About Kristine
Many people who seem to have it together carry a different narrative inside.
Over four decades as a psychotherapist, Kristine Jensen has listened closely to that experience — and recognized it in her own life as well.
What many people call a lack of confidence is often something deeper: shame.
A different understanding
Kristine’s work reframes shame not as a personal flaw, but as a survival response shaped by early emotional experience.
When children grow up without consistently feeling seen, supported, or safe to be fully themselves, they naturally adapt. They become responsible, attentive to others, and careful not to create problems.
These adaptations often build real competence. But they can also leave people wondering whether they are enough as they are.
That critical inner voice so many people struggle with may not be the enemy it seems. At one time, it may have been trying to help — to keep us acceptable, safe, or out of trouble. But what once served a purpose can continue long after it’s needed, shaping how we see ourselves in ways that no longer fit.
Over time, people begin to recognize these patterns as they’re happening — and instead of being pulled along by them, they can respond in a new way.
Today
Kristine Jensen is a speaker, author, and psychotherapist who helps thoughtful, responsible people understand the hidden roots of self-doubt and develop greater ease, self-trust, and freedom in how they live.
She is the author of Bruised Not Broken and speaks to personal-growth audiences, professional organizations, and leadership groups about the patterns that shape confidence, relationships, and self-worth.
Kristine lives on California’s central coast, where she enjoys long walks by the ocean, gardening, and continuing the lifelong work of understanding what helps people feel more at home within themselves.