David J. Kenney is a noted speaker having presented to parent and professional groups at colleges, universities and educational in-services on topics such as healing trauma, stress management, anxiety reduction, helping children with attention deficits, behavior as language, general parenting and achieving success in our schools.
In 1986, David graduated, magna cum laude, from the University of Detroit – Mercy with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and again as a specialist in School Psychology in 1989. He served as President of the Michigan Association of School Psychologists in 1997-98 and was liaison to the Michigan State Board of Education from 1995 to 1997.
As an undergraduate student, David was invited to the 1985 National Fairweather conference to present a program he developed using creative writing with chronic, schizophrenic patients. This project was spotlighted in the Detroit Free Press on August 30, 1985.
David is a retired school psychologist who spent years in a diverse group of educational settings, from rich to poor, from one of the highest ranked schools in the state to one with much less success. He has worked in urban, suburban, and rural settings. In one of Michigan’s top ranking school districts, he developed and implemented programs to meet the psych-social needs of parents, teachers, and children. He acted as a general, mental health specialist, working to solve problems with teachers and families before special education was needed to formally certify them.
But all achievements pale when compared to raising traumatized children to a healthy maturity. Children wounded by the world have been given little reason to trust it, so there were no guarantees of successful outcomes. Through his committed efforts, David learned strategies to heal harmed children and adults. His expertise and insight has been noted by colleagues and expressed in two books: SOME WAY HOME: A Memoir in a Myth and Parent to Parent: Healing Emotional Trauma.