Dr. Jody Carrington

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Olds, AB
Dr. Jody Carrington

Psychologist | Speaker | Best-Selling Author I passionately believe in the power of the relationship with the people we love, lead, and teach.
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As a clinical psychologist, I have spent most of my career working with children and families who have experienced trauma. Growing up on a farm in rural Alberta, Canada, and after 13 years (!) of post-secondary education, I took my first job on the Mental Health Inpatient Units of the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. It was during those 10 years that I learned the most about kids, families, relationships, and the vital importance of connection. Today, I’m back living in a rural setting, managing a private practice, raising a family, speaking around the country about relationships, connection and my new book, Kids These Days. My favourite thing on the planet to do is to speak with educators—they have the power to change the trajectory of a life every single day. It’s time that we need to start focusing less on kids these days, and more on those of you who hold them every day. The core of everything I speak and write about comes down to this: we are wired to do hard things. We can do those hard things so much easier when we remember this: we are wired for connection. Join us on this journey to build a strong, connected community—it’s a (re)connection revolution starting now.

09/26/2025

We gave our kids access to the entire world…
…but forgot to teach them how to be in it.

Technology isn’t the enemy. Disconnection is.

We’ve never been more “connected” and yet more alone. The devices aren’t going away—but our job, now more than ever, is to lead the way back to each other.

Teach them how to feel.
How to stay.
How to sit in the mess.
How to put the damn phone down and be seen.

That’s the real work. And it starts with us.

Drop a ❤️ if you're ready to lead the way back.

***ngvillage

09/25/2025

“Grief doesn’t have a timeline — stop acting like it should.”
– Dr. Jody Carrington

It took me way too long to learn this.
Grief isn’t linear.
It’s not a checklist.
It doesn’t come with a deadline or an off switch.
And she's a sneaky bitch you waits until she can make you feel all the things.

You don’t “get over” the hard things.
You carry them. You learn to carry them.

Some days you’ll laugh again.
Other days, a song or a smell will knock the wind out of you.
That’s not broken. That’s being human.

So let’s stop asking people if they’re “better yet.”
Let’s stop rushing the pain.
And let’s remember: what we feel is what makes us alive and reminds us of just how deeply we've loved.

Tag someone who needs this reminder today. 🖤

09/24/2025

Love languages are cute.
Repair languages? Essential.

Knowing how someone likes to be loved is great.
But knowing how to make it right when it all goes sideways?
That’s the real magic. That’s what keeps relationships alive.

We all mess up. We all say the wrong thing, lose our cool, shut down, lash out.
But the question is—how do you come back?
How do you repair?

Is it a hug?
A check-in?
A handwritten note?
A deep breath and “I’m sorry I hurt you”?

I’ll go first: Mine is honest words of repair, followed closely by humour (not too soon, but just enough to get my prefrontal cortex securely back in place).
Yours?

Drop your repair language in the comments. Words? Notes? A gift? An offer to hold your hand? Let’s learn from each other. This is the stuff that changes everything.

09/22/2025

I've spent a lot of time with teachers, consulting over the years as a psychologist and in the last decade as I speaker, I've spoken in school districts across every province and territory in this country. I'm also a mom of three currently in the public system here in Alberta, Canada. I can tell you this for sure: Teachers are tired. Not because they don’t care, but because they are carrying so much. In fact, these days, teachers spend more waking hours with our kids in the run of school week then us parents do. Their roles have changed significantly, not because kids are different, but because we're reckoning with a world where parents are overwhelmed, kids are overstimulated, and all of us have never been this sleep deprived. A loneliness epidemic is fueling a mental health crisis like we've never seen before. Although this might sound asinine, I can defend this till the end of my days: The kids are the least of our worries.

If I had the floor, here's what I'd tell anyone who will listen, and anyone who has the power to make decisions (particularly in Alberta in the coming weeks):

1. If the big people aren't okay, the little people don't stand a chance. You can have the finest curriculums, the best resources for kids, and I'd argue it's a waste of time if the big people are not supported or don't feel acknowledged. Full stop.

2. Big people include parents and caregivers, and our support and connection with teachers and school staff matters. Notes, volunteer supports, even snacks - I promise you, these days those connections are life. I know all educators don't get it right, and I know us parents don't either. For all of us, however, it's never felt so heavy to walk kids through this life and we need each other now, more than ever.

09/19/2025

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be a safe place, as often as you're able and on purpose. But you can't give it away unless we give it to ourselves first.

Our kids (and our partners, our students, our colleagues) don’t need someone who’s never messed up. They need someone who can (at least some of the time) repair after the rupture.

Safety isn’t built by getting it right every time. It’s built in the coming back. The “I’m sorry I missed that.” The “Tell me again, I want to understand.” The “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” And my personal favourite, "I'm new here. I haven't parented you when you're this age before" or "I've never been married to you this long ever before", so how am I doing?

You only have access to the best parts of you - the wisdom, the grace, the knowing, when we focus on you (and your nervous system) first.

That’s the magic. That’s the work. That’s what changes lives.

So, drop your shoulders. And tag someone who is good at the shoulder drop too.

09/18/2025

Leadership isn’t a title. It’s a nervous system management strategy.

You want to lead people well?
You better be the calmest one in the room—especially when the room is on fire.

Your team isn’t watching your resume.
They’re watching how you handle hard things.
Are you spiraling? Snapping? Or breathing through it like a goddamn grownup?

Regulated leaders regulate teams.
It’s not soft.
It’s science.

Tag a leader who brings calm to the chaos.
(And if that’s you? Let’s go. This world needs more of you.)

09/17/2025

I think about this often: the way we sh*t-talk ourselves tends to be more relentless than we're even aware of. We are often so much harder on ourselves than we are on most any other human in our orbit.
Unforgiving.
Unrealistic.
And honestly? It’s the fu***ng WORST.

You likely wouldn’t say many of those things to the people you love, the people you lead, or the people you live with. Relationships that matter the most to you simply wouldn't last for long.
Yet we say these things to ourselves—on repeat.

Here’s the truth:
Your brain believes the words you say most often.
You don't have to be all sugary-sweet with bu****it untruths. I'm just talking about slowing down long enough to notice just how the words you use for you, particularly in the tough moments, sound when you bring them into the light.

Let’s flip the script. Let’s get louder with grace. Let’s be nicer to our damn selves. And laugh. For the sake of all that is holy, find the ridiculous joy in your own days that you are the orchestrator of.

Tell me in the comments:
What’s one thing you’re DONE saying to yourself?

09/15/2025

“Trauma isn’t about the thing that happened. It’s about what happened to your nervous system when you didn’t have the people you needed to walk you through it.” – Dr. Jody Carrington

There’s a big difference between what happened to you and what happened inside of you when it did.

It’s not always about the “Big T” trauma—the loss, the tragedy, the car crash. Sometimes it’s the little ones that sneak in quietly. The heartbreak. The silence. The moment you needed someone and they didn’t show up.

It’s not the event. It’s the absence of safe connection in the aftermath. That’s what dysregulates the nervous system. That’s what leaves a mark. Those are the places where we can't make sense of the hard things, so they don't integrate into our stories, we stay "stuck" at the scene.

Healing? It starts with being seen. With being walked home, not fixed. With feeling the feelings in a safe body.

Let’s talk about that.

09/12/2025

Burnout isn’t about weakness. It’s about disconnection.

We are more overwhelmed, isolated, and emotionally dysregulated than ever before—and we’re pretending we can still function at full tilt.

Here’s the truth: you can’t outwork burnout.

You can’t “self-care” your way out of a system that’s burning you alive.

What you CAN do? Start by reconnecting—to your breath, your people, and the parts of you you’ve forgotten how to love. This doesn't mean you're "lowering expectations" or condoning behaviour that isn't kind - it's about understanding and having access to empathy first, and then responding accordingly.

When you remember who you are, you get access back to the best parts of you. And THAT’S where the magic lives.

Let’s talk about it.👇

***ngvillage

09/11/2025

Here’s the thing about wounded adults, those of us who carry our pain like a shield that only gets more profound when we feel the most alone. When us wounded ones get into these spaces where our bodies believe we need to protect us…

We don’t mean to hurt the ones we love.
We just haven’t healed the parts of us that still think we’re under threat.

When we’re triggered, we don’t listen—we protect.
When we feel unsafe, we blame.
When we’re overwhelmed, we defend instead of connect.

This isn’t weakness. This is being human.
But if we don’t name it, we can’t change it.

The good news? Acknowledging that "something" isn't working anymore is the first crack of light.
Healing doesn’t start with perfection—it starts with noticing.

Swipe through to see what happens when wounded adults try to connect… and how we can start to do it differently.

Have you been there? Me too. Drop a ❤️ if this hit home—and tag someone who’s doing the work right beside you.

09/10/2025

We were built for connection, wired for it, in fact. These days, we are still connecting, but in ways like we never, ever have before. We’re living in a time of distance—physical, emotional, digital and although we can more easily “connect” online, at least for now, we cannot replicate the impact, the importance, and the necessity of in-real-life connection. There are changes to our nervous systems that we simply can't replicate online that is critical for healing and growth of this human race that we need now, more than ever.

So today, on purpose, by disciplined about the connections you make. reach out. Call instead of texting. Sit face-to-face. Hold space for real conversation. Because no amount of technology will ever replace the power of being truly seen.

Address

2nd Floor 5037 50th Street
Olds, AB
T4H0C9

Telephone

+14035594061

Website

http://www.drjodycarrington.com/

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