Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Janae Harris.
Hi Kelly Janae, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
For much of my adolescence and young adult life, I struggled with depression, anxiety, mood swings, and suicidal urges, and for a long time, I felt deeply alone and disconnected. These challenges affected nearly every area of my life, and in college I began therapy, which became the starting point for a much deeper journey of self-discovery. Through therapy, I was introduced to meditation, and that eventually led me to explore Buddhism, yoga, energy healing, and other spiritual traditions that transformed how I understood myself and my mental health.
At the same time, I was developing a deep appreciation for the natural world and pursuing my professional path as a Biological and Agricultural Engineer. I have now worked in the environmental sector for more than a decade, and that work has continually reinforced my understanding of how interconnected human health, environmental health, and the systems we live within really are. My love of nature has become an important part of both how I live and how I understand healing. I now live in a rural area, and having a close relationship with the land, natural rhythms, and the slower pace of rural life is paramount to my wellbeing and to the way I want to support others.
I also went through the experience of being prescribed psychiatric medication for what I was told was a mood disorder, and later went through the process of withdrawing from it. Experiencing the effects and side effects of pharmaceuticals firsthand became an important turning point for me. Through my relationship with nature and my exploration of holistic healing traditions, I became increasingly inspired by the idea that the body has remarkable capacities for healing and adaptation, and that there are many natural tools we can use to support our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. I became especially interested in understanding the brain and nervous system—how our thoughts, behaviors, environments, relationships, movement, breath, meditation, and other practices can actually influence our nervous system dynamics and contribute to meaningful changes in the way we function. That experience inspired me to become as knowledgeable and masterful as I could in the many ways I can support my body naturally.
I documented my withdrawal journey in my 3.5-year YouTube series, Reducing the Dosage (on the Ethereal Ecology Healing Arts YouTube channel), which allowed me to connect with countless other people who felt similarly misunderstood by the mental health system. What I came to realize was that, for me, a diagnosis never fully captured the deeper reasons I was suffering. At the same time, I came to appreciate that therapy and psychiatry can be incredibly valuable tools, particularly in the right circumstances. My experience simply showed me that there are other dimensions of healing that deserve to be part of the conversation—especially for people who feel unheard, unseen, or like there must be another way forward.
In many ways, my mental health journey became the doorway to my spiritual path, while my work in the environmental field and my relationship with nature deepened my understanding of interconnectedness, balance, and wellbeing. All of these experiences have shaped the work I do today to support clients seeking natural treatments for depression and anxiety.
I want to offer a more holistic, compassionate, and empowering approach to healing—one that honors the whole person and gives people more tools for understanding themselves and their experiences. Ultimately, I want people to know that they are not defined by a diagnosis or by the most difficult periods of their lives. There can be meaning and context within our suffering, and there can be a path toward healing that reconnects us with ourselves, with nature, and with a way of living that feels more authentic, grounded, and life-giving.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but in many ways, the challenges along the way have been some of my greatest teachers. A significant part of my journey has been devoted to reexamining and reprogramming my beliefs about what it means to be successful, happy, healthy, and fulfilled. I’ve had to question many of the messages I absorbed through our educational system and society about what a “good life” is supposed to look like—messages that place so much emphasis on achievement, productivity, appearances, and external outcomes, while giving us very little guidance on how to tend to our emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. I believe this disconnect played a significant role in my own struggles with mental health.
I’ve devoted years to healing, including attending healing schools and various educational programs, working with practitioners and therapists, and committing deeply to my own inner work. And despite all of that, I’ve still experienced ups and downs with my mental health. I’ve come to understand that ingrained patterns of negative thinking, trauma-related somatic responses, and family and generational patterns can run incredibly deep. They often reveal themselves gradually, layer by layer, rather than all at once. I think there is wisdom in that—if we suddenly confronted everything we needed to heal, it could be completely overwhelming.
One of my greatest lessons has been learning to be gentle and forgiving with myself throughout that process. I used to see difficult emotions or old patterns returning as evidence that I wasn’t healing. Now I’m much more able to meet those experiences with awareness and compassion. The pain may still be there, but my relationship to it has changed, and even deep pain feels much more manageable when I’m not fighting myself for having the experience.
I’ve also discovered that turning pain into purpose can be a powerful kind of alchemy. My own experiences with mental health struggles have given me a deep desire to be useful to others who are suffering. I became a crisis counselor with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and that work has taught me skills I believe are critical to being a supportive human being—how to listen without judgment, stay grounded when someone else is in distress, hold space for difficult emotions, and meet people where they are rather than trying to immediately fix their experience.
This has profoundly shaped the way I approach my healing practice. I don’t see healing as something that happens once we “fix” ourselves. It’s an ongoing process of becoming more aware, understanding the patterns that shape us, and developing the capacity to respond to ourselves with compassion. I’ve also learned that each of us has much more power and authority than we’re often taught to recognize in creating the lives and communities we want to be part of. I’m deeply grateful for the healing, environmental, spiritual, and justice-oriented communities I’ve been part of that are actively doing this work for people and the planet.
Building my business has been another layer of this journey. I started with virtually no business experience, and entrepreneurship has brought me face-to-face with struggles around self-esteem, self-worth, visibility, and external validation. I’m naturally introverted, so putting myself out into the world has required me to stretch in ways that have also become part of my personal healing. I’ve experienced burnout as well, particularly from the business-development side of working in the mental health space, and I’m learning that sustainability, boundaries, support, and asking for help are just as important in business as they are in our personal lives.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ethereal Ecology Healing Arts is a holistic healing practice for people who have often felt like the “black sheep”—the sensitive ones, the misfits, the people who have never quite felt at home in conventional ways of thinking about mental health or life itself. I provide natural healing programs and individual sessions for people struggling with depression, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, and the deeper patterns that can keep us feeling disconnected from ourselves.
My work sits at the intersection of somatic healing, energy work, developmental psychology, spirituality, healthy lifestyle, and ecotherapy. I combine these approaches into emotionally and somatically grounded sessions that help people connect more deeply with their bodies, understand the patterns shaping their experiences, and develop greater capacity for self-awareness, regulation, and authentic self-expression.
What sets Ethereal Ecology apart is that I don’t approach people as problems that need to be fixed. I’m interested in helping people understand themselves more deeply and reconnect with the innate wisdom, agency, and capacity for growth that already exists within them. My own experience with mental health struggles, combined with more than a decade of studying and practicing different healing traditions, has made this work deeply personal as well as professional.
Nature is central to my philosophy. I live in a rural environment and have experienced firsthand how much our relationship with the natural world can influence our sense of balance, connection, and wellbeing. I see the human being as an ecosystem, too—something dynamic, interconnected, and constantly responding to its environment. That perspective is woven throughout my work.
I’m especially proud of the brand I’ve built around the idea that being different isn’t something that needs to be “fixed.” In fact, many of the qualities that can make someone feel like an outsider—sensitivity, independence, unconventional thinking, deep feeling, and questioning the status quo—can also be incredible strengths. I want Ethereal Ecology to be a place where people who have felt misunderstood can feel genuinely seen and supported while they learn to become more fully themselves.
Ultimately, I want people to know that healing doesn’t have to mean becoming someone else. It can mean developing a deeper relationship with who you already are, understanding the experiences and patterns that have shaped you, and learning how to live in greater alignment with your body, your values, your relationships, and the natural world. That is the heart of Ethereal Ecology.
Anyone interested in learning more can contact me at kelly@etherealecology.com or visit my website www.etherealecology.com. I would love to connect!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think one of the most valuable things you can do—whether you’re building a business, pursuing healing, or simply trying to become the person you want to be—is intentionally surround yourself with people who are further along in ways that inspire you. Look for people who have developed qualities you admire, built lives that resonate with you, or simply see possibilities in you that you may not yet see in yourself. Just as importantly, surround yourself with people who genuinely believe in your vision and will encourage you when things inevitably get difficult.
I’ve also learned that mentorship doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of one person who has all the answers. Some of my most meaningful growth has come from learning from many different people, traditions, teachers, practitioners, and communities. I’ve benefited from seeking out different perspectives rather than trying to find a single person to emulate. When you expose yourself to different ways of thinking and living, you begin to see that there isn’t one “right” way to be a healthy, successful, or fulfilled human being. You can take what resonates from different people and ultimately create a path that is uniquely your own.
I also think it’s important to notice our tendency to surround ourselves with people who are very much like us. There’s certainly value in finding people who understand us, but growth can also come from intentionally spending time with people who think differently, live differently, and have had very different experiences from our own—especially when they approach life with curiosity, kindness, and a positive outlook. Those relationships can reveal parts of ourselves we might not otherwise encounter and challenge assumptions we didn’t even realize we held. They can ultimately help us become more well-rounded, empathetic people who can genuinely respect and appreciate people from all walks of life.
For me, investing in education and being part of communities committed to personal growth, healing, environmental stewardship, and social change has been incredibly valuable. Some of the most important relationships in my life have developed organically through spaces where people were already doing work I cared about. Those communities have challenged me, supported me, and expanded my sense of what is possible.
Ultimately, I think networking is less about collecting contacts and more about building genuine relationships. Be curious, show up consistently, share what you have to offer, and don’t be afraid to let people know when you need support. The right relationships can become reciprocal sources of inspiration, wisdom, and encouragement over many years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https:/www.etherealecology.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etherealecology
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@etherealecology
