Your Tennessee Therapist
Meet Kaylie Hackett
LPC-MHSP, NCC (she/her)
I didn’t become a therapist because I had it all figured out. Far from it. I became one because I’ve lived inside patterns too: family dynamics, relational wounds, choosing the wrong people and hoping loving them harder would finally make it work.
I’ve wrestled with systems that tried to define who I should be. I’ve questioned my instincts. Learned to minimize myself and what I felt. I’ve performed on stages and navigated worlds that valued performance over authenticity. I know what it’s like to appear capable while doing quiet, invisible work underneath.
How I See Healing & What it’s Like to Sit With Me
Healing isn’t linear and it doesn’t unfold in perfect steps.
Sloth optional but readily available
My work is relational, somatic, and pattern-focused - paying attention to your nervous system, your attachment patterns, and the beliefs quietly shaping how you move through the world.
I won’t rush trauma work, reduce you to a diagnosis, or shame the ways your system learned to protect you. But I will gently challenge narratives that keep you stuck, name manipulation or unhealthy dynamics when they’re present, and help you reconnect with parts of yourself that went quiet in survival.
You might feel clearer one moment and lost the next, hopeful and heavy at the same time, or unsure whether you’re moving forward at all - even while meaningful change is happening beneath the surface.
The therapy relationship itself becomes part of healing: a place where you can be honest, clumsy, and unsure without needing the right words. We experiment, reflect, and sometimes get it wrong before we find what feels right.
Over time, being met with curiosity, consistency, and care can begin to reshape how safe connection feels.
Healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about feeling safe enough to live as who you already are — with more clarity, choice, and connection.
Inclusivity Statement
This Is a Judgment Free Zone (for real)
This is a space where you are welcomed as you are - not as who you feel you should be.
I offer affirming, inclusive care that honors the many identities, experiences, and stories people carry, including LGBTQ+ folks, racial and cultural identities, neurodiversity, spiritual beliefs or faith shifts, and the ways systems and relationships have shaped how you move through the world.
Difference isn’t something to explain away or minimize here. Instead, it is honored, celebrated, and recognized as an integral part of who you are. This is a space grounded in safety, authenticity, openness, and a commitment to moving away from shame - where you are invited to show up fully and be met with respect and curiosity.
The Human Behind the Therapist
I’m someone who…
believes science, intuition, and the unexplainable belong in the same room
can move between attachment theory, dark humor, and a The Office or RuPaul’s Drag Race reference without missing a beat
has learned more about presence, connection, and unconditional love from my fur babe (who clearly runs the household)
knows healing sometimes feels like a side quest you didn’t sign up for (LOTR fans get it)
Outside the therapy room, you’ll find me…
laughing easily, craving meaningful conversations, and stepping away to recharge when my social battery taps out
using music as a time machine back to different chapters of my life
reading books that either transport me or make me think a little too hard
rotating between horror films, documentaries, period dramas, and the occasional paranormal deep dive
flirting with the idea of reconnecting with singing, dancing, and photography - creative parts of myself that feel most alive
The Meaning Behind Red Fern
I chose the name Red Fern Therapy in a deeply intuitive way - it came to me before I fully understood why.
As I explored it more, I was drawn to its symbolism. A red fern isn’t ordinary. It’s rare. Mythic. Something that grows only after something meaningful has happened.
To me, it represents growth that emerges from places that shaped you, even the painful ones. Healing here isn’t about erasing your past or pretending it didn’t matter. It’s about honoring what shaped you, integrating it with care, and allowing something steady and resilient to grow alongside it.
We tend the roots. We make meaning gently. And we let growth happen at a pace your nervous system can actually handle.
My Values as a Therapist
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Safety
Safety is the foundation of all healing. I prioritize nervous-system, emotional, and relational safety so clients can slow down, feel grounded, and explore their experiences without pressure or judgment.
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Choice
Clients are the experts of their own lives. Therapy at Red Fern centers choice, consent, and collaboration, offering options rather than advice and honoring each person’s pace and autonomy.
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Authenticity
I value showing up as a real human in the room. My work is warm, relational, and genuine, creating space for honesty, appropriate self-disclosure, and connection over perfection or performance.
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Curiosity
Healing unfolds through curiosity rather than fixing. I approach therapy with openness and exploration, helping clients make meaning of their experiences and understand their patterns with compassion.
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Inclusion
Red Fern is an affirming, inclusive space. I honor the full context of each client’s identity, including gender, sexuality, culture, spirituality, and lived experience, recognizing how systems and relationships shape healing.
Education & Credentials
I have a bit of a nerdy fascination with learning in general - people, patterns, random rabbit holes, and the ways we grow and heal - which means I’m often picking up something new that shapes how I show up in the therapy room.
These experiences give me more ways to understand patterns, hold complexity, and stay flexible in how we approach your healing.
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I completed both my undergraduate and graduate programs at Middle Tennessee State University, earning an Ed.S. in Professional Counseling in 2020. During that time, I developed a strong focus on LGBTQ+ affirming care and addiction work which continue to inform the inclusive, trauma-informed lens I bring to my work today.
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I’m fully and independently licensed in the State of Tennessee (LPC-MHSP #5387)
You may just see another state pop up here soon!
Because therapy licensing is tied to location, you’ll need to be physically located in Tennessee for us to work together (even for virtual sessions). It’s one of those behind-the-scenes reality of therapy, but it ensures I’m practicing ethically and able to support you within my scope.
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These are formal credentials and certifications I've earned (or am in the process of completing) that reflect my training and areas of specialization:
National Certified Counselor (NCC)
Certified Brainspotting Therapist
EMDRIA Certified Therapist
Certified Narcissistic Abuse Treatment Clinician
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Ongoing training is simply part of who I am as both a therapist and a human. Personal growth and professional growth aren’t separate for me - they both shape how I show up in the therapy room.
I keep training because it helps me expand my tool kit, stay inspired, and bring more flexibility into how we approach your healing.
Some trainings that continue to influence my work include:
Brainspotting Phases 1-3 + Expansion
SAFE EMDR Advanced Training (Somatic and Attachment-Focused)
Gottman Method Couples Therapy Levels 1 & 2
Complex Trauma Certification Training
Narcissistic Abuse Training
Start your therapy journey
Kaylie offers therapy in-person near Nashville, Tennessee. She offers therapy for complex trauma, anxiety, relationship patterns, and grief and loss.
Her holistic therapy approach is where insight meets nervous system healing.
This is a space where your patterns make sense, your nervous system can exhale, and you don’t have to perform to belong.
