I didn't just choose this work. This work chose me.

15+ Years Experience

Certified IFS Therapist

Maryland & Virginia

Virtual sessions

My Story

I know what it costs to carry silent stories.

I became a therapist because I understood, from the inside, what it feels like to appear accomplished on the outside while feeling disconnected beneath the surface. I know the weight of perfectionism, the quiet ache of people-pleasing, and the particular exhaustion of always being the capable one in every room.

Therapy gave me a place to breathe, to reflect, and to reclaim my own truth. And I built this practice to create that same kind of space for others... for the people who have spent years showing up fully for everyone else, and are ready to finally show up for themselves.

My work is rooted in Internal Family Systems, guided by deep cultural awareness, and shaped by genuine respect for your full story: your history, your patterns, your ambitions, and the parts of you that have been working overtime for far too long.

I'm Kiara, a Certified IFS Therapist, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Maryland and Virginia, and 15+ year clinician. I built this practice for the ones who keep losing themselves in people-pleasing, over-functioning, and perfectionism and are finally ready to stop.

My Approach.

Therapy that honors your whole complexity.

I specialize in working with highly self-aware adults who understand their patterns and still can't stop them. People who over-function, people-please, and lose themselves in everyone else's needs despite knowing exactly why they do it.

That might mean you're a clinician doing your own inner work, a professional carrying more responsibility than anyone around you can see, or someone who has spent years being the capable one and is exhausted by it.

Whatever brings you here, if you've ever thought "I know what I'm doing and I can't seem to stop,"  you're in the right place.



As a Certified IFS Therapist, one of a small number in Maryland and Virginia, I bring the highest level of IFS training to this work. IFS honors every part of you, including the ones that strive, protect, and push through, without pathologizing them.

Culturally Conscious

Certified IFS Rooted

Whatever you carry....your history, your identity, the particular weight of your context, you will not have to translate your experience to be understood here.

Deeply Personalized

My life is full and layered. I bring that same wholeness into how I work. This is not a one size fits all practice. We go where you need to go.

Who I Work With

You don't have to be in crisis to be here.

You just have to be tired of losing yourself in the people-pleasing, the over-functioning, the perfectionism and ready to find out who you are underneath it.

My clients are highly self-aware adults in Maryland and Virginia who have often done work on themselves already. They understand their patterns. They're exhausted by the fact that understanding hasn't been enough to change them.

What they share is this: they're ready for something that goes deeper than insight.


Credentials & Experience

Licensure

15+ years. Deep training. Still learning.

I invest in ongoing training because the people I work with deserve a clinician who stays current, stays curious, and stays committed to the craft.

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) — Maryland

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) — Virginia

National Certified Counselor (NCC)

Post-Graduate Training

IFS Certified Therapist: Internal Family Systems Institute (2026)

IFS Level 3: Internal Family Systems Institute (expected July 2026)

IFS Level 2: Internal Family Systems Institute (2024)

IFS Creating Healing Circles Level 1: Trained under Chris Burris (2025)

IFS Level 1: Internal Family Systems Institute (2022)

Clinical Supervision (2018)

Clinical Experience

Sheppard Pratt Health System | Baltimore, MD / Rockville, MD | 2011-2015; 2017-2025

Kolmac Clinic DC | Washington, D.C. | Clinical Intern | January 2014- December 2014

Hope Health Systems | Baltimore, MD | LGPC - School Based Therapist | August 2015 - May 2017

Practice Ownership

Founder, KJ Hartwell, LLC —Therapy Practice

Founder, Thoughtfully Elevating® — Coaching Practice

Education

George Mason University | BA, Psychology; Minor, Conflict Analysis & Resolution

Bowie State University | MA, Mental Health Counseling, Adlerian track

My life is full and layered, just like yours.

You'll find me at the beach, on a tennis court, kayaking, or in a new coffee shop I've been meaning to try. I love traveling, spending time with my partner, family, and friends, trying new recipes, going to musical theater, and strength training.

I collect moments of joy wherever I can find them and I believe that your healing should make space for that kind of fullness too. This work isn't just about reducing suffering. It's about building a life that actually feels worth living.

Outside the therapy room

 Ready to stop losing yourself and start coming home to yourself?

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Not ready for an intensive?

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