I work to provide a safe, non-judgmental space that is caring, challenging, and encouraging. Together we will develop new insights and create the personal and relational growth you are seeking.
Individual Therapy
Life can feel overwhelming. Sometimes it is our experience of anxiety, depression, and conflict in our personal and work relationships that lets us know something needs to change. At these times, it can make all the difference to have someone in your corner.
I will work alongside you to help give voice to what you are thinking, feeling, and experiencing. This process will allow you to create some much-needed space to discover new ways of being and new ways to experience the life you choose to live – a life that is authentically yours.
I help individuals who have become stuck and stagnant in destructive patterns to discover clarity and hope for something more fulfilling.
I work collaboratively with you to identify short-term relief to symptoms that are making life difficult now, as well as the experiential and insight-based work that produces long-lasting change.
And most importantly, I'm pretty easy to talk to.
Couples Therapy
I work with all couples – dating, married, newly committed, long-term partnerships, straight or gay – who need help identifying and breaking unhealthy patterns, improving communication, recovering from betrayal, or seeking guidance to end a relationship well. I also work with those who are simply interested in taking their relationship from good to great.
I believe in order to understand where we currently are in our relationships we need to look closely at our earliest and most significant attachments, as this is where we most likely learned how to “do” relationships. Our automatic responses to those closest to us may be helping or hurting us (or both) but our responses are there for a reason. Couples therapy works to understand these automatic responses and take better control of the process. In this way, we can move away from a stance of defensiveness and self-preservation and instead towards security, freedom and authenticity. I draw from attachment theory, developmental neuroscience, and arousal regulation to assist couples in navigating their complex interactions and transform problematic patterns.
I am a PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy) trained therapist, a treatment approach developed by Stan Tatkin.
I am also certified to facilitate PREPARE / ENRICH inventories, a comprehensive couple assessment tool for pre-marital counseling.
Education and Background
Jennifer earned a bachelors degree in English and a masters degree in education from UCLA. She taught high school English for five years, and then transitioned to administrative/operations/consulting work in the school construction/construction management field for several years. Earning a masters degree from Fuller's Graduate School of Psychology launched Jennifer's career in psychotherapy. These experiences, among others, make her well-versed in understanding significant life transitions and how to live with freedom, passion, and intention.