Philip Kenney is a practicing psychotherapist in Portland, Oregon. He did his post-graduate work in British Object Relations at the Washington D.C. School of Psychiatry and has taught Self Psychology as part of his private practice. A long time meditator and poet, Mr. Kenney is the author of the novel, The Mercy Dialogues, and a collection of haiku, Only This Step. He strives to bring together the worlds of psychology, creativity and spirituality in his work and is the author of a book on those subjects entitled, The Writer's Crucible: Meditations on Emotion, Being and Creativity.

Welcome to my website. I practice psychotherapy and am the author of two novels, a collection of haiku and a book on creativity. My work is shaped by a belief that psychology, creativity and spirituality are not separate domains, but intimately connected aspects of a force that moves through us all.

So please, come visit these pages where you will learn something of my thoughts on therapy, why I write and what I care about. There are interviews to read, and introductions to books I have written. I hope you enjoy your visit.

New from Philip:

The Color of Longing: Haiku by Philip Kenney

Haiku are dragonflies—changing directions in a flash! And when that happens, the world is illuminated.  

SO MANY SURPRISES: Essays 2013–2023

One of the most disturbing and overlooked of our losses in the modern world is the disappearance of the element of surprise. So Many Surprises returns the reader to that fundamental place of surprise and a reunion with awe.

Available at Broadway Books in Portland or your local independent bookstore.

The Mercy Dialogues by Philip Kenney

"Kenney's prose makes engaging use of abstract images giving body to inexplicable human experiences." — Kirkus Reviews

Philip Kenney on the Experience of Writing His Novel The Mercy Dialogues

Writing It Real contributor Philip Kenney has a new novel out, The Mercy Dialogues, and this month I “talked” via email with him about the premise of the novel, his reason for writing it, and what that experience was like.
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