About Patlee Creary
"My name is Patlee."
It's important for me to say that because I know what it feels like to lose yourself.
Between growing your career, caring for loved ones, and navigating life's transitions, you become depleted. Eventually, you begin to feel like an imposter in your own life. Before you know it, you face mental health problems, burnout and failed or failing relationships.
I also know what it is like to find yourself again. And that is what this story is about. Even with effective care from my clinical team, I knew I needed more. More human connections, more skills, more practice, and more support to develop the confidence to show up and keep showing up as the strong, intelligent, and valuable woman I am. I needed a safe space to rewrite my story.
It turns out that there aren't any spaces that allow you to do this without trading your humanity or facing judgement. Every system and resource I encountered made me feel less human, less whole, and less understood. Then I discovered that I was not the only one who felt like this. Countless people in our communities exist in states of chronic stress. They desire real and lasting change but try as they might, the results are short-lived and ill-fitting. So they keep returning to the story they know: endure and hope things would improve; avoid complaining so you won't be judged. I knew that story all too well. It works for a while until one day, it just doesn't.
I knew something needed to change.
In 2020, I began putting my research on conflict transformation, narrative, and mindfulness to work in new ways. I started writing stories about the experiences we’ve been conditioned not to talk about because we were told they were too small, insignificant, or emotional. The stories grew into lessons and conversations about well-being - lessons and conversations that can only come when you gather in a small and trustworthy community to learn, share, and mindfully reflect. I also began deepening my knowledge and practice in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and learning how mindfulness can rewire the brain to help us create new self-stories.
Before I knew it, I created a space where I was being refueled, reaffirmed, and restored. And as I shared this knowledge and practice with others, they too began to feel more connected and less afraid as they reopened themselves to all of life’s possibilities.
I could see and feel the wave of change!
My values and expertise align with a human-focused, story-based approach to well-being learning and practice. I feel so much better in my skin knowing I am putting my Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies and my many years of experience as a writer, educator, and workplace health and safety professional to life-giving use. As an MBSR facilitator who is also certified in mental health first aid, I blend well-researched mindfulness meditation with narrative therapy techniques and wrap it all in a framework of community learning and practice.
What I am doing is working. I see it in myself every day and hear it from my clients each time we connect. My goal is to help all individuals find belonging, celebrate their authenticity, and enjoy better mental health and inner peace. I feel I’m well on my way to doing that.
Thank you for stopping by our website. I hope to meet you soon.
