Clinically: Trained and Licensed.
Naturally: Caring. Open. Empowering.

Kelly O’Donnell MA, LCMHC, LCAS

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You remember a time when feeling lost, burned out/numbed out and hesitant weren’t the “norm” … but somehow, those days feel like a distant memory. 

Together, let’s change that. 

I (Kelly) am human too!
 

I’m Kelly O’Donnell, and I help adults just like you: ones that have it within them to reconnect with their most confident selves, but just need the support to get there.

I help my clients find fulfillment, passion and strength by equipping them with the tools they need to step into their full power and whole hearted self.

Many of today’s solutions for self esteem and anxiety are surface level, leading so many to feel like they’re still faking it even after their symptoms have alleviated to some degree. You’re looking for more than that though, so together, we’ll work to uproot what’s been holding you back.

First, we examine what debilitating messages are contributing to the internal turmoil you’re experiencing. Then, we work to replace these messages with healthier, more adaptive messages and skills that will be most effective for you. Through our work together, you’ll be equipped to lean into life with gentle courage that prioritizes your happiness and goals above all else.

I am dedicated to helping people discover their power.

My training in self-esteem, anxiety and addiction means I have the expertise you need and deserve when releasing self-doubt and worry. But at the end of the day, you want to know you’re working with someone who “gets” what it means to be struggling with insecurities and worries, right?

I get it because I’ve lived through it too - personally and alongside loved ones. I know that sometimes it’s hard to trust - ourselves, others or the world around us! So when we work together, you won’t just get a trained therapist. You’ll get someone who truly understands what you’re going through.

Education and Credentials

    • Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, UNC Charlotte 

    • Certificate in Addiction Counseling, UNC Charlotte 

    • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology, SUNY Fredonia 

    • Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) - NC # 12710

    • Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist (LCAS) - NC # 21515

    • Out of State Telehealth Provider, Florida: TPMC4703

    • Addiction Counselor Telehealth Provider, South Carolina: #209

    • Professional Counselor Telehealth Provider, South Carolina: #33

    • Professional Counselor, Connecticut: #9542

I’m forever learning — happily.

I’m privileged to have found something I could turn into a career at a young age. Sitting around the dinner table with a law enforcement family growing up, it was evident that I naturally held compassion for individuals in the toughest of circumstances. Sometimes even oddly so! I had a deep curiosity to understand why individuals moved in the ways that they did. Just like that, my love for psychology, people and relationships was born 🤍 And I haven’t stopped learning since.

While some of my Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are born out of necessity, the majority come from a place of care for my clients and their loved ones. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Investing in my ongoing education to focus on what matters most to my clients is the definition of collaboration. Partnership. Respect. Trust. So to my current and previous clients: thank you for all you’ve taught me.

Here are a few CEUs from recent years. If you’d like to make a suggestion toward my future CEUs, please do!

    • An Overview of Critical Dialectal Behavioral Therapy Skills

    • ARFID 101

    • Eating Disorders and College Students: Best Practices to Support Complex Students and Navigate On Campus Treatment Challenges

    • Eating Disorders and Postpartum: Staying Connected to Self and Recovery

    • Feasting, Fasting, and Feeling; Oy Vey! A Transdiagnostic Approach to Treating Eating Disorders in the Jewish Community

    • Hair Pulling Disorder and Skin Picking: Evidence Based Approaches to Treating Trichotillomania and Excoriation

    • Shame, Parenting and Mindfulness: Improving Parental Awareness From Potty Training to Adulting

    • Shaping a Secure Sense of Self Using EFIT

    • Talking About and Tackling Sexual Shame with ACT

    • The Relationship between GLP-1 Medications and Mental Health

    • The Violence of Advice: Helping Without Overpowering

    • Transforming Sexual Narratives in No Sex Relationships

    • Understanding Menopause in Clinical Practice: Evidence-Based Interventions for Mood, Sleep and Cognition

    • Eat, Escape, Regret, Repeat. Concrete Mindfulness Interventions for Binge Eating Disorder

    • Family Life Can Be So Much Easier: Improving Parent/Child Interactions Using Psychosynthesis

    • Finding the Rhythm Again: Rebalancing Our Brains in an Instant Gratification World

    • Helping Families Navigate Their Emotions to Enhance Recovery Support

    • Radically Open (RO) Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Blended Learning Course Level 1

    • RO DBT for Over-control, Perfectionism and Rigid Behaviors

    • Understanding the Gut Brain: Stress, Appetite, Digestion and Mood

    • Behavioral Helath Integration: A Path Forward for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

    • Best Substance Use Disorder Care for Native Americans

    • Blindsided by Kratom: The Accessible Opioid

    • Co-Occuring Disorders and the CUBIS Model

    • Helping Vs Enabling

    • HIV/AIDs: An Overview

    • Substance-Induced Psychosis: A Growing Concern

    • The Role of the Family in Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Treatment: Historically, Currently and Moving Forward

    • Trauma Informed Aftercare for Professionals with Co-Occuring Substance Use Disorders

    • A Clinical Introduction to Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse

    • A Wounded Healer Heals: Dr. Yalom on Life, Loss and Therapy

    • Attachment Trauma and Sex Addiction

    • As Wartime Realities Unfold: Supporting Clients in Traumatic Shock

    • Collective Trauma and the Social Construction of Meaning

    • Disaster Mental Health: How to Help in the Aftermath of a Tragedy

    • Empathy in Connection to Justice

    • Healing Invisible Wounds: Working Through Past Sexual Trauma in Relationships

    • How to Fight Anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate

    • Human trafficking for Medical and Behavioral Health Providers

    • Intentional Use of Internal Family Systems (IFS) for Trauma Informed Care in Behavioral Health

    • Intimate Partner Death and Loss: Clinical Approaches, Myths and What Not to Do

    • Lifting Black Voices: Therapy, Trust and Racial Trauma

    • Lifting Women: Appreciating the Burden of Sexism in Society

    • Making Sense of the Pandemic: Psychological Impact on Clients and Communities

    • Minding the Gap: Connecting Trauma Work With the 12 Steps

    • Navigating Doubt in Love: Treating Relationship OCD

    • Our Role Moving Forward: Reproductive Justice as Harm Reduction and Ethical Imperative

    • When the Solution Becomes the Problem: Avoidance in Trauma and Eating Disorders

    • Beyond the Surface: Deepening Understanding of ADHD, Substance use and Treatment Pathways

    • Distracted and Disordered: Understanding the Overlap Between ADHD and Eating Disorders

    • Identifying the Lost Generation of Autistic Adults

    • The Hidden Spectrum: How to Identify Autism in Individuals Who Are Assigned Female at Birth

    • Understanding the Complex Relationship Between ADHD and Substance Use in Young Adults

    • When it’s Not Autism or ADHD…Sensory Processing Disorder as Common Ground

    • Coming Out On a Continuum: Recognizing the Lifelong Process for LGBTQ People

    • Creating an Ethical, Impactful Presence Outside the Therapy Room

    • Introducing IFS (Internal Family Systems) Within a Biblical Worldview

    • Ethical Considerations in the Treatment of Eating Disorders

    • Kink: Laying the Clinical Groundwork, From Fundamentals and Beyond

    • Navigating Insurance for In-Network and Out-of-Network Providers: Ethical Considerations and Important Points

    • Planning Maternity Leave in Private Practice: Where Practical Considerations Meet Law/Ethics

    • Providing Inclusive, Respectful, Care to Your Gender Questioning, Transgender and Non Binary Clients

    • The Truths of Transracial Adoption: Evaluating Impact and Considerations for Care

    • Understanding and Treating Grief and Diverse Losses

    • When Client/Therapist Values Clash: Diversity Training

    • Your Child is Not a Pedophile: Effectively Addressing Problematic Sexual Behaviors in Children and Adolescents

“…but who are you?”

Therapy’s effectiveness is often based on two things. The most important one? The connection between client and therapist. Forced connection isn’t truly connection. Let me give you a better idea of who I am, how I view therapy, and allow you to decide for yourself if my approach and persona sounds like it would work for you.

Would we connect well?

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You deserve to (re)connect with your strength and worthiness.

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