Annie Kennedy, LCSW

“Owning our story can be hard, but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running
from it. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the
infinite power of our light.” — Brené Brown

Annie holds a BA in Psychology from Covenant College and an MSW with a Graduate
Certificate in Trauma Treatment from Widener University. She is EMDRIA-trained in
EMDR and has extensive experience as a Crisis Intervention Specialist on national and
local crisis lines (including 988/NSPL, NAMI, LGBTQ+ Trevor Lifeline, DJS Assault
Report Line, PhoneFriend Kids’ Helpline, and 2-1-1), and with a local CSB, as a mental
health first responder in collaboration with Richmond area hospitals, emergency
services, and law enforcement. She is ASSIST and SPI trained in suicide response and
safety planning and participates in the University of Tennessee’s First-Gen Social Work
Doctoral Mentoring Program and in EMDR consultation as a part of her ongoing
professional growth.

Annie supports clients navigating depression, anxiety, acute or chronic trauma, grief,
postpartum depression and anxiety, distressing intrusive thoughts, childhood and
intimate partner abuse, family violence, separation and divorce, co-parenting, suicidal
ideation, and self-harm, helping individuals move toward greater safety, confidence, and
emotional peace. She views therapy as a space where pain, fear, and uncertainty can
be met with empathy and transformed into growth and integration.

Grounded in the concept of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), Annie believes that personal
superpowers can emerge from painful experiences. Her approach is person-centered,
strengths-based, and trauma-informed, integrating EMDR, IFS/parts work, TF-CBT,
Narrative Therapy, and DBT as appropriate. She also incorporates creativity, mindfulness, and spiritually based interventions when meaningful to clients —utilizing music, art, poetry/writing prompts, prayer, and play-based techniques.

Outside of her work, Annie enjoys reading and discussing classic and modern literature,
writing music and poetry, and spending quality time with her loved ones.