A Welcome Note

A quick note to warmly welcome you here and introduce myself. My name is Kelly Caul, my pronouns are she/her, and I live and work here on occupied Osage land, also known as St. Louis, MO. I am the Founding Director of Empowered Spaces, and I am so glad you are here.

This blog is new for Empowered Spaces, and this will be a space where you will have the opportunity to hear from our Empowered Spaces family members about who they are in the world and the work that they do.

Empowered Spaces is a community-centered, community-led space that is rooted in belonging, community care, trauma-informed and embodied healing, justice, anti-oppressive practices, and collective resilience. We are here to support and take care of one another. We know we are stronger together, and that our healing and wellbeing is interconnected.

We are a collective of integrative psychotherapists, yoga teachers, meditation teachers, activists and other helping professionals. Our mission is to cultivate connection and resilience through psychotherapy, yoga, meditation, community gardening, professional development trainings, and community gatherings that are accessible, equitable, and cultivate a culture of care and belonging.

As this blog gets started, I wanted to share a little bit about myself.

In terms of the work that I do - I am a clinical social worker, somatic psychotherapist, transformational space holder, group facilitator, and community builder. My work is rooted in somatic healing, parts work, mindfulness & self-compassion, attachment theory, neurobiology and a deep understanding of the nervous system.

I have the great privilege of holding space for healing, and supporting individuals as they reclaim their wholeness by reconnecting to their intuitive and embodied wisdom, inner strength, and inherent capacity for healing.

I am also deeply passionate about the cultivation of compassionate, accountable, anti-racist, and equitable communities.

I am committed to the ongoing work to show up as an embodied trauma-sensitive, resilience-focused, and anti-oppressive practitioner and human.

As a white, able-bodied, hetero, cisgender woman of Irish and German descent, I am consistently in the process of working to build deeper awareness of how my identities have been shaped, my social location to power and privilege, and to unpack the implicit bias I hold.

A little bit more about me …

I am the mother to a 4 y/o and 6 y/o, two radiant little souls who everyday are my greatest teachers.

I consider myself to be a lifelong student - the more I learn, the more I realize there is to know.

I have practiced yoga for the past 12 years, and my practice on and off the mat has been healing in so many ways.

Learning to trust myself, befriend all parts of myself, and find comfort in my own skin is an ongoing daily practice that I am committed to. I stumble, I fumble, some days I feel like I fail - but I am committed.

I am a fierce believer in the immeasurable strength and resiliency of the human spirit, and the healing power of relationships.

Empowered Spaces is just two years in and it has already far exceeded what I dreamt it could be because of the individuals who are a part of this community