Katie O'LearyLPC

About Katie

Well goodness, my younger self would never believe I am here. I grew up with an abusive and mentally unwell mother and spent my teenage years and twenties living with the effects of childhood trauma. That path eventually led me to graduate school for Holistic Counseling and to the work I do now: offering mind and body care to childhood trauma survivors and couples, while creating a place where mental health providers can practice with a more humanistic approach. Golly!

I learned that recovery is not a quick fix. It is a steady, ongoing process where both the brain and body need care, attention, and understanding.

How this work began

My awakening, if you will, for becoming a mental health practitioner began in Christchurch, New Zealand. I was working at the YMCA after a devastating earthquake. I watched how trauma and chronic stress did not just affect people’s thoughts. It lived in their bodies. I saw anxiety in tight shoulders, grief in shallow breathing, and survival in always being on.

That was when it clicked: healing is not just in the mind. It is in the body, too.

When I returned to the United States, I studied Holistic Counseling at Salve Regina University. There, I was trained in both the medical and holistic models of mental health. I became deeply curious about the mind and body connection, especially how trauma, chronic illness, and chronic stress shape the nervous system.

Training and areas of focus

• EMDR and trauma recovery
• Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness
• Neurotransmitters and hormones
• Digestion and the gut and brain connection
• Nutrition and stress
• Spiritual practices and nature based healing
• Self compassion and nervous system regulation

What it is like to work together

My approach blends science and soul, structure and softness, education and lived experience.

My style of care is empowerment with a side of humor. I believe learning about your mind and body should feel clear and accessible, not overwhelming. I teach. I encourage. And yes, sometimes we laugh. Healing does not have to be heavy all the time.

Beyond the practice

When I am not working, you can find me in the woods with my husband, our four year old daughter, our 15 month old daughter, and our two mini American shepherds.