Healthy communication creates healthy relationships.
And you deserve both.
I’m Dr. Jennifer Guthrie, but you can call me Jenny.
I’m a trauma-informed communication and relationship expert who helps individuals and organizations speak clearly, navigate conflict, break unhealthy patterns, and build connections rooted in confidence, clarity, and respect.
For almost two decades, I’ve studied, taught, and coached how humans interact — how we speak, how we listen, how we misunderstand each other, how we hurt each other, and most importantly, how we repair, grow, and rebuild.
My work combines rigorous research, advocacy, and lived experience to support you in creating relationships and communication patterns that actually help you thrive. I help individuals and organizations transform the way they communicate so they can create healthier dynamics, stronger relationships, and environments where people feel seen, heard, and safe to be themselves.
What I Help Navigate
People come to me when something in their communication or relationships isn’t working — even if they can’t name it yet.
You might be:
Struggling with confidence, self-trust, or overthinking
Feeling stuck in unhealthy or confusing relationship patterns
Navigating conflict at home or at work
Trying to communicate more clearly, calmly, or assertively
Recovering from harmful dynamics or questioning what you’ve experienced
Reclaiming confidence after unhealthy, abusive, or controlling relationships
Wanting better boundaries and stronger, more secure connections
Preparing for an important moment of visibility — a speech, presentation, interview, or leadership role
No matter where you’re starting, you want one thing:
communication and relationships that feel healthier, more grounded, and more you.
My job is to help you untangle what’s happening beneath the surface, understand the patterns at play, and build skills that support real, lasting change. You can tell your story — and we’ll make sense of it together.
My Fray (Why I do what I do)
Before I became Dr. Guthrie, the researcher, professor, and expert witness…
I was Jenny — someone who minimized and dismissed her own experiences as “crappy conflict skills.”
But the deeper I went into my applied communication research, the more I listened to survivors, and the more I volunteered in shelters and treatment centers, the more I heard myself saying, “me too.”
What I once minimized was actually a pattern of power and control.
My academic work gave me the language to understand it.
Survivors gave me the courage to acknowledge it.
Healing gave me the clarity to change it.
Today, I bring both expertise and lived experience to this work — because both shape how I support you, and both matter deeply.
My Background & Approach
I spent over a decade as a university professor and researcher focused on communication, relationships, and gender-based violence.
My work has been:
published in leading journals (check out some of my research here)
taught in university courses
shared in news, media, & radio
used to train advocates, government agencies, and diverse organizations
shared with juries and attorneys
informed by hundreds of survivors who generously shared their expertise
One truth emerged again and again:
Our communication patterns can break us down — or help us rise.
My approach blends:
evidence-based communication research
a trauma-informed, survivor-centered lens
practical skills and strategies
compassion and clarity
and genuine respect for your expertise in your own life
You won’t get judgment here.
You’ll get language, tools, and perspective — the things that help you step back into yourself.
(Check out the About page for details.)
One Mission.
Three Branches.
Communication Fundamentals
Clarity & Confidence
• Public Speaking • Writing • Professional Communication • Listening • Team Dynamics • Leadership Presence
Relational Health
Connection & Resilience
(Conflict Navigation • Relationship Skills • Organizational Climate • Repair & Recovery)
Advanced
Add your pricing strategy. Be sure to include important details like value, length of service, and why it’s unique.
Coaching for Individuals
For people who want healthier communication, clarity, and relationships.
Topics include:
• Confidence and self-trust
• Boundary-setting
• Navigating conflict
• Healing from harmful or confusing dynamics
• Understanding relationship patterns
• Public speaking coaching
• Rebuilding your voice after being silenced
• Creating relationships that feel safe and mutual
Coaching is collaborative, personalized, and grounded in research and lived experience.
You don’t have to sort through patterns alone.
Training & Speaking for Organizations
For teams, schools, nonprofits, workplaces, and groups seeking healthier communication and trauma-aware practices.
Popular trainings include:
• Healthy communication
• Conflict navigation and repair
• Trauma-informed leadership
• Understanding and preventing harmful dynamics
• Public speaking + presentation coaching
• Creating relationship-based workplace culture
These sessions blend expertise with real-world application and are tailored to your organization’s needs.
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, courage, 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.
Let’s take the next step together.