Everyone comes from somewhere. My story started in a little town in Canada. A privilaged, deeply-loved, hockey-playing, small-town girl who thought she was the oldest and the only daughter in her family of four. At 36 years old, married and pregnant with our first child, my now-divorced parents called my brother and I home to the house we grew up in to tell us something they "hadn't told anyone for 40 years". We had a sister. A full biological sister who happened to live just up the road. Who looked just like my mom and sounded just like me. And all the pieces that never quite fit in my story thus far, started to make a little more sense.
When I left that small town, back when I thought I was the oldest and only daughter, I had big dreams of reconnecting people - I was always the funny one, it always seemed important to be to bring people back together. I became a Civillian Member of our national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and I fell in love with understanding what trauma can do to organizations and family systems.
I got my Masters and a PhD, both in Clinical Psychology and during my residency, dove deep into how trauma can so deeply impact kids and families. The first ten years of my career as a psychologist was spent on a locked psychiatric inpatient unit for kids. Those kids and families taught me the most about relationship and connection and what it truly means to reintegrate trauma in order to heal. I also started to understand this truth: if the big people aren't okay, the little people don't stand much of a chance.
Understanding the necessary personal growth that seems essential as we navigate all the roles of this life became a cornerstone to my practice. While I was working at the Children's Hospital, I met my husband, we got married, and our son was born, I learned I had a sister, and then I had twins (a big couple of years!). We settled our little family in the town my husband grew up in, and I started a private practice, consulting with people who were in charge of navigating big emotion of the people they were leading, teaching, and coaching. The understanding what it took to lead people these days and help organization understand out to stay connected to humans in this disconnected world led to writing a few national best-selling books, and a speaking career that has taken us many places around this globe.
Raising our kids, coaching some hockey, and talking a lot about mental health in classrooms and locker rooms also led to a whole lot of discussion with coaches around sport performance - a place where so much good work can happen. And now here we are. Still connected and working at reconnecting to a sister I didn't grow up with but who I know get to grow old with, and spending my days helping other people figure out their stories too - in their organizations, in their teams, and in their families has been the greatest honour of this lifetime. And most days, I feel like we're just getting started.
Yes. Dr. Jody leads a private practice, Carrington & Company. She carries a small caseload of existing patients. All new patients are taken by the psychologists who work alongside Dr. Jody.
Jody speaks to organizations from 10 to 10,000 people. Able to disarm even the most challenging rooms, Jody connects authentically with her audiences and usually walks off the podium or stage to a standing ovation. To find out if Jody would be a good fit for your association or group please contact us today!
Dr. Jody's big priority is making mental health information easily accessible and understandable. In addition to seaking, Jody has a podcast that airs weekly, monthly newsletters, is active on social , and hosts monthly clinical workshops virtually. To attend her next workshop please visit the workshops page to register.
Reconnecting in this disconnected world through the simple act of acknowedging each other will not only change the world, it will save it. All we need to do is the next, best, right, kind thing and we will all have so much more access to good.