Kirsten Lind Seal, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES
Expertise: Marriage and Family Therapy
Multimedia
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Biography
Dr. Kirsten Lind Seal is a marriage and family therapist in private practice and currently adjunct assistant professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Program, where she teaches MFT Ethics and Research Methods. Her research has been published in the Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, the Journal of Couple and Family Relationships, and Psychology Today. She has also published multiple case studies (in 2016, 2017, and 2018) in the Psychotherapy Networker. Dr. Lind Seal presents locally, nationally, and internationally on ethics and cross-cultural issues. She works clinically in Spanish and in French and has worked with and provided written and oral testimony for people seeking asylum. She maintains a private practice in Loring Park and appears biweekly on WCCO (CBS) TV’s midmorning show in Relationship Reboot.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Family Dynamics in Family Businesses
Cross-Cultural Relationships
Family Therapy
Couple Therapy
Relationships
Marriage and Family Therapy Ethics
Education (2)
University of Minnesota: Ph.D., Marriage and Family Therapy
University of Minnesota: M.A., Counseling Psychology
Links (1)
Recent Media Appearances (7)
Helping Girls & Women Achieve Their Goals
CBS Minnesota tv
2018-11-28
An unfortunate old trope is that women have to fight one another to get "a slice of the pie." This has an underlying assumption that there are only so many spots for women. (4:58) WCCO Mid-Morning – Nov. 28, 2018
Small Actions That Keep Marriage Or Relationship Fresh
CBS Minnesota tv
2018-11-14
We all know how busy life can be. This is what can often lead to taking each other for granted in our most important relationships. The truth is that adding several small actions throughout the day can keep your marriage or romantic relationship from becoming stale and disconnected. Here to discuss what to do is our Relationship Guru Dr. Kirsten Lind Seal. (4:27) WCCO Mid-Morning – Nov. 14, 2018
Talking To Kids About Tragic Events
CBS Minnesota tv
2018-10-31
There was a terrible tragedy in Pittsburgh Saturday when worshippers at a synagogue were gunned down and 11 people killed. Dr. Kirsten Lind Seal is here with some advice on talking to kids about this difficult situation. (4:10) WCCO Mid-Morning – Oct. 31, 2018
Are You Guilty Of 'Pseudo-Forgiveness' In Your Relationship?
CBS Minnesota tv
2018-09-18
Dr. Kirsten Lind Seal talks about the importance of forgiveness with Jason DeRusha and Heather Brown (4:20). WCCO Mid-Morning - September 19, 2018
How To Talk To A Loved One About Suicide
CBS Minnesota tv
2018-06-13
Relationship experts Dr. Kirsten Lind Seal and Dr. Corey Yeager share their advice (5:51). WCCO Mid-Morning - June 13, 2018
Protecting your mental health during the holidays
MPR News radio
2017-12-11
Why is the holiday season so difficult for people who struggle with mental health? And what can family members do to help their loved ones get through the holidays? Kirsten Lind Seal, a family and marriage therapist, and Brent Nelson, an adult interventional psychiatrist, joined MPR News host Tom Weber to discuss the impact of the season on mental health and offer suggestions on how to combat the seasonal blues.
How To Encourage Happiness
CBS Minnesota tv
2017-03-01
Dr. Kirsten Lind Seal shares the best way to express to children our desire for their happiness, Jason DeRusha and Kylie Bearse report (4:03). WCCO Mid-Morning – March 1, 2017
Recent Articles (7)
Moments of Truth: The Healer
Psychotherapy Networker
Kirsten Lind Seal
2018 So there I was in the courtroom. I walked up to the witness stand, put my right hand up in the air and my left hand on the Bible, and I promised to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. . . . But I’m getting ahead of myself. This isn’t just a story about my time in court, facing a judge on behalf of my client, whose life, and perhaps those of her daughters, depended on the outcome of this immigration hearing. And, maybe surprisingly these days, this isn’t just a story about our country’s broken immigration system. It’s a story about a client who became so firmly lodged in my heart and mind that, for a time, her survival felt interchangeable with my own.
Take My President, Please!
Contemporary French and Francophone Studies
2017 A former stand-up comedian turned psychotherapist examines why Trump is not funny.
The unexplored issues: Working with cross-cultural couples
Psychotherapy Networker
Kristen Lind Seal
2017 All couples are cross-cultural in some respects. After all, every person comes to a marriage with a set of unique influences from his or her family of origin, socioeconomic status, rural or urban environment, neighborhood, and religion, to give just a few examples. However, there are many couples whose cross-cultural nature is more immediately apparent than others—meaning the partners differ in language, citizenship, ethnicity, race, or other demographic characteristics. In fact, in 2012, the Pew Research Center reported that more than 1 in 6 new US marriages were interracial or interethnic
Managing hecklers in the therapy room: An ex-comedian puts her old skills to use
Psychotherapy Networker
Kristen Lind Seal
2016 Family therapy is a second career for me. For 20 years, I was a professional performer, during which time I was a regular at standup comedy clubs in New York City. Many of the skills I learned as a performer have proven readily transferable to therapy, but one skill set in particular has been most helpful: the skill of using humor to defuse tension, create alliance, and challenge what we often call resistance in difficult clients.
Confiding about problems in marriage and long-term relationships: A national study
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
Lind Seal, K. Doherty, W. & Harris, S.
2016 This study examined confiding patterns in a national sample of 1000 U.S. adults aged 25-70 to inform the development of an educational program for confidants, called Marital First Responders. Results showed that 73% of U.S. adults have been a confidant to someone with a problem in a marriage or long-term committed relationship. The most common confiding relationship was between friends, followed by siblings.
Spousal Expectations and Perceived Social Support During the Creation of a New Business Venture
Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy
Shonda M. Craft, Kirsten Lind Seal, Juyoung Jang & Sharon Danes
2015 The current economic crisis has created a climate of financial uncertainty for many American families. One solution for an increasing segment of the population is to start a new business. While there is an established body of research that explores the financial implications of launching a new business venture, there is limited work on the relational aspects involved. Previous research suggests that a strong marital relationship may be one of the myriad resources needed to sustain a new business, yet the business may also place significant strain on the marital relationship. The authors present an exploration of how couple expectations of the impact of the new business venture interact with the perceptions of social support by using concepts from Optimal Matching Theory and Conservation of Resources theory. Findings suggest that the relationship between expectations and social support within entrepreneurial couples is complex and that clinicians who work with these couples may need specialized strategies to assess, conceptualize, and treat their presenting problems.
The Family Education Diabetes Series: Improving Health in an Urban-Dwelling American Indian Community
Qualitative Health Research
Tai Justin Mendenhall, Kirsten Lind Seal, Betty Ann GreenCrow, Kathleen Nannette LittleWalker, Steven Alfred BrownOwl
2012 Community-based participatory research has shown great promise as a mutually engaging and respectful way to partner contemporary biomedical knowledge with the lived experience, wisdom, and customs of American Indian people. Designed and implemented through this approach, our Family Education Diabetes Series (FEDS) has evidenced pilot and longitudinal physiological data supporting its effectiveness. However, the multifaceted nature of the program makes it difficult to know which factors are responsible for its success. This difficulty hinders efforts to improve the FEDS and/or inform others’ work to advance similar projects. In this study, we conducted a qualitative investigation using talking circles to explore participants’ views about what elements of the FEDS are most salient. Our findings suggest that social support and group-oriented sequences hold the most value. We conclude that an emphasis on these processes (instead of program content per se) is most indicated in effecting behavior change and facilitating ongoing disease management.
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