Donna Kerington, LPC Associate

My mission is to help you make choices you never knew you had in service to outcomes that have meaning for you.

I am Donna Kerington, under the supervision of Jennifer Buffalo, LPC-S. When it comes to the pursuit of mental health, I am committed to being candid – which sometimes means I am gently straightforward, with a dash of compassionate humor. Embracing the unconventional is my thing and sometimes it takes what I call “not-so-random acts of gentle anarchy” to be who we want to be.

Along with depression, anxiety, and just figuring things out, I love working with introverts, you guys’ (quietly) rock! I also have a passion for Adult Children of Emotional Neglect (CEN). They are people who have reached adulthood and are now wondering, “What’s wrong with me?” No one has a clue about the internal struggle you experience because you seem to have it so together! Maybe you dodged the problems your siblings or parents had, but something still isn’t right. Sometimes, when there are major problems in your family of origin, all energy goes to dealing with that. Or maybe your parents were trying so hard to pay the bills, there was no energy left to pay attention. No one is to blame, but sometimes wisdom and life skills don’t get passed on in the scramble to survive. That could be what you are feeling now. Something that is missing. It's not what you had, it's what you didn't have and it is not too late to fill the gaps.

My own journey has been littered with all kinds of issues. Within my own extended family, I can list the chaos caused by schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and identity issues. Rigid beliefs, shallow religious understanding, poverty, and shame dealt their own special brands of pain. I have witnessed (and experienced) people grappling in the dark, reacting ineffectively to life’s twists, and creating more chaos. My mission became to empower people with choices they never knew they had and guide them toward outcomes that have meaning for them.

My personal remedy for life’s chaos is nature. I experience awe as often as I can. I am curious about geology, archaeology, ecology, astronomy, botany, and wildlife. I don’t need the official name of anything, I just want the meaning, the story behind it. Speaking of stories, the life I have chosen has significantly been shaped by Star Trek and Star Wars, and I love the Marvel Multiverse (we all need heroes). I love the idea of fantasy futures, but I also have ancient cave art posters all over my home. Symbols and metaphors, anyone?