About Kerry O’Donnell

Kerry O'Donnell is a certified and accredited Enneagram Professional Teacher and Coach, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and Integrative Therapeutic Coach

Kerry O'Donnell, M.A., SEP, SHRM-SCP

  • Certified & Accredited Professional Enneagram Teacher and Coach

  • Certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner

  • Graduate training and certification in Traumatic Stress Studies and Interpersonal Neurobiology (Dr. Daniel Siegel)

  • 25+ years experience in personal human development and self-leadership

Professional Background

I am a certified (Enneagram Worldwide/Narrative Enneagram) and accredited (International Enneagram Association) Professional Teacher and Coach; certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (Dr. Peter Levine, Trauma Institute); and Senior Certified Professional in Human Resource Management. I have over 35 years of experience working with the United States Institute of Peace, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, and the American University in Washington, D.C. For over a decade while in Pittsburgh I served as President of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund and Falk Foundations.

I hold a Master's degree in Education with graduate training and certification in Traumatic Stress Studies and Interpersonal Neurobiology (Dr. Daniel Siegel). In recognition of my work facilitating restorative justice dialogues between victims and perpetrators of violent crime for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I was honored with the Jefferson Award for Public Service. I’ve also received the Volunteer of the Year award for my service as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children.

I'm the Founder and Principal of Instructive Insights LLC, where I enjoy consulting with organizations and coaching individual clients, and in my free time I enjoy taking my miniature horse Lucky Stars into Children’s Hospital to visit with the young patients.

Certification badge for the International Enneagram Association, 2023 and continuously earned, indicating accreditation as a professional.

My Journey to This Work

Now in my sixth decade, I had spent much of my life unaware of how much I was operating on automatic—until I began to see how my long-standing patterns were harming both myself and my relationships with others.

Each of us learns, often early in life, that we need to be a certain way to maintain connection, or do something to earn our worth. So we press forward with our familiar strategies—often unconsciously—until something shifts and they no longer serve us.

This turning point may come through the loss of a relationship or job, the death of a loved one, unfavorable medical diagnosis, or the disorientation of a worldview that no longer makes sense —all of which I have experienced.

In these moments, we can feel unmoored, like we’ve lost our way without a compass. One of the deepest sources of suffering in such times is the unacknowledged fear held in the body.

I believe these life thresholds, painful as they may be, can also be profound opportunities for transformation. When we meet our fears, patterns, and protective strategies with compassion, nervous system awareness, and trauma-informed tools, we open the door to becoming more fully ourselves.

This is the work I’ve done in my own life—and the work I now support others through integrative therapeutic coaching that blends Somatic Experiencing®, the Enneagram, and spiritual inquiry.

If you find yourself in a time of life transition, inner conflict, or emotional overwhelm, I invite you to explore what’s possible when you bring presence, conscious awareness, and skillful means to your experience.