Kersten Kloser-Pitcher's fascination with interpersonal relationships and a life where humanity rules is what finally led her to NVC both as a practitioner and as a trainer. “NVC has been making a profound impact on my life since 2008. It didn’t make it necessarily easier, but certainly richer and more purposeful. My heart and brain have transformed as my work as an NVC trainer has expanded.”

Discovering NVC - it wasn’t love at first sight.

Before fully embracing NVC as a way of life, Kersten had many small rendezvous with Nonviolent Communication principles. At first, she didn’t believe in their value. Studying economics, which was imbued with the overarching principle of growth and maximizing resources, she didn’t think that applying the values of NVC to business would mesh. However, life had something else in store for her.

“Nowadays, working with leaders and teams, I see empathy and self-connection as the only way forward for working in non-hierarchical systems that of course allow more conflict and therefore require more skills.” Today she sees NVC as a "school of humanity" - a way of interacting with one another that facilitates the flow of communication and increases kindness.

It was a dark phase of Kersten’s life, which involved the loss of her trust in humanity after a tragic accident with a dog bite, that brought her to see that she was ready for a more humane approach to business. Once she realized how much she needed to change her life, she found her way into her first-ever NVC seminar.

Once the journey began,- it never stopped.

She then continued educating herself in NVC intensely for a few years. “I soaked up everything I could find, putting myself into space after space.” Finally, she facilitated her first practice group and then introductory seminars, leading to an ever-deepening amount of work with more advanced seminars, retreats, international projects, and more. Throughout her journey, she met and trained hundreds of people, sitting in many circles, facilitating conflict awareness spaces, and organizing NVC festivals for 100s of people of all ages, as well as organizing an IIT.

“Living in the spirit of NVC matters to me. It helps me orient myself through this messy life, with all the inheritance of my childhood and ancestry that I carry, guiding my choices as I notice my patterns. NVC helps me remember that I have a good heart that wants the best for everyone.”

During her education, Kersten has had the good fortune to learn directly with beloved NVC teacher and Ph.D in Psychology Robert Gonzales, which had a great impact on her NVC practice. Her work has also been impacted by sitting with Dominic Barter, Liv Larsson, Carl Plezner, Pernille Plantener, and many other teachers.

The power of NVC in daily life - raw honesty.

NVC is not pretty, it's raw and honest. Sometimes, it even looks like not talking. Having walked this path for 15 years now, Kersten is constantly surprised by the depth of NVC and the doors that it continues to open.

She has experienced the incredible gift of NVC and also its challenges. It’s easy to focus too much on others by being empathic, without allowing the true longings of one’s heart and accepting the unique beauty of one’s own needs. NVC teaches us that it’s important to acknowledge that there is actually something “really wrong” when we’re feeling discontent and that we must be empathic and compassionate with ourselves as much as with others.

Kersten’s coaching and training

Kersten’s work is constantly evolving and growing with her. Currently, she has a strong focus on bringing communication culture and awareness to businesses through team and individual NVC coaching. Topics like micro-aggressions, privilege, vulnerability, and leadership are currently exciting and inspiring to her.

Together with her colleague, certified trainer Pernille Plantener, she has developed the international coaching program, Needs-Based Coaching (NBC). NBC helps NVC coaches advance their coaching skills in a way that is rooted in Nonviolent Communication and enriched by the frameworks of Internal Family Systems and Resonant Language.

Her name

Kersten sometimes goes by the name Flora. This relates to the bloom of personal development and the earthy beauty that shapes the intentional communication that NVC holds. But it’s also because before becoming an NVC trainer and coach, she was a florist and graphic designer, artist, and musician with a company by that same name. “I am always inspired by natural beauty and organic design. When beauty is in place, doors open.”