Carrie Hennessy, Psy.D.
My Story
My young emergent world, sheltered and under the influence of a high-control religion began to take a toll on me, like a slow-growing amoeba eating up my soul. For better and for worse, a bed-bound illness in my early teens gave me unexpected respite from others’ expectations and influence over me, leaving me alone and questioning my current reality.
Still deeply conditioned to distrust any instinct that pulled me away from the status quo, every attempt at breaking free was met with a haze of self-doubt and the voice of a loud and punishing self-critic.
At twenty years old and growing more and more desperate for a change, I took an unexpected encounter with a hitchhiker as a sign and high-tailed it out of Utah, leaving my beloved family, and the Mormon roots and cultural expectations I knew from birth to follow my own heart.
Guided by fallen feathers and snake skins in deserts, symbols on latte foam art and book jackets, I found myself traveling through sunsets over sand dunes in South America, meditation with monks in Appalachia, through yoga and massage certifications, the Ivy League and too much academia. All the while deconstructing the subconscious layers of harm caused by my early programming.
Little did I know that what began as a pursuit for personal liberation would culminate into decades of experience in clinical psychology and the healing arts and an inspired path of helping others forge a new life-affirming path forward.
My Approach
Over the years, my work has become grounded in four values that shape every session, retreat, and group I facilitate.
-
Collaboration, shared authority and consent create the foundation for our time together and also deepen the work. The values and identities that are meaningful to you, play a pivotal role in shaping your experience. My hope is that you continue to build confidence in trusting your own inner guidance.
-
Healing happens at the pace your nervous system can support. Together, we will balance the need for what is safe and familiar with the desire for breakthrough moments and meaningful change.
-
Every part of you has value, even the parts you might judge as bad or problematic. Greeting your parts with curiosity and care allows us to explore their place within you and begin to create change where needed.
-
Because challenges can emerge in any relationship or group experience, including the ones here, I emphasize the importance of relational repair and accountability. I invite us both to use these challenges to better understand ourselves and each other.
Education and Training Highlights
My current offerings are informed by traditional and nontraditional educational opportunities and experiences. For many years, I worked as a licensed massage therapist, yoga instructor, and transcendental meditation teacher. I later received a B.A. in psychology from Smith College, graduating Magna Cum Laude as an Ada Comstock Scholar (2010) and a Psy.D. from Antioch University New England (AUNE) (2018). I spent many years working in community mental health and for a time, held an adjunct professorship at AUNE and worked as a pre-doctoral internship supervisor.
I started training in Internal Family systems (IFS) through the IFS Institute in 2017, and in 2020 moved into private practice. From there my group and community offerings began to evolve as did my approach to therapy, focusing more on co-creative, intuitive and embodiment practices, ultimately leading to a two-year intuitive energy healing program through the School of Intuitive Studies, which I completed this year.