Kate Fetherston
Faculty
kate.fetherston@myunion.edu
Kate’s main interest as an undergraduate was Eastern Philosophy and Mysticism. She was also interested in what she saw as practical philosophy: helping people develop and live in harmony. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy and M.S.W. in Social Work from California State University and an M.F.A. in Poetry from Vermont College. She is licensed as a clinical social worker in Vermont and California.
A desire to promote social action led her to work with and get to know several “special” populations: GLBT, people with disabilities, severely mentally and /or physically ill people, people of diverse faith backgrounds, women dealing with the spectrum of family planning issues, to name a few. After earning a graduate degree Kate worked in private practice, in transitional living for mentally ill folks, acute psychiatric hospitals, and in cardiology / critical care in a medical setting. She provided therapy through Fletcher Allen’s Behavioral Medicine Program for 3 years in Burlington when she moved to Vermont in 1998. In her private practice in Montpelier, Vermont, she sees couples and individuals from young adulthood throughout the life span, focusing on grief, life transitions, parenting, mood disorders, eating disorders, issues with spiritual or creative blocks, disabilities, family problems, and chronic or acute illness. Kate is interested in and amazed by the resilience of the human spirit.
Kate studied classical piano for 14 years, starting out college as a piano major. She learned the clarinet, flute, recorder, and guitar. But voice is her real passion. After singing in Allstate choirs, various religious settings, and all kinds of folk music, she started classical training in her late 30’s where she found her voice. She now sings in opera festivals, recitals, and jazz forums.
Because her father was a painter, Kate’s house was full of art supplies; but no coloring books allowed. “No coloring in the lines! Think for yourselves!” were her father’s favorite dictums. While she didn’t begin formal visual art study until after her father’s death, informal lessons began as soon as she could hold a paintbrush. She is familiar with the basics of painting, drawing, papermaking, collage and basic printmaking. While as a practitioner her main focus is writing and music, visual art is often where her ideas start.
She’s published poems and essays in numerous journals including North American Review, Hunger Mountain, Nimrod, and Cave Wall. A finalist for the Pablo Neruda Prize in Poetry in 2008, She’s been awarded an Individual Artists Grant from the Vermont Council on the Arts, and several Pushcart nominations. She co-edited Manthology: Poems on the Male Experience, (University of Iowa Press, 2006), and Open Book: Essays from the Postgraduate Writers’ Conference (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006.) She has just completed her first manuscript, Inciting the Invisible to Riot.
Kate is deeply interested in the arts and in psychology, philosophy, and the spiritual life.
“I’m interested in that intersection between learning about ourselves (which we call psychology) and letting ourselves go (which art offers and demands.) I’m eager to help you find your voice, whether you are interested in philosophy, psychology, spirituality, music, visual art, or in writing. To be complete, the world needs your story.”