Dr. Jody Carrington

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.

Trigger warning: postpartum mental illness and child loss.The Lindsay Clancy case, the Massachusetts mother accused of k...
08/11/2026

Trigger warning: postpartum mental illness and child loss.

The Lindsay Clancy case, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children while experiencing severe postpartum mental illness, has understandably stirred up all kinds of opinions.

As a psychologist, here’s what I hope we don’t lose in the debate:

Postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis are not the same illness.

Postpartum depression is tragically common. It can bring hopelessness, numbness, fear, guilt, and profound disconnection.

Postpartum psychosis is different. It's a rare psychiatric emergency that can fundamentally alter a person’s relationship with reality. It requires immediate, specialized psychiatric care and often hospitalization.

That distinction matters.

And so does this: We still do a profoundly inadequate job of screening, treating, and supporting mothers after childbirth. We check on babies relentlessly. Far too often, we stop checking on the people raising them.

And you know this is my hill forever: If the big people aren’t okay, the little people don’t stand a chance. Full stop.

After each of my children was born, I experienced postpartum depression. Medication, carefully monitored by attentive professionals, quite literally changed everything for me.

I tell you that only because I want to be clear: There is no shame in needing help. No shame in medication. Therapy. Hospitalization. Or needing your village to carry you for a while.

If this heartbreaking case teaches us anything, I hope it’s this:

Let’s stop asking why mothers didn’t ask for help.

Let’s build systems where they don’t have to beg for it in the first place.

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Resources like Postpartum Support International offer a 24/7 helpline at 1-800-944-4773 for immediate help.

In Canada and United States, immediate crisis help is available 24/7 by calling or texting 9-8-8.

I think about rest and restoration a lot in the summer months; the "dedicated" months of rest for many of us. August has...
08/08/2026

I think about rest and restoration a lot in the summer months; the "dedicated" months of rest for many of us. August has seen a slow, and deliberate return to work for me, while I still stay firmly rooted on the front porch as often as I can.

As I sip on my coffee this morning, I'm thinking what we could talk about if we were sitting here together...

- rest these days will happen in small, deliberate, micro doses;
- how often do we ask ourselves and each other, "how are you - really?";
- if we had to name one thing, what helps us feel restored?;
- what does a dream day look like?;

Take a minute if you got it and answer these things with me - write them here, say 'em in your head, or get wild and write the answers in a journal. Even wilder, grab a coffee and a friend and dive in. I promise, it'll be worth it. xo

08/07/2026

Reconnecting in this disconnected world through the simple act of acknowedging each other will not only change the world, it will save it. All we need to do is the next, best, right, kind thing and we will all have so much more access to good.

It is my mission to spread messages like these. I'm getting ready to get back on the road, and I can't wait to bring you along for the behind the scenes (follow along for stories), and I will continue to share fun recaps like this one.

These fun edits are brought to you by:
_theotherhouse

This is what I'm thinking about a lot these days. It's the shape that my next book is taking. How to we get to the best ...
07/28/2026

This is what I'm thinking about a lot these days. It's the shape that my next book is taking. How to we get to the best in us? The world is moving faster than the human nervous system can afford. The AI, algorithms, constant comparison, increasing divisiveness, and an unrelenting push for productivity.

We’re burned out at work and lonely at home. Anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation continue to implode even the best of us, despite decades of awareness campaigns, anti-stigma movements, and more therapy than ever.

It isn’t working. In fact, it’s getting worse. So what?
More importantly, now what?

As I pull this all together, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

07/27/2026

Parents ask me this all the time: how do we connect with kids these days? And what about this loneliness epidemic? What's one thing we can do to get back to the people we love?

One of the only remaining places on this planet (save for camping) that affords proximity to other humans is in a car. Going for a drive. Remember when that was a big deal? There was a time when that was the best part of a weekend.

Turns out - it still works. If you can make a rule that there's no devices for anyone in the car, head for ice cream, be open to any play list on the planet, and rock and roll.

Thanks for sharing this Cape Breton image with us

07/27/2026

I've talked a lot about feeling seen around here. In this next episode of Unlonely, we talk more about what happens when you feel the opposite: unheard, misunderstood, orcompletely shut down in a conversation that matters?

This episode with came right on time.

Because the truth is, most of us were never taught how to navigate high-conflict situations. Many of us are only fighters or runners. And neither works.

In this conversation, we dive into what it actually takes to stay regulated when everything feels intense. Just how to be heard in conversations where you’ve felt invisible, and negotiate from a place of power, not panic.

Because here’s the shift: It’s not about controlling the other person, it’s about learning how to lead yourself there first. And when you do that? Everything changes.

This one is for:
– The people navigating hard relationships
– The ones stuck in conflict at work or at home
– And anyone who’s ever thought, “Why can’t I just say what I mean and be understood?”

You can. You just need a roadmap.

Go listen and let me know what you think.

I tried to avoid this show. I'm not a big fan of grief these days. And then Livy, my personal daughter, wanted to watch ...
07/22/2026

I tried to avoid this show. I'm not a big fan of grief these days. And then Livy, my personal daughter, wanted to watch this little grief-laden number. When there's a teen invite to spend precious time together, even if there's tears on the line, I'm in.

Anticipatory grief is such a thing that so many of us never talk about. Grieving before an actual loss can be one of the worst parts. It's imagining what it might be like when you lose someone. It's being in the same room and watching pieces of them slip away.

Voicemails from Isabelle (written and directed by the incredible Leah McKendrick) pays homage to those of us who walk someone home, much sooner than we ever dreamed we should have to. I'd love to know if you've watched it and I'd love to know what you thought.

Well July...it's taken 'til the third week of you, but I have borne witness to a shoulder drop or two. A belly laugh mix...
07/21/2026

Well July...it's taken 'til the third week of you, but I have borne witness to a shoulder drop or two. A belly laugh mixed in. All while trying my ever-best to stay present with these beautiful people of mine.

It's amazing to me that it always takes me such a long time to come back to what matters. It's never new. It just seems so easy to get away from the best in us. Even in the mess. The yelling. The not-so-secret desire to throat punch every now and then. All in an effort to make memories (dammit).

Here's a gentle reminder from me to you: we're not going to get it right. We were never meant to. The best of times tend to happen in the uncurated moments. The ones we notice. Allow for the ridiculousness to have some space.

Wherever you are this July day, whatever you have on your shoulders, I hope there's a little room for some magic. Even in the mess, there's some there to be found. It makes it all a little easier if our shoulders are down. I promise.

At one point, long ago, I showed cattle. In fact, because of my best friend, Leigha, I was the secretary of the Canadian...
07/18/2026

At one point, long ago, I showed cattle. In fact, because of my best friend, Leigha, I was the secretary of the Canadian Charolais Youth Association (CCYA). And did you know my personal husband grew up showing cattle? He's, in fact, so taken with the bovine that he got his PhD in Ruminant Nutrition (how to optimally feed a cow). He was on the judging team at Texas A&M and coached the judging team at Michigan State. He's judged cattle around the world. And our kids have never seen him in a show ring. So when he got asked to judge the CCYA show in Ottawa this year, we decided it was time our kids got to see their legend of a father in action. Stay tuned for all the cow-filled family fun. 🤓

Your body doesn't know it's summer...just a gentle reminder for those of us attempting to be on summer vacation...Given ...
07/13/2026

Your body doesn't know it's summer.
..just a gentle reminder for those of us attempting to be on summer vacation...

Given how much we load onto and into our nervous systems now, a bubble bath, "quiet weekend" (especially if it involves camping - jk) won't be nearly enough to restore and rejuvenate all the best parts of you. We often want to make the most of a holiday, keep up with jam-packing all the memories (dammit) into our short vacation days, especially when it looks like everyone else is boating, enjoying their children and frolicking in a foreign land (it's a sh*tshow - I promise).

If you're feeling overwhelmed and exhausted this summer, I just wanted to remind us that it's normal if your body is still running on high alert. Understanding just what it's going to take to signal to our nervous systems that they can relax is going to take extra effort moving forward in this world. Normalize naps - even if you lay down and think about all the things you should be doing. Small, micro-dosing reminders that you're safe, dropping your shoulders on purpose, sitting a little longer, breathing a little deeper, looking up at the sky a few more times today (try it - it's an instant reset) are a few of the things that will help get us back to the best in us. Even as we make the stupid memories. It's there. I promise.

Onward with your summer frolicking... xo

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2nd Floor 5037 50th Street
Olds, AB
T4H0C9

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+14035594061

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