Kelly Caul, MSW, LCSW, SEP (she/her)
Founding Director of Empowered Spaces, Psychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), Group Facilitator, Community Weaver
I am a clinical social worker, somatic trauma psychotherapist, embodiment practitioner, community weaver devoted to creating spaces where healing feels possible—where people can come home to themselves, their bodies, and one another.
Through my private practice, Empowered Therapy, I offer both individual and group therapy, specializing in supporting women, female adolescents, gender-diverse individuals, and parents. My approach is holistic and integrative—rooted in somatic healing, parts work, mindfulness, self-compassion, attachment theory, empowerment, and a deep and reverent understanding of the nervous system.
I believe that our bodies hold the stories of what we’ve lived through, and also the wisdom for how to heal. When we learn to listen to that wisdom, we can begin to move from survival toward aliveness, connection, and wholeness.
As a white-bodied, heterosexual, cisgender woman, I hold a lifelong commitment to unlearning, accountability, and collective care.
I approach this work with humility and curiosity—continually striving to co-create spaces that are anti-oppressive, equitable, and brave enough to hold complexity, truth, and repair. My practice is rooted in the understanding that personal healing and collective liberation are inseparable.
Since 2009, I have facilitated therapeutic empowerment groups for middle and high school girls—Girls with Strength and Quieting the Storm—supporting young people in developing a grounded sense of self, voice, and belonging. I also lead workshops and trainings that center trauma, embodiment, resilience, and justice-oriented healing for both community members and helping professionals.
It is this devotion to embodied, relational, and justice-centered healing that sparked the creation of Empowered Spaces in 2018—a collective and community where practitioners, healers, and neighbors come together to nurture connection, belonging, and care.
I believe that when we root healing in community, we move closer to a more compassionate, equitable, and liberated world.
My Approach
Healing is not about fixing what’s broken—it’s about remembering what’s whole.
Together, we’ll slow down and listen to what your body already knows. My approach is collaborative, relational, and deeply embodied. I support you in building awareness of your nervous system, exploring how your body has learned to protect you, and gently finding new ways of being that feel more spacious, grounded, and alive.
We work at the pace of your body’s wisdom, not urgency. This means honoring your limits as much as your longings, and tending to the parts of you that have carried pain, fear, or disconnection with compassion and care.
The work we do together is not just about symptom relief—it’s about cultivating a felt sense of safety, self-trust, and belonging that can ripple through every part of your life.
What I Believe
I believe that healing happens in relationship—within ourselves, with each other, and with the world around us.
I believe that our bodies carry not only our own lived experiences, but also the stories of our families, our ancestors, and the collective systems we move through.
And I believe that tending to our own healing is part of tending to the healing of the world.
When we practice presence, compassion, and care, we begin to interrupt patterns of disconnection—both personal and systemic.
This is why I see healing as a form of justice.
At Empowered Spaces, we hold healing as both personal and political, both individual and communal.
When we heal within, we help the world heal too.
Education & Training
My work is grounded in over two decades of study, practice, and embodied learning. I’ve trained in numerous trauma-informed, somatic, and justice-oriented modalities that integrate mindfulness, compassion, and nervous system awareness.
Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis (2006), and received my LCSW from the state of Missouri in 2008
Internal Family Systems – IFS (Level 1)
Integrative Somatic Parts Work Certificate with Frances D Booth, LICSW (25 hour Master Training)
Working with Racism, Sexism, Homophobia and Other Forms of Unconscious Bias: An Internal Family Systems Approach with Percy Ballard, MD & Kate Lingren, LICSW
The Art of Skillful Facilitation: Presencing Race, Gender, & Collective Healing with Michelle C. Johnson, Stephanie Ghoston Paul, & Tristan Katz
The Practice of Collective Care with Michelle C. Johnson and RW Alves
Off the Mat, Into the World Yoga, Purpose, & Action Leadership Intensive with Seane Corn, Hala Khouri, and Suzanne Sterling
Remembering, Responsibility, Reverence, & Reconciliation: An Anti-Racism Training for People Who Hold Space for Healing with Michelle C Johnson, Vivette Jeffries-Logan, & Kerri Kelly
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga(20HR training)
Specialization in Trauma-Informed Yoga with Zabie Yamasaki, Transcending Sexual Trauma Through Yoga
Treating Complex Trauma with Internal Family Systems: A comprehensive certificate training course with Frank G. Anderson, MD
Dr. Bessel A. van der Kolk's Intensive Trauma Treatment Course
Accessing and Living from the Self, - Meditation, Mindfulness, & IFS Psychotherapy with Richard Schwartz and Loch Kelly
The Living Brave Semester with Dr. Brene Brown
Certificate in Mean Girls: Strategies and Resources in Identifying and Helping Relationally Aggressive Girls and Empowering Their Victims
Trained in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention through the Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc.
I am continually humbled by the courage it takes to do this work.
Every person I meet is a reminder that healing is not a destination—it’s a relationship.
Thank you for being here, and for the ways you continue to choose care, even in hard times.
