consistently “up and to the right.” It’s far more turbulent, where you are questioning and second guessing yourself. Imposter syndrome is real. These stressors are things you have to learn to carry, and I do believe they become lighter over time.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a therapist, I do my best to collaborate with my clients to cultivate an accurate view of themselves. On its face, its traditional talk therapy, but I want to dig into someone’s story and self-concept. To unpack the formative experiences that nudge them along, consciously or subconsciously. I think we are “inside-out” people. That is, our internal life often drives the decisions we make or how we present in relationship. When asked about my therapeutic approach, I generally tell people I use a integrative approach, primarily Psycho-dynamic and Cognitive Behavioral. Those aren’t necessarily in conflict with each other, though some purists might say they are. If those terms mean nothing to you, that’s ok too.

As a male therapist, it’s no surprise that the majority of my clients are men, which I really enjoy. I’d say my ideal client is a 30 or 40 something, disenchanted with maybe work or relationships, and with a largely unexamined life. There is probably some unaddressed trauma in those cases. They can’t make sense of their pathology but they know something is off, and their coping just isn’t working anymore. It’s so rewarding to witness those lightbulb moments.

Professionally, I think I’m most proud of how I’ve established my practice at its core. I assume that most successful businesses, whether offering a service or product, have that base they can then expand off of. I don’t have perfect clarity on what this will look like in 10 years, but I’m excited about it.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
This sounds like a core values question. A grand question and a good one. I’d say a few things….

My family — my wife and two young sons. They give me purpose. Not solely, but in vital ways. Part of my role as a father and spouse is serving them and doing my part to create a safe harbor so they can go out and take risks and do good in a hurting world. My wife and I are very egalitarian and great partners. We share most responsibilities, and while we have different gifts, we have certainly found our rhythm.

My community — People just can’t do it alone. Fundamentally, we don’t need vast social networks, but we need a few close people, hopefully intergenerational, to do life with. I don’t remember the original quote, but there’s something about us being the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. This rings true for me.

Integrity — By this I mean the ongoing alignment between values, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors — especially when that alignment is difficult, costly, or uncomfortable. I so often fail at this, but its a waypoint for me.

Simplicity — I love what I do, but I do not live to work. It’s the opposite actually. If you derive your identity from your professional successes, we will be left disappointed. I don’t want to over-clutter my life with extra things. When you think about it, most of life is mundane and ordinary. Sure, pursue grand experiences here and there, but I need to be able to enjoy family dinners, walking the dog, or the way the light hits during golden hour. If we can figure out simplicity, it’s just better.

Pricing:

• $150 per clinical hour (55 minutes)
• In network with select insurance providers

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.natekrumsieg.com/