Our Team

At the Craniosacral Center of Grand Rapids, we're proud of our amazing team of people who come together to create a positive healing environment for our clients.

Interested in working with us?

We're hiring! Find out more.

Kelly O'Brien Pahman

Kelly O’Brien Pahman is the owner of Craniosacral Center of Grand Rapids and a respected craniosacral therapist.

Kelly first discovered the power of craniosacral therapy (CST) in her work as a doula. Her clients who regularly received craniosacral therapy had shorter labors with shorter and more efficient contractions. The power of this gentle but effective therapy intrigued Kelly, leading her to study craniosacral therapy at the highly-respected Upledger Institute and open her own practice in 2004

CST has also touched Kelly’s life personally – helping her overcome a traumatic brain injury and chronic pain, which helps her relate to her clients on a deeper, more personal level. Kelly’s warm, kind personality radiates in her practice, putting her clients of all ages at ease and helping them enter their personal healing journey.

Kelly is the first and only doula in the Grand Rapids area to specialize in CST. Being a doula taught Kelly how to support families from a place of neutrality and recognize the deep need for support during the child-bearing year. Through the Upledger Institute, she has completed training in Craniosacral therapy, levels 1 and 2, somato-emotional release, as well as CST for conception, pregnancy, birth and the newborn. She has also taken several courses with Kindred Academy on treating infants, as well as TMJ and jaw pain.

Kelly has a degree in Theology and Youth Ministry from Kuyper College, as well as a diploma Naturopathic Institute of Therapies and Education as a Holistic Labor Companion. She has worked for over 10 years as a doula and midwife assistant in Grand Rapids, attending over 150 births.

Kelly lives in Grand Rapids with her husband, Dylan, and their four children, Brendan, Aiden, Erin and Callahan.

Owner and Lead Craniosacral Therapist

Erin O'Brien-Jenison

After a decade of being a Spanish immersion teacher at Forest Hills Public Schools, Erin Jenison made the leap to becoming a Craniosacral therapist after her own amazing experiences with this gentle, transformative therapy.

Coming to see Kelly for a painful shoulder injury, she found incredible relief from craniosacral where physical therapy hadn’t been successful. Immediately, she felt inspired to learn more about craniosacral therapy and has since completed training at the prestigious Upledger institute and been practicing as a therapist since 2022. Erin has completed extensive training with Upledger, including CranioSacral Therapy levels 1 and 2, as well as SomatoEmotional Release 1 and CranioSacral Therapy for Pediatrics.

Born in Ann Arbor and raised in Kalamazoo, Erin has called Grand Rapids home for 18 years and is delighted to be serving her community in this new way. She is constantly inspired by the gentle effectiveness of Craniosacral therapy and how it works with the body to create healing. She is excited to be working with Kelly and have the opportunity to help individuals and families find healing through craniosacral therapy at the Craniosacral Center of Grand Rapids.

Erin is a mom of three kids with her husband, who is a musician, painter and chef. Together, they love to have dance parties in the living room, create family art projects, take walks to the park, or swim in Michigan lakes.