Psychotherapist Kathleen Ritger Kouzmanoff (b. 1945) is a native of West Bend, Wisconsin. At age 14 she joined the School Sisters of St. Francis. She attended Alverno College and graduated in 1968 with a degree in social sciences, education, and theology. In the following year she left the order and began study for a master's degree in educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee. In 1979 she married John Kouzmanoff , a civil rights activist, whom she had first met in 1967 outside St. Boniface Church, the church for which Father James Groppi was the priest. John Kouzmanoff died of cancer in 1995.
Kathy Kouzmanoff's early professional career embraced 15 years as a teacher and career counselor with the Milwaukee Public Schools; continuing education teaching at Mount Mary and Alverno colleges, Marquette University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; and several years as a successful real estate agent. In 1979 Kouzmanoff began an intense study of Carl Jung's methods of self discovery, and in 1983 she joined the Carl Jung Center of Milwaukee. Eventually she became an officer and a member of the center's board of directors. At the same time Kouzmanoff was a successful real estate agent, and she found that the self understanding developed from psychoanalysis with Jungian analyst Boris Matthews had a positive impact on both her professional career as well as her personal and spiritual life. Ultimately, Kouzmanoff left the real estate business and began working to advance Jungian methods. A letter from the Small Business Development Center at UW-Whitewater to Kouzmanoff in the collection indicates that her initial idea for this, entitled Tao Business, was a group dynamics counseling center. By the end of 1987 her plans had focused on the Mind's Eye Institute (MEI), a concept that incorporated both her personal counseling practice as well as lectures, classes at the Ewens Center at Mount Mary College, workshops, and support groups for the general public. The name “Mind's Eye” was based on her desire to teach the art of seeing from within, a Jungian concept. Although the Mind's Eye Institute was originally comprised only of Kouzmanoff herself, other therapists who shared her belief in theological spirituality, psychological analysis, and holistic approaches toward personal, mental, and spiritual growth also became associated with the institute. Interest grew, and MEI newsletters dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s document a full schedule of lectures and group meetings. In June 1995 Kouzmanoff established MEI on a more formal, membership basis by incorporating as Mind's Eye Institute, Inc. She listed herself, her husband, and Jean Pascer as directors.
Following incorporation, Kouzmanoff contacted additional associates who shared her outlook on psychotherapy. They reviewed a formal planning document, “Values, Visions, and Flow Charts,” and offered opinions and encouragement at an organizational meeting at Kouzmanoff's home on August 8, 1995. A number of these individuals eventually were elected to the board of directors. Kouzmanoff formally introduced MEI to the public at a Barnes and Noble bookstore on August 23, 1995. By the end of its first year Mind's Eye, Inc. had 54 members. Over the next four years, MEI offered public programs that combined training in ethics, mental concentration, emotional understanding, motivation, and increasing awareness. It also offered quarterly gatherings at which the members shared their mental and spiritual experiences. MEI relied on consensus management supported by a staff to handle the bookkeeping and clerical duties. A publications committee also developed and published a newsletter, Mind's Eye Institute News.
MEI, Inc. dissolved in late 1999. Among the reasons cited were the inability to gain a sufficiently stable membership to organize conferences and workshops, personality conflicts among the members, and lack of finances. After the dissolution of MEI Kouzmanoff continued her licensed private practice clinic which was known as Mind's Eye Counseling. A newsletter issued by her private practice in 2001 described Kouzmanoff's activities as writing, counseling, developing Lifewheel, a personal transformation program, and living a contemplative life.
