By Sean Macauley, HKYFS.
I would like to take the opportunity to introduce to the H-K Community our new Clinical Director here at Youth & Family Services, Kathrine Kennedy. “Katy,” as she prefers, is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and has 12+ years of experience within an agency setting and private practice. It is funny how I am reminded of how small our world really is with the fact that Katy and I attended graduate school together and began our journeys with mental health at the same time and now our paths have crossed again. She is a tremendous addition to the team and I am looking forward to all that she brings to our community. Please give Katy a call if you have any questions about our counseling department or any inquires at all and you will find out the character to which she has. My departure as Clinical Director is so bittersweet. I adore the people here and the work they do. However, I am confident in the hands I am leaving the work to.
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I am incredibly grateful to be joining the communities of Haddam-Killingworth in the capacity of Clinical Director of the Youth and Family Services Agency. I am looking forward to meeting each of you over the next weeks and months and will be happy to make myself as available as possible so that I can be of service to you all!
My professional life began as a teacher, and I was fortunate to work with children from the kindergarten ages through the eighth grade. I enjoyed the classroom, and working with fellow teachers, parents, as well as being involved in all the various school activities. I then moved from teaching to working with young adults and their families who were dealing with a wide variety of presenting issues, neurological impairments, behavioral health diagnoses, as well as social and emotional challenges. This is where I really began to see the critical value of not only working with the person who has the presenting issues but reaching out and being a guide to that person’s support group as well. When our loved one is experiencing challenges, we also can benefit from much needed support and guidance!
After I completed my training to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I gained a tremendous amount of experience at United Community and Family Agency, working with families facing a myriad of challenges including substance abuse, illness, grief and loss, family conflict, eating disorders, attention deficit disorder, learning challenges and more, in addition to the normal everyday life stressors that can weigh on all of us so heavily. I was a clinical consultant for a group home, and enjoyed running trainings, particularly focused on trauma recovery, which I continue to use in my practice every day.
For 10 years I was fortunate to enjoy a busy private practice and have worked with individuals from the ages of 4 to 88! This has been a wonderful growth period for me, and I truly believe that I have learned as much as I hope that I have been able to share with these many clients over the years.
I leave private practice to come back to directly working within a community. I am ready to immerse myself in the needs of the Haddam-Killingworth community, and am thrilled to be working with all of the families, schools, and organizations that are so vitally important for a healthy community.
In my personal life, I am a mom to four children ages 8-22, and they certainly keep me on my toes, as do a cat, and two golden retrievers. I’m a terrible gardener, although I have dreams of becoming a decent one, a decent cook and I love my books, which I will always be happy to share.
Again, I look forward to saying hello, and I am most privileged to becoming a part of your community, and I thank you for this opportunity.
Warmly,
Katy
