QA therapist teaches moms, others self-care

Queen Anne resident Hanna Kreiner, a licensed therapist, not only teaches mindfulness and self-compassion in her practice, she applied her guidance and tips into a book for new mothers after becoming a mom herself.

Kreiner has made her home in Queen Anne since 2018. She said she loves the beauty and walkability of the neighborhood and the strong sense of community. She has enjoyed meeting friends at the Community Center and Big Howe playground, dining at the local restaurants, seeing neighbors at Queen Anne Farmers Market, and even running into her doctor at Ken’s Market.

“It’s the only place I’ve lived as a parent, and I can’t imagine a better place to be,” she said.

When Kreiner and her husband, Brian, moved to Seattle in 2018, she decided to open her own practice. Even though she was eight months pregnant at the time, she knew it was something she wanted to do after taking time to bond with her baby. What she didn’t know was how important self-compassion would be as a new mother. She quickly realized that even the best moms are often hard on themselves while they’re busy tending to the needs of their little ones. She also noticed moms usually don’t give themselves the same grace that they extend to others.

“Self-compassion is free and does not take any extra time but really changes how you feel and operate as a parent,” Kreiner said. 

To help other new mothers care for themselves, Kreiner started to make a list of simple practices for moms to follow. As the pandemic raged on and she became pregnant with her second child, Kreiner set to work turning that list into a complete book.

Kreiner’s “Self-Compassion Journal for First-Time Moms” is her first book. It aims to help parents find strategies to navigate the new thoughts and feelings, and new identity, that come with parenthood and model a compassionate example for their children. The five-star online reviews speak to the book’s approachable format with easy-to-follow exercises and prompts.

Kreiner said she has always been interested in the mind-body connection and has worked to help others using evidence-based interventions that improve their psychological and physical well-being. While she was earning her Master of Social Work degree from UCLA, she first began practicing mindful meditation. Kreiner was supporting people living with cancer and other complicated medical conditions and was interested in being at the forefront of offering holistic psychological and social support shown to improve medical outcomes. She worked as a social worker and psychotherapist, facilitating support groups, offering talk therapy, meditation, guided imagery and even yoga. In talking with her patients, they would often share that they wished they had made these healthy changes long before a crisis had upended their lives.  Now Kreiner’s work has expanded to support people at any stage of life when they’re looking to feel better.

“Things don’t have to be at a breaking point to make a healthy change,” she said. “I want people to know it’s possible to feel better, and that it’s not selfish to care for themselves. It’s actually the best thing you can do for the people around you.”

According to her website, the three key components of self-compassion are self-kindness, a sense of common humanity and balanced, mindful awareness. Kreiner said that self-compassion can be learned by anyone, and she only wishes that she could have discovered it for herself sooner.

That’s why she offers mindful self-compassion courses. Her next online seminar is a six-week class starting on July 14. This program focuses on growing emotional resources and cultivating mindfulness for everyday moments. Participants will practice incorporating compassion into their lives and learn to motivate themselves with kindness rather than criticism. Details can be found at www.HannaKreiner.com/calendar.

“We would never speak to other people the way we sometimes speak to ourselves, and don’t we deserve the same kindness that we extend to others?” Kreiner said.

Kreiner invites everyone to find her on Instagram @seattleselfcompassion, as well, and reminds everyone that it is never too late to learn self-compassion.