Cory Degnen, PsyD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Individual & Couples Therapy
Ketamine Assisted Therapy
Collaborative Psychological Assessment
EMDR
Specialties
- Trauma recovery and PTSD
- Anxiety, Depression, and Mood Disorders
- Men’s Mental Health
- Sexuality and Sexual Concerns
- Grief, shame, and Moral Injury
- Meditation, Mindfulness, and Dream work
- Depth Psychology
Dr. Cory Degnen is a postdoctoral fellow at The Catalyst Center dedicated to depth-oriented psychotherapy and integrative care. With over a decade of experience in the field of mental health, Cory has worked in diverse clinical settings including hospitals, veterans’ services, private practice, and community programs. He brings a compassionate, thoughtful approach to his work with clients, drawing from psychodynamic theory, Jungian psychology, and contemporary depth practices. His clinical style emphasizes the importance of emotional awareness, meaning-making, and healing through relationships.
What Clients Can Expect
Clients working with Cory can expect a collaborative and supportive therapeutic relationship that creates space for deeper self-discovery. He views symptoms such as anxiety, depression, grief, and trauma as pointers toward the inner world and opportunities for healing. Rather than focusing solely on symptom reduction, Cory helps clients trace experiences back to their roots, uncovering how past and present dynamics shape identity, purpose, and relationships. He often integrates tools such as dream analysis, narrative therapy, exploration of disowned parts of the self, and attention to existential and spiritual themes. His clients describe him as a warm, steady presence who listens deeply and helps them connect with their emotional experience in a way that fosters growth and agency.
Cory’s Approach to Therapy
Cory’s therapeutic approach is rooted in the belief that lasting healing comes from understanding the deeper meaning of symptoms and cultivating a relationship with one’s inner world. Drawing on Jungian psychology, he creates a space where clients can explore unconscious dynamics, discover hidden parts of themselves, and develop a greater sense of purpose. He emphasizes emotional awareness not as something to be avoided or suppressed, but as a guide toward integration and growth. In his work, mindfulness, meditation, and symbolic approaches like dream analysis are woven together to help clients shift their relationship to suffering and move toward individuation. The care Cory provides is both relational and holistic, creating space for clients to connect with themselves on emotional, psychological, and spiritual levels.
Depth Psychology
Depth psychology provides the foundation for Cory’s work, emphasizing the exploration of unconscious processes, symbolic meaning, and the development of a more integrated sense of self. Rooted in Jungian theory, this approach invites clients to look beneath the surface of symptoms to uncover patterns, images, and stories that shape identity and purpose. It values curiosity, self-discovery, and engaging with the unknown as pathways to healing and growth.
As part of this work, Cory often incorporates dream analysis. He sees dreams as a natural expression of the unconscious and a bridge between inner and outer life. Exploring dream images and metaphors in therapy can reveal powerful insights and open new possibilities for understanding and transformation.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness are also central to Cory’s work. Drawing from his own writing and teaching on meditation, he emphasizes that the value of mindfulness is not in silencing the mind but in shifting one’s relationship to thoughts and emotions. He sees meditation as a practice of engaging with the natural struggle of the mind, cultivating patience, and transforming how we relate to inner experiences. Clients working with Cory may explore meditation and mindfulness as tools for emotional regulation, self-awareness, and spiritual growth.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Cory is passionate about the evolving field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and is particularly interested in Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAT). He believes that KAT, when held within a safe and depth-oriented therapeutic frame, can open new possibilities for clients seeking healing from trauma, depression, or existential concerns. Cory plans to continue advanced training in KAT during his postdoctoral fellowship and integrate this work with his grounding in Jungian depth psychology and relational psychotherapy.
Hear from Cory
Taking the first step toward healing and self-knowledge—seeking psychotherapy for the first
time—is an act of courage and self-respect. It often means confronting feelings of fear,
uncertainty, and vulnerability. I deeply empathize with the emotional weight clients carry into
those initial sessions, when so much feels unknown and the anxiety of opening up to another
person can be overwhelming.
From the very beginning, I prioritize creating an environment where clients feel safe expressing
whatever needs to emerge. The most fundamental aspect of successful therapy is trust:
knowing that your therapist can sit with and hold whatever pain, shame, fear, or suffering
arises. I call this the therapeutic container—a strong, safe space we create together that can
hold whatever comes up. This is the foundation of the work.
From that foundation, I gently invite clients to approach the unknown with curiosity, because I
have found the unknown is where true healing and self-knowledge are accessed. In my work
over the past decade, I have seen how easily people become trapped by what they already
“know.” This knowing, while necessary for safety and coherence in a world that often feels
chaotic and threatening, can also block access to deeper healing and calm.
Buddhism has taught for a millennium that the nature of reality is change. When we cling too
tightly to what we believe about ourselves or the world, we suffer, as we are resisting what is
essential to our nature, change. Therapy, at its best, helps us loosen that grip and open to new
possibilities inherent in change.
I’ve found that much of our distress comes from inner rigidity—patterns of perceiving and
relating that once kept us safe. This is the nature of trauma: protective strategies that helped us
survive can, over time, become the very things that hold us back. In therapy, we gently explore
these old patterns to uncover the emotions they were created to protect. While it can feel
daunting to look beneath the surface, this journey often reveals a deep inner strength and
groundedness clients didn’t know they had. From this place, new ways of relating to oneself,
others, and the world can emerge—ways that nurture growth, healing, and wholeness.
Education
- PsyD in Clinical Psychology, William James College, Newton, MA — APA Accredited Program, 2025
- MA in Professional Psychology, William James College, Newton, MA, 2023
- BS in Health Science, focus in Substance Abuse and Addictions, Keene State College, Keene, NH, 2012
Advanced Training
- EMDR Basic Training, Level 1, 2024
- Clinical hypnosis training at Boston Behavioral Medicine
- Seminars on Dreams, Cambridge Health Alliance with Deirdre Barrett, PhD (2022, 2024)
- Dream Groups for Clinicians, Writers, and First Responders, C.G. Jung Institute of New England (2021, 2023)
- Trauma and the Lost and Recovered Soul in Psychotherapy & Opening The Closed Heart (C.G. Jung Institute of New England, 2021)
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Conference, Boston, MA (2022)
- Meditation and Psychotherapy Conference, Harvard Medical School (2012)
- Additional continuing education on CBT for psychosis, motivational interviewing, nutrition for mental health, and other integrative approaches
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