From Kelly’s Students and Attendees

Why One Clinician Registered for Moab

I’ve had the immense pleasure of attending Kelly’s continuing education and peer learning groups in the past and I’m excited to officially have this Moab experience on my calendar. I thought I might share my experiences if it’s of help to anyone wondering about joining. Kelly – forgive me for going on a bit here, this has all gotten me reminiscing about your workshops.

Some time ago, Kelly introduced me to Keats’s idea of negative capability, the capacity to remain with uncertainty, contradiction, and ambiguity without reaching too quickly for resolution. It sounds simple enough, but finding new ways to slow down and practice embodying that idea in real time is what has felt most impactful about the spaces he creates.

I was born and raised in the desert, a landscape I’ve always found uniquely capable of inviting questions that ask us to hold life’s contradictions: harsh yet extraordinarily delicate, ancient yet constantly changing, sparse yet intensely textured, parched yet shaped by sudden, abundant water. So when I heard Kelly would be offering a workshop in that very backdrop, I knew I wanted to jump on the opportunity.

Through a melding of experiential work, art, and poetry with what the latest science offers us for understanding human behavior, I’ve found that Kelly creates tangible opportunities (through small group exercises, 1:1s, direct feedback) to experience the difference between knowing something ourselves and being present enough to allow another person to discover the particulars of their own experience.

In my clinical work and teaching, I’ve found the latter to be far harder to teach—and far more meaningful to receive. As I work specifically with individuals who have experienced trauma, these teachings have had a hand in shaping my ability to cultivate courage in therapeutic spaces, for both my clients and myself: a courage that asks us to embrace the darker, more ambiguous edges of our human nature.

And somehow, all of this happens within the context of his reliable sense of humor. I’ve found that many continuing education experiences can become overly structured or contrived, leaving little room for humor, surprise, or the messiness of actual human experience. Kelly’s approach has made space for all three, while giving me new ways of encountering my own experiences in clinical work — experiences I might otherwise find clever ways to outrun.

I’m excited to see what emerges from bringing this landscape, Kelly, and all of us together in the same space. See you all soon! Looking to Neil deGrasse Tyson in the meantime to prep me for those Dark Sky Parks.

Shayna Perry, PsyD