Meet Jenn Kerns

As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC-VT), Depth Psychotherapist (Jungian-oriented), Certified Integrative Medicine Mental Health Provider (CIMMHP), meditation teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, and educator, I specialize in guiding clients through post-traumatic growth, life and identity transitions, and the “messy middle” of personal transformation. I have been in private practice since 2014, and in the field of mental health for over 20 years.

I often see my therapeutic work as an evolving arc: first, creating refuge and cultivate self-awareness — the early groundwork of all conscious healing; then entering the alchemical space of transmuting wounds into wisdom, where we learn how to foster the soul and turn love inward; and the final stage of bridging our gifts to the world, which means connecting inner transformation to a sense of purpose, contribution, and meaning. As someone whose work is deeply rooted in tenets of Buddhist studies and Positive Psychology, I believe that healing comes not only from doing “the work” but also experiencing our interconnectedness with all of humanity through giving back and being of service.

My lived and clinical experience is that healing is incomplete when it becomes one-sided and too hyper-individually focused, which reinforces self-centering and loneliness; research shows that part of what moves us toward wholeness and human flourishing is orienting our lives toward others—being of service, community building, and feeling our shared humanity.

A Lifelong Commitment to Transformation

For more than 20 years, I’ve immersed myself in the study, practice, and teaching of psychology, spirituality, meditation, and healing arts:

• Academics: BA in Psychology from Saint Michael’s College (with a concentration in Buddhist Studies); MA in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis in Depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Antioch College’s Buddhist Studies Program in Bodh Gaya, India in 2006.

• Professional & teaching experience: I’ve worked in mental health settings such as Latham Centers Inc (Brewster, MA), University of Vermont - Psychiatry, Middlebury College’s counseling center, and Spectrum Youth and Family Services (Burlington, VT), and private practice since 2014. I was Certified as a Reiki Master Teacher and practitioner in 2010; in 2014 I opened a personal self-development platform and school Temenos Vermont. My interests in spirituality and the healing arts have taken me as far as India, Sri Lanka, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia for field study and research.

• Research & scholarship: My senior undergraduate independent research took place abroad in Bodh Gaya and Darjeeling India for four months, "Buddhist Theory of Mind: Transforming Suffering into Self-Empowerment,” supervised by Georgios Halkias, Oxford University. My published graduate work at Pacifica Graduate Institute, “Degendering Psyche: Considerations for a Movement to Queer Jungian and Archetypal Thought,” explored queering Jungian and archetypal thought using tenents of Deep ecology, Queer theory, and Engaged Buddhism.

• In the last five years, my own reckoning with acute and chronic illness has inspired my academic research focus on stories of spontaneous healing and near-death experiences, which I find endlessly fascinating and awe-inspiring. I plan to complete my death doula training at the University of Vermont, continuing my studies in what it means to live—and die—consciously.

The Training Ground of Life

My own life has been as much a teacher as any degree or training. Growing up in foster care and being adopted at age 10 taught me early about separation and belonging — about exile, feeling alienated, and the soul’s longing for wholeness. I learned firsthand how access to resources and supportive community can determine whether someone struggles or thrives.

Early on sports became my refuge and purpose. Years of soccer, lacrosse, and endurance training taught me discipline, somatic awareness, and resilience. My identity as an adoptee initiated me into the archetypal journey from Orphan to Pilgrim — a life long adventure quest of redefining what “family” really means and orienting to my sense of Place in the world. Starting at a very young age (like 5!) I was already asking questions like, “Who am I, why am I here, what’s this all about?” Over time I came to understand that sometimes family is chosen, built, or found along the way.

That path shaped my passion for spirituality (feeling connected to something greater than me), building community, and working in teams. It taught me that healing never happens in isolation (the Lone Wolf never wins!), and that “helpers” and “teachers” often arrive from unexpected places — a stranger, a teammate, a uber driver, a mentor, someone from a completely different culture or background— maybe even an angel or a guide (if you get down with that).

In my early 30s, I was blindsided by a disabling health crisis that left me housebound for years—yes, years—forcing me to close my businesses and enter a kind of medical sabbatical. Facing what couldn’t be controlled invited deep surrender, renegotiation, and rebuilding, while intimately hosting my own experiences of grief, identity loss, increased need, and vulnerability.

I was reminded to “look for the helpers” and given the chance to stress-test many of my personal and professional beliefs around healing and renewal. I’m grateful to say they not only held up but were profoundly enriched by those humbling years of illness and recovery.

Those chapters were not only initiatory experiences but deeply spiritual ones. On a non-abstract, embodied level, I was forced to face my own question: “Am I alone, or is God real?” In that darkness, I came to understand my soul’s agenda—which had clearly taken the reins—and was invited to confront some of my greatest fears while uncovering inner strengths and a level of psychological endurance I didn’t know existed.

As St. John of the Cross says, God often comes to us through the dark night. Those who have walked through the deepest valleys and emerged are often the most spiritually alive and resilient souls I know. I’ve been there myself — and it’s now my life’s work to hold space for them, reflecting back their power, value, and light.

Growth through adversity is real. I’m grateful to have experienced firsthand the transformative power of awareness, gratitude, and resilience—alongside the grounding force of community and spiritual resourcing.

Beyond the Therapy Room-

I’m a part-time coach at Far Post Soccer Club, a multi-disciplinary artist, momma to my 3 fur babies, proud auntie, gardener, hiker, and lifelong student of what it means to be human.

I am also a Buddhist with a long-time Vipassana meditation practice. My Buddhist journey began in 2004 and has taken me through the landscapes of Theravada, Zen, and Dzogchen and as far as India and Sri Lanka to study. In recent years, my path has led me to join the Soka Gakkai International—the United States’ most vibrant, diverse Buddhist community. Practicing with the SGI continues to deepen my understanding of compassion and human potential.

Living with chronic illness has taught me the power of slowing down, resting, and moving at the pace of the body rather than the mind. It’s invited me into radical vulnerability and deep acceptance, while rounding out my clinical and academic studies with personal understanding.

My home is shared with my partner, two Maine Coon cats (Valko & Laska), and our sassy and very spirited German Shorthaired Pointer adventure buddy, Charlie.

👉 [View Jenn’s Qualifications & Certifications]
👉 [Visit her Psychology Today Profile]