Who I Am

My Professional Qualifications

Licensure: I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, licensed by the State of Connecticut (Conn. License #408).  My professional training includes a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Lesley College in Boston, Mass. in 1993.

Post-Graduate Training: I have extensive post-graduate training in body-centered psychotherapy, and have led workshops and training programs based on it. Body-centered psychotherapy helps you access the resources your body, mind, intuition and spirit, which together constitute a deep resource of internal wisdom and strength.  Research supports the power of body-centered psychotherapy to help people change and heal.  The holistic psychotherapy I practice combines elements of gestalt, bioenergetics, psychodynamics, mindfulness, contemplative psychotherapy, and imagery and communications theory.

Certification: I am a certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner.  Somatic Experiencing® is a very powerful, effective but gentle system of healing techniques designed to help you calm down after a stressful event(s), as well as relieve the symptoms of ongoing and chronic stress.  (To learn more about Somatic Experiencing®, click here.)

My Personal Style and Philosophy

My personal style is genuine, down-to-earth, and caring.  Most people feel quickly at ease with me.  I believe that positive change happens best in an environment of compassion, trust and acceptance.  I am an optimist when it comes to the capacity of human beings to heal:  I believe that healing is possible for everyone.

I have great faith that you carry within you the wisdom you need to guide your own life, and that the best kind of help assists you in eliciting this wisdom. I have the utmost respect and regard for you, your strengths and skills, and the challenges you are facing. We will work together to find solutions that are right for you.

My Counseling Practice

For the past sixteen years I have been a counselor for individuals, couples and groups in my psychotherapy practice. I help people recover from anxiety and depression, problems in their relationships, work and life stress, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), trauma, addictions, women’s issues, and mental health and wellness.

For ten years prior to my career as a counselor, I was a practicing attorney.  I practiced law in a Fortune 100 corporation as well as in a private law firm.  I have found that my experiences as a lawyer make me uniquely able to understand and empathize with my clients who work in the legal and corporate worlds.  I have a keen appreciation of what it is like to try to address your own needs while balancing work, family and community obligations.  I also learned that even highly successful, capable people can face life challenges for which they need help.  To read more about counseling for lawyers, click here.

I also have a specialty in working with adult adoptees, and do this work individually and in groups.  I have presented extensively on issues faced by adult adoptees including loss, rejection, anger and identity.  To read about counseling for adoptees, click here.

Lastly, I have a special love for animals and have experienced how powerful a healing force they can be in people’s lives.  When possible and appropriate, I encourage people to involve their animals (real or symbolic) in their healing process.

Call or email me for a FREE 15 minute phone consultation!

Karen Caffrey, LPC, JD, Counseling and Psychotherapy in West Hartford, CT  06107