Daily Inspiration: Meet Carly Sinn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carly Sinn.

Hi Carly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I moved to Colorado in 2017 and was married at the time. I had just received my first melanoma diagnosis and was going through an existential crisis. Being unsure of what my future held, I knew I needed to actually live the life I wanted for myself. I decided to finish my undergraduate degree at Naropa University, and upon beginning my studies there, realized I needed to leave my marriage. I realized I had gotten married for the wrong reasons and needed to embark on a personal journey of growth.

Unfortunately, it was not smooth sailing. On the other side of divorce there were more melanoma diagnoses and excisions, as well as a string of abusive relationships. At the beginning of the COVID lockdowns in 2020, I found myself pregnant and abandoned by the man responsible. It was a miracle I was able to locate abortion services during that time. After the abortion, I realized I was being called to be with people in times of crisis.

I had graduated from Naropa University with my undergraduate degree in contemplative neuroscience, somatic psychology, and dance, and was now looking for a Masters program that would offer the credentials to be a chaplain and spiritual caregiver. I applied to Naropa University’s Masters of Divinity program, and began the program in the fall semester of 2020. Unfortunately, in my first semester of the Mdiv, I crossed paths with a local therapist who sexually assaulted me. I attempted to press charges, but there was not enough evidence to gain any traction to build a case. This was my first encounter with people getting away with hurting others. It shattered my worldview.

I managed to continue my studies, despite being traumatized. Unfortunately, a few months after the sexual assault, I met a man at a bar who would end up destroying my life. I truly thought it was love at first sight, until it quickly escalated into domestic violence. I attempted to escape several times, with no success of getting away from him. Finally, one fateful day, I was free. That morning, I had woken up in a complete state of surrender. I could not get away from him and had accepted that this was my life now, forever. Fortunately, on this day, passersby heard my screams for help and called the cops. I was free. The few weeks after were filled with confusing interactions with court officials as charges were attempting to be pressed. Up until recently, I blocked a lot of these details out, as I just needed to survive and get my life back.

During the course of the domestic violence, he destroyed nearly everything I owned. I had no clothes left, and he had destroyed irreplaceable items like family heirlooms, a blanket my dying grandmother had made for me, paintings my friends had made, scrapbooks of childhood pictures, mementos of my college graduation…there are still things to this day I remember out of the blue that are gone forever because of him. Unfortunately, I could not produce receipts for everything he had destroyed, so the courts could only sentence restitution money to be paid to me for the one thing I could produce a receipt for: my laptop he had snapped in half.

I desperately needed money after escaping, as I had nothing left, not even the basic necessities. However, I would not start receiving the restitution money until three years later. I needed money, desperately. I turned to stripping. I made the money I needed and got out of working at the club before it took more of an emotional toll on me that it already had.

During the domestic violence, I had dropped out of the Masters Divinity program because I could not keep up with my studies while the abuse was happening. Fortunately, I reapplied and was accepted back in. I wanted to finish my Mdiv degree. And I did. I graduated with my Masters of Divinity in May of 2024 and wrote my masters thesis on what I had experienced at the hands of male violence and what kinds of feminine spiritualities had provided me guidance through the darkest of times. In my thesis, I imagined what spiritual care for women survivors would be like.

Since graduation, I have been working full time as a hospice chaplain and an associate chaplain at some local hospitals. I go to therapy once a week and am engaged in trauma healing work. I was diagnosed with PTSD. I was grateful to receive a diagnosis to help me understand how the symptoms of PTSD were impacting my ability to function normally. It is grueling inner work, but it is absolutely astounding the empowerment, liberation, and sense of self I am reclaiming within that healing. I am so grateful to the people that help others heal.

I feel incredibly grateful and honored to work as a chaplain and a spiritual caregiver, and it is especially meaningful to work with people at the end of their lives. They teach me so much about what matters. Another true calling of mine is working with women survivors to help them heal and achieve wholeness, post-trauma. I knew I needed more specific therapeutic skills to do this work, so I applied to NYU’s online Masters in Counseling program, was accepted, and will be starting these studies in the fall semester, 2025. I will earn this second masters degree while continuing to work as a chaplain.

I have been a dancer and performance artist my whole life. Dance and art is what saved me in some of the darkest moments of abuse and trauma. I hope to be able to provide care to women someday that incorporates therapeutic modalities, spirituality, and art to help survivors not only heal, but reach a place of wholeness, empowerment and liberation. Through my own life, I have learned that not only is healing possible, but it provides a road map home to our most authentic, vital and vibrant selves.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No. It was difficult to discover the ways in which the crimes against women’s lives and women’s bodies are invalidated and overlooked. There was not a lot of support for “victims,” although there were “victim advocates” I came into contact with, a lot of them were not trauma-informed and because of this, were largely unhelpful while I navigated the court system post-trauma. PTSD rewires our brain and makes it difficult to navigate everyday situations. PTSD flashbacks make it difficult to discern what is happening now from past experiences and can feel incredibly disorienting. I had to learn a lot of hard lessons in the truths of the world we live in: that some people hurt other people, and they get away with it, and will most likely continue hurting people. I had to learn hard lessons in how to advocate for myself, even while feeling invalidated or invisible. There were struggles with not being able to find resources to help me rebuild my life, and a lot of the therapies that were recommended to me, were not accessible because of the cost, and/or were not covered by insurance. I could continue to list struggles, from small to large, but all the struggles made me dig down to find my tenacity and will to survive.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I currently work full time as a hospice chaplain and an associate chaplain at a couple of local hospitals. I am not your “run of the mill” chaplain, partly because of my history, and partly because of my own spiritual beliefs and practices. My Masters of Divinity focused largely on Buddhism, specifically Tibetan Buddhism, and my own flavor of chaplaincy and spiritual caregiving is an amalgamation of Buddhism, Mysticism, Earth-based spirituality, Dance/Embodiment and Creative process. I had to learn how to companion myself through dark times, and I believe this informed how I show up for people who are in need of care. I enjoy meeting people exactly where they are at, with whatever religious or spiritual beliefs they hold, if any, and whatever emotional state they are in. I am honored to bear witness to peoples’ individual processes whether they are experiencing a life-altering moment, or are at the end of their lives. I believe we all come from unconditional love and will return to unconditional love.

What’s next?
Although I find it very fulfilling to work as a hospice chaplain and associate chaplain, I have applied to and been accepted in to NYU’s Masters in Counseling online program. I will begin studying this fall semester 2025 and will earn this second masters degree while continuing to work as a chaplain. I plan to become a fully licensed therapist and look forward to working with women survivors and providing them with therapeutic modalities as well as spiritual counseling and opportunities to create and showcase art and dance.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @carlycsinn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crusher218/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-sinn-0820bb296/

Image Credits
Fiona Rose Small
Swanee Astrid
Tony Gallagher
MC Dorbecker