Jennifer "Jenna" Kelly

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 20 years of experience, and I bring a warm, relational, and deeply curious approach to therapy. I believe many of the patterns we struggle with make more sense when we understand where they came from—our early relationships, experiences, adaptations, and the ways we learned to find safety and connection. My goal is to create a space where you can explore those patterns with compassion rather than judgment, while also finding meaningful ways to create change in your life and relationships.

I work with adults experiencing anxiety, stress, relationship and attachment concerns, life transitions, grief and loss, health-related stress, parenting challenges, or simply a desire to better understand themselves. My approach is attachment-based, trauma-informed, and experiential, drawing from Compassionate Inquiry® and somatic practices. I value therapy that goes beyond managing symptoms to gently explore what may be underneath them, while always working collaboratively and at a pace that feels right for you.

I also have a particular depth of experience in attachment, parenting, and early relationships. I earned my MSW from Saint Louis University and completed a post-graduate certificate in Infant and Parent Mental Health at the University of Massachusetts Boston, along with advanced training in Child-Parent Psychotherapy and Circle of Security. For parents of young children, I can work directly with you to understand your child’s behavior and emotional needs through a developmental and attachment lens, strengthen connection, and explore how your own history may sometimes become activated in parenting. Often, supporting the relationship and the parent can be one of the most powerful ways to support a young child.

My therapeutic style is warm, relational, reflective, and compassionate. I approach therapy with genuine curiosity about not only what you are experiencing, but what may be underneath it. Together, we may explore how earlier experiences, attachment relationships, and patterns of adapting or protecting yourself continue to influence how you feel, relate to others, and move through the world today. I draw from attachment-based and trauma-informed approaches, Compassionate Inquiry®, and somatic practices, recognizing that our experiences are held not only in our thoughts, but also in our bodies and nervous systems.

I have specialized training in attachment and early relational health, including a post-graduate certificate in Infant and Parent Mental Health, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, and Circle of Security. This background particularly informs my work with parents of infants and young children, helping them understand behavior through a developmental and relational lens, strengthen connection with their child, and become curious about how their own attachment histories may become activated in parenting.

I also integrate body-based approaches when they are a good fit for the client, including training in Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises® (TRE®), somatic attachment work, breathwork, movement, and nervous-system regulation. My approach is not one-size-fits-all—I draw from these different perspectives collaboratively, based on your needs, goals, comfort, and what feels most helpful to you.

Your first session is an opportunity for us to begin getting to know one another and for me to understand what is bringing you to therapy at this point in your life. We’ll talk about what you’re hoping for, what feels most important right now, and some of the experiences and relationships that may help me understand you in a broader context. You don’t need to come prepared with perfectly defined goals—we can develop those together.

My priority is creating a space that feels warm, comfortable, and free of judgment. I tend to be curious and conversational, so our first session will feel more like a collaborative conversation than an interview or checklist. I may ask questions about patterns you’ve noticed, important relationships, your history, and what has or hasn’t been helpful in the past, but there is no expectation that you share more than you feel ready to.

By the end of our first few sessions, my hope is that we have a shared understanding of what you would like to work toward and how I can best support you. Just as importantly, I want you to have a sense of whether you feel comfortable with me and whether my approach feels like the right fit.