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Karen Caffrey, LPC, JD
639 Park Road
Hartford, CT 0610y
Phone:(860) 313-0039
karen@karencaffrey.com

Copyright © 2007 Karen Caffrey All Rights Reserved

My Personal Style

My personal style is genuine, down-to-earth, and caring. Most people feel quickly at ease with me. I enjoy helping people feel comfortable and understood, as I believe that positive change happens best in an environment of compassion, trust and acceptance. 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 Professional Qualifications

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. I also have extensive post-graduate training in body-centered psychotherapy. It combines elements of gestalt, bioenergetics, psychodynamics, mindfulness, imagery and communications theory. This therapy helps you access the resources not only of your mind, but your body, your intuition and your spirit, which together constitute a deep resource of internal wisdom and strength.

I am currently in the Advanced level of training in Somatic Experiencing®, a very powerful, effective but gentle way of healing trauma by using body awareness to discharge excess stored energy the nervous system. (To read more about Somatic Experiencing®, click here.)

I am also certified as a Reiki I practitioner. Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

My Philosophy

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 eliciting this wisdom. Psychotherapy is one of the many roads upon which you can travel to grow and heal.

I have learned that life is a journey that can be lived with a deep sense of joy, love, meaning and satisfaction. I feel fortunate that my work as a psychotherapist allows me to assist people along the way on their own, unique journey.

My Psychotherapy Practice

For the past thirteen years I have worked with individuals, couples and groups in my private practice. I work with people regarding the full range of the human experience: relationships, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, job and life stress, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), addictions, women's issues, and mental health and wellness.

For ten years prior to my career as a psychotherapist, I was a practicing attorney. I practiced law in a corporation as well as in private practice. I have found that my prior experience makes 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. To read more about my work counseling 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 the issues faced by adult adoptees including loss, rejection, anger and identity.

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.

Training and Consultation

I offer training groups and workshops on a variety of subjects, including stress management, self-esteem, counter-transference (for professionals) and adoption issues. I enjoy teaching the principles of healing to others.

Some of the workshops and seminars I have presented/co-presented are as follows:

• Dealing with Difficult People
• Stress Reduction and Relaxation
• Self-Esteem: Believing Your Self Worth
• The Spirited Body: Embodying Your Spirit Through Life Transitions
• Exploring the Experience of Being Adopted
• The Healing Power of Animals
• Countertransference: Using Your Body Reactions to Understand Your Client (For mental health professionals)
• Lawyers and Emotions