Dr. KATHRYN HIGHTOWER

Dr. Kathryn Hightower began her journey toward naturopathic medicine while working as a dance artist in Seattle. Naturopaths taught her how to do contrast hydrotherapy and eat anti-inflammatory foods to prevent injury - and it worked! She was already curious about natural medicine, and this experience lit a fire within her.

Dr. Hightower firmly believes in the principles and therapeutic order of naturopathy. This is why she feels so at-home at Emerald City Clinic, where we treat the whole person, treat the cause of dis-ease, prevent illness and injury before they begin, educate our patients, and, above all, trust in the healing force inside all of us.

Dr. Hightower earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in June 2019. Her professional passions include LGBTQ+ health, biofeedback, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, and counseling. She has received additional training at the Kneipp Schule of hydrotherapy in Germany, New England School of Homeopathy, and Gender Odyssey.

She has also trained in Biofeedback, Kinesiotaping, and Craniosacral Therapy through local educators and physicians. While at Bastyr University, she was a Teacher’s Assistant for the ND program’s courses in phlebotomy, IV therapy, and injections, and she enjoys doing blood work. Dr. Hightower pursued her passion for counseling by working in a competitive position as a mental health counselor for students at Bastyr University in her final year of school. This has been one of her favorite experiences as a clinician; she truly has a knack for listening and meeting you where you are.

Dr. Hightower is especially passionate about providing quality healthcare for transgender patients. She has presented research on the subject at the Praxis conference on mental health care for gender non-conforming clients, as well as at Gender Odyssey in San Diego. While at Bastyr University, she developed trainings for clinicians to do least harm when asking questions about gender identity. These trainings are set to be distributed to hundreds of schools and clinics around the country.

To feed her spirit and stay balanced, she remains involved in the dance community. She currently dances with Gender Tender, a Seattle-based queer and non-binary performance art group, and frequently takes local dance classes. For the last ten years, she has been teaching tap, jazz, and ballet to adults and children at Mountlake Terrace Dance Academy, which she absolutely loves. She also enjoys biking, crafting, and being in nature with her wife. She looks forward to helping you stay similarly well-balanced in your life.