THE HUMAN TEAM

Kay Neznik is the Clinical Director of Healing Journeys. Kay understands the success that is possible for clients when working in nature. She believes that experiential, animal-assisted therapy is the most effective way for clients to address a range of issues including grief, trauma, and other adverse life events. She brings years of experience as a licensed independent clinical social worker in Minnesota and Alaska (pending), most recently working at a residential treatment facility for young men and maintaining her own private practice.

Kay holds a Bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Iowa. She is a certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) clinician and has training and experience in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT). Kay has significant experience in animal-assisted therapy, and has published multiple articles and an instruction manual on equine-assisted therapy.

Kay is an avid horsewoman and has shown hunter jumpers with her horse, Bingo. Kay enjoys mushing and regularly volunteers at multiple mid-distance races in Minnesota. She first fell in love with Alaska on a trip to watch a long-distance sled dog race.