I’m Vanessa Bennett; A licensed depth psychotherapist, author, and facilitator devoted to the lifelong work of coming home to the Self.
My approach blends depth psychology, archetypal wisdom, and embodied healing—but it’s also no-nonsense, rooted in lived experience, and grounded in truth. I believe healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who you were before the world told you to be small.
HOW I GOT HERE:
The Call to Self
Before I became a therapist, I spent over a decade in the fast-paced world of corporate New York. On paper, I had “made it.” But underneath, I felt disconnected, anxious, and numb and like I was living someone else’s life.
There wasn’t one breakdown moment, just a slow unraveling. Quiet growing disillusionment. I turned to therapy, yoga, and meditation not because I had a plan, but because I was searching for relief.
What began as a journey to heal myself slowly revealed itself as a calling to help others do the same.
The Descent / The Middle
Cue the montage of me leaving everyone and everything I knew in NYC, moving across the country, and walking through breakdowns, heartbreaks, setbacks, and some breakthroughs.
I trained in somatic therapy, yoga, mindfulness, and nutrition. I became obsessed with depth psychology, trauma healing, mythology and archetypal frameworks.
Eventually, I earned my Master’s in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Depth psychology gave me a language I’d been searching for, one rooted in image, archetype, and soul. One that helped me understand the sacred and often winding process of remembering who we are.
What I’d once seen as fragmented parts of myself—producer, strategist, seeker, writer, and blunt New Yorker—revealed themselves as the foundation for what would become my life’s work.
The Return / Now
Today, I live in Los Angeles, where I work as a licensed depth psychotherapist, facilitator, educator, podcaster and author.
I lead immersive healing retreats, workshops, and custom curriculum-based programs for nonprofits and corporations.
I also founded the Inner Compass Academy, where I train and supervise coaches and therapists to integrate depth and embodiment into their work.
My newest book, The Motherhood Myth, explores how patriarchy, capitalism, and generational trauma have shaped our narratives around parenting, partnership, and identity, and how we begin the process of coming home to ourselves.
This work became even more personal after I lost my home and community in the fires in Los Angeles. It was a profound lesson in impermanence, resilience, and the ways we are constantly asked to rediscover and return to what matters most.
Whether through my writing, teaching, or group facilitation, my mission is the same: To help people unlearn the stories and survival strategies that no longer serve, and remember the Self beneath the conditioning.
This is my soul work, and I’m so glad you’re here.