Karen Henry has been part of the psychology industry since her master’s in community psychology in 1999. In 2007, while beginning her doctoral journey, she came across a now famous article by Peterson and Park (2006). A quote in the article–“The good in life is not the absence of bad”–resonated as a game-changing worldview that shifted her mindset and career goals in one reading. While pursuing her career in both teaching and practicing the art of psychology as a healing modality, she also began to reflect on how to implement well-being, thriving, and resilience into her practice. Karen has been a certified life coach, certified mental health counselor, and certified Reiki master for a decade now. Her education and teaching at the university level only led to more questions than answers.

The advocacy work that she’s done as a mid-life career change and post traumatic growth experience of personal hardship is turning a new leaf. She has spent the past several years focusing on applying existential new-wave positive psychology to the helping and healing of female survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trauma. The focus of her work includes discovering new ways for individuals and groups to cultivate meaning-centered spaces. When we collectively agree on fueling a sustainable, conscious space for growth, we all thrive as citizens of the world.

Karen’s pedagogy reflects her philosophy that leans back toward Dr. Chris Peterson’s now-renowned commentary that all people matter. To become good citizens, we must cultivate a balanced life. Currently, she is living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Southern United States. She is a practicing digital nomad who writes on the edge of her mountain top as a metaphor for the lessons learned in life. As we celebrate the human experience across our lifespan, we become more aware of a whole-person approach to understanding who and what we are to each other, to our belief systems, and to ourselves.

The International Network on Personal Meaning is a pivotal point of connecting our worldview with the application of both science and how we live our daily lives to the best of our ability. Karen looks forward to writing and interviewing those who cultivate kindness, gratitude, joy, and love as a way of being. Her calling card can be found at henryhealing.com.