The best predictor of the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships.*
•
The best predictor of the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships.* •
Services: Individual Coaching & Organizational Consulting & Training
See below for services overview or visit Coaching or Consulting & Training for specifics.
Through the Fray Coaching helps people build healthier relationships — with themselves and others.
Coaching, training, and expert insight focused on communication, conflict, and rebuilding relational health after unhealthy patterns.
Through the Fray also provides trauma-informed communication training and expert witness consultation in cases involving domestic violence, coercive control, and victim behavior.
Hi, I’m Dr. Jennifer Guthrie, but you can call me Jenny. I founded Through the Fray Coaching to help people navigate the complicated realities of relationships.
Drawing on my background as a professor and researcher, Through the Fray blends research, lived experience, and practical tools to support healthier communication and relational insight.
Relationships shape nearly every part of our lives: our wellbeing, our sense of safety, and our ability to grow. But most of us were never taught how to navigate conflict, communicate clearly, or recognize unhealthy patterns.
Through the Fray Coaching exists to help people build the skills, insight, and confidence needed to create healthier relationships. My work focuses on the communication patterns, relational dynamics, and power structures that shape how relationships function — and how they sometimes break down.
*”The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness” (Waldinger & Schulz, 2023)
One Mission.
In a world where relationships are often shaped by conflict, harm, and misunderstanding, my goal is simple: to help people build healthier ways of communicating, relating, and creating safety in their relationships and communities.
Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in research, teaching, coaching, and advocacy, I help people better understand the challenges they’re facing and develop practical tools for navigating them.
Healthier relationships grow not only by reducing harmful behaviors, but by strengthening positive ones in ways that are authentic, compassionate, and effective.
Three Paths.
Communication
Clarity & Confidence
For individuals and organizations seeking stronger communication, leadership presence, and the confidence to express ideas clearly.
Public speaking and presentation skills
Writing and professional communication
Listening and interpersonal awareness
Leadership presence and visibility
Relationships
Connection & Resilience
Support for navigating the complexities of relationships — from everyday communication challenges to deeper relational patterns.
Conflict navigation and difficult conversations
Boundary-setting and self-trust
Healthy relationship skills at any stage
Understanding unhealthy relational patterns
Interpersonal Safety
Trauma-Informed Safety & Advocacy
Education, support, and expert insight focused on interpersonal violence and survivor-centered practice.
Abuse recovery and rebuilding voice
Trauma-informed communication
Understanding power, coercion, and manipulation
Organizational responses to violence
Explore detailed topics and areas of support below.
-
Overcoming anxiety about public speaking - from writing to presentation
Strengthening everyday communication (clarity, confidence, presence)
Improving business communication, group interaction, and teamwork
Navigating difficult conversations at work and home
Identifying and expressing authentic voice
Struggling with confidence, self-trust, or overthinking
preparing for an important moment of visibility — a speech, presentation, interview, or leadership role
learning communication skills regarding difference & being inclusive
Building communication practices that reduce destructive conflict
Conduct ethically grounded, people-centered research
-
Navigating conflict at home or work
Recognizing unhealthy communication patterns
Building healthy relationship skills
Managing emotional intensity in conflict
Setting and maintaining boundaries
Developing self-esteem and relational confidence
Practicing more secure connections & attachments
Feeling stuck in unhealthy or confusing relationship patterns
Building emotional intelligence
Providing effective support for others
-
Understanding the dynamics of abuse (coercion, manipulation, power/control)
Supporting survivors through abuse recovery
Naming and making sense of experiences
Untangling gaslighting, coercion, and manipulation
Reclaiming confidence & identity after unhealthy, abusive, or controlling relationships
Developing support systems and healing strategies
Understanding communication patterns that make us feel stuck & practicing healthier patterns
Learning trauma-informed interviewing and communication
Understanding the effects of trauma on victims
Improving organizational responses to interpersonal violence
-
Understanding the dynamics of abuse (coercion, manipulation, power/control)
Supporting survivors through abuse recovery
Naming and making sense of experiences
Untangling gaslighting, coercion, and manipulation
Reclaiming confidence & identity after unhealthy, abusive, or controlling relationships
Developing support systems and healing strategies
Understanding communication patterns that make us feel stuck & practicing healthier patterns
Learning trauma-informed interviewing and communication
Understanding the effects of trauma on victims
Improving organizational responses to interpersonal violence
-
Overcoming anxiety about public speaking - from writing to presentation
Strengthening everyday communication (clarity, confidence, presence)
Improving business communication, group interaction, and teamwork
Navigating difficult conversations at work and home
Identifying and expressing authentic voice
Struggling with confidence, self-trust, or overthinking
preparing for an important moment of visibility — a speech, presentation, interview, or leadership role
learning communication skills regarding difference & being inclusive
Building communication practices that reduce destructive conflict
Conduct ethically grounded, people-centered research
-
Navigating conflict at home or work
Recognizing unhealthy communication patterns
Building healthy relationship skills
Managing emotional intensity in conflict
Setting and maintaining boundaries
Developing self-esteem and relational confidence
Practicing more secure connections & attachments
Feeling stuck in unhealthy or confusing relationship patterns
Building emotional intelligence
Providing effective support for others
Through the Fray also provides trauma-informed organizational training and expert witness consultation in cases involving domestic violence, coercive control, and victim behavior. Click here for details.
My Approach
My work blends interdisciplinary research, trauma-informed practice, and practical communication tools to help people better understand relational patterns and navigate difficult moments with greater clarity and confidence.
At the core of this work is deep respect for your expertise in your own life. My role is to bring research, perspective, and practical tools while we work collaboratively toward healthier relational systems.
This approach emphasizes:
• evidence-based interdisciplinary research
• a trauma-informed, survivor-centered lens
• practical communication skills and strategies
• compassion, clarity, and non-judgment
• respect for your expertise in your own life
• identifying and understanding relational patterns
For nearly two decades, my work has focused on the ways relationships shape our lives — how we communicate, how we navigate conflict, and how we make sense of harm when relationships become unhealthy or abusive.
As a professor, researcher, and educator, I studied the intersection of communication, relational dynamics, and gender-based violence. My work has been published in academic journals, taught in university classrooms, shared through media and public speaking, and used to train advocates, organizations, and legal professionals.
Just as importantly, my understanding of these issues has been shaped by the hundreds of survivors who generously shared their experiences and insights.
At the heart of this work is a simple belief: when people have better tools for communication and a deeper understanding of relational dynamics, healthier relationships become possible.
-
Overcoming anxiety about public speaking - from writing to presentation
Strengthening everyday communication (clarity, confidence, presence)
Improving business communication, group interaction, and teamwork
Navigating difficult conversations at work and home
Identifying and expressing authentic voice
Struggling with confidence, self-trust, or overthinking
preparing for an important moment of visibility — a speech, presentation, interview, or leadership role
learning communication skills regarding difference & being inclusive
Building communication practices that reduce destructive conflict
Conduct ethically grounded, people-centered research
-
Navigating conflict at home or work
Recognizing unhealthy communication patterns
Building healthy relationship skills
Managing emotional intensity in conflict
Setting and maintaining boundaries
Developing self-esteem and relational confidence
Practicing more secure connections & attachments
Feeling stuck in unhealthy or confusing relationship patterns
Building emotional intelligence
Providing effective support for others
-
Understanding the dynamics of abuse (coercion, manipulation, power/control)
Supporting survivors through abuse recovery
Naming and making sense of experiences
Untangling gaslighting, coercion, and manipulation
Reclaiming confidence & identity after unhealthy, abusive, or controlling relationships
Developing support systems and healing strategies
Understanding communication patterns that make us feel stuck & practicing healthier patterns
Learning trauma-informed interviewing and communication
Understanding the effects of trauma on victims
Improving organizational responses to interpersonal violence
What It’s Like to Work Together
Whether through coaching, workshops, or consulting, my approach is collaborative, thoughtful, and grounded in both research and lived experience.
Together we focus on practical tools, meaningful insight, and supportive reflection so that what you learn can translate into real changes in your relationships and everyday life.
I sometimes describe myself as a full-time relational nerd, dedicated to helping people build healthier and safer systems from the inside out.
I’m grateful for the trust people place in me to hold space for their stories, and honored to witness the resilience people bring as they navigate complicated relationships.
Now I’m a full-time relational nerd dedicated to helping you build a healthier, safer system from the inside out.
I’m grateful for the trust others place in me to hold space for their story.
I am honored to witness your resilience and walk this path with you.
What People are Saying
*Shared with permission!
I turned to Jenny for help during a challenging transition in my career and personal life. Jenny's guidance and support helped me understand alternative possibilities and new ways to understand where and why I felt "stuck." Her expertise in communication makes her both an outstanding listener and a creative, collaborative thinker. Being coached by Jenny gave me a newfound confidence and perspective on what was possible. -C
By week one, she made me feel safe and comfortable in my vulnerabilities and gave me the tools to be confident in them. She altered my perspective to be hopeful for the future and not be fearful. She has a way about her that can calm you in any chaos. She constantly reminded me that I was capable and taught me the tools how to be, through her brilliant teachings. I wouldn’t be as successful as I am in my job today, if it wasn’t for what Jenny has taught me. -J
Jenny's work is rooted in her focus on caring for people beyond their roles and responsibilities. Her role as both an educator and an advocate helps people feel empowered, and this is a feeling that is needed in the world more than ever before. -G
During the most destabilizing period of my life, Jenny was a steady, grounded presence. Coming out of a difficult marriage, I had lost a sense of myself — my confidence, my clarity, and at times even my emotional footing. She helped me separate fear from fact, regain perspective, and rebuild from a place of strength and calmness rather than reaction. What stood out most was her ability to combine empathy with accountability. She didn’t just validate how hard things were — she helped me see where I still had agency. Through her guidance, I learned how to regulate my emotions, set healthier boundaries, and show up more calmly and consistently for my children. I’m in a fundamentally different place today — steadier, more self-aware, and more confident in who I am. I’m deeply grateful for her role and support in that transformation. -K
Why “Through the Fray”?
Because life gets messy.
Relationships get tangled.
Communication gets strained.
And yet — we grow through it, not around it.
My work is about helping you move through the fray with clarity, confidence, and support.
You don’t have to walk it alone.
Ready to Begin?
Whether you’re rebuilding after harm, navigating complicated relationships, or simply ready for healthier patterns, you deserve support rooted in clarity, compassion, and expertise.
Click here to book a free meeting with me to see if we’re a good fit!