Demetria Michelle Jackson
You’ve invested in being there for other people. Your time, your energy, the thought you put into making sure things work. What would it look like to give yourself that same commitment? Hi, I’m Demetria Jackson, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Trauma Therapist, and founder of Free to Flourish. I work with adults who are ready to give their own lives some real attention. You can appreciate what you’ve built and still decide there are things you no longer want to live with. Here, you don’t have to explain everybody else’s side before we give yours some attention. We’ll look honestly at what hurts, what keeps repeating, and where you have choices you haven’t considered. We’ll look at your part, too, because that’s where some of your power to change things may be.
I’m trained in EMDR, Brainspotting, and Gottman Method couples therapy, and I integrate my FlourishSpotting™ framework to guide clients in reconnecting with their inner wisdom.
That’s the Restorative Instigator in me. I’m interested in what becomes possible when we stop accepting “that’s just how it is” as the final answer. My work draws on trauma therapy, EMDR, and Brainspotting. Bring your willingness to be honest and stay involved in the work. We’ll put it toward changes that matter in your everyday life. You’ve shown up for a lot of people. It’s time to put yourself on that list and follow through. Think about what you want to be able to thank yourself for a year from now. Let’s start working toward it. You’re not broken. You’re burdened. Let’s restore the balance.
First session
The first session is a chance for us to get to know each other and talk about what made you decide, “It’s time.” You don’t have to know where to start. We can figure that out together. I’ll ask about what’s happening in your life, some of your history, and what you want help with. You don’t owe me every detail of a painful experience on day one. Tell me what you’re ready to tell me. If you’ve been to therapy before, I want to know what that was like. What helped? Was there something you needed that you didn’t get? That gives us useful information about how to work together. I’ll explain my approach, and you can ask me questions, too. You’re deciding whether you want to do this work with me. It matters that you can talk to me and feel that I’m hearing you. By the end, we’ll begin putting some direction to what brought you in. We won’t have everything figured out, but we can get clearer about what needs attention and where to start.
Strengths
One of my strengths is making room for you to tell the truth without feeling like you have to clean it up first. You can love someone and be angry with them. You can be good at what you do and admit it’s asking too much of you. We can talk about all of that. I listen closely, including to the things you almost skip over. Sometimes that’s where we need to spend a little time. I’ll share what I’m noticing and ask questions that help us look beneath what you’ve gotten used to. That’s the Restorative Instigator in me. Before we accept “that’s just how I am,” let’s understand how you got there and whether it still fits. I bring trauma training, EMDR, and Brainspotting into the work, along with attention to your family, culture, relationships, and beliefs. Your life has context. I want to understand it. And there’s room to laugh. Creativity and humor are part of how I connect with people. We can take your concerns seriously and still enjoy a moment together. I care about what changes for you outside our sessions. We’ll keep checking in on what’s helping, what isn’t, and what needs more attention. You’re putting time and effort into yourself. Our work should stay connected to what you came here for.
Ideal clients
I work best with adults who are ready to say, “I don’t want to keep doing this,” and put some time and effort behind that decision. You may be the person everybody counts on. You know how to get things done. But being able to handle something doesn’t mean you want to keep handling it. Maybe the same thing keeps happening in your relationships. Maybe something from years ago still gets to you. Or you’re tired of getting to yourself only after everybody else is taken care of. You may have done therapy before. You can explain the pattern. You want help with the part where you actually do something different. I welcome adults 18 and older from all backgrounds, identities, and beliefs. My work pays particular attention to Black women and women of color. I want to understand your experience, including what your family and culture taught you about what you’re supposed to accept. We’ll take the time we need. I’ll also ask you to stay involved, tell me when something isn’t helping, and try things outside our sessions. We need to know whether this is making a difference in your life. You’ve invested in being there for other people. Give yourself that same commitment. That’s what we’re making room for at Free to Flourish: you having a say in how your life goes.
Treatment methods
EMDR
You may know an experience is over and still react when something reminds you of it. With EMDR, we work on distressing memories and the beliefs about yourself that became connected to them. We begin by understanding your history and building ways to manage distress before moving into memory processing. During that work, I guide you through eye movements or another form of alternating stimulation while you notice what comes up. We check in throughout. The goal is for those experiences to become less upsetting, giving you more room to respond to what’s happening now.
Brainspotting
Sometimes you understand what happened, but talking about it hasn’t changed how you feel when something brings it back up. I use Brainspotting to bring attention to that experience, including what you notice in your body. In our virtual sessions, I’ll guide you in finding a position for your gaze while you notice the feelings, sensations, or thoughts that come up. You don’t have to explain every moment. I stay engaged with you, and we adjust the pace together. We also pay attention to what helps you feel settled. There’s no prize for pushing through more than you’re ready for.
Solution-Focused Brief Treatment
I use solution-focused work to help us get specific about what you want to be different. If therapy is helping, what would you notice at home, at work, or in a difficult conversation? We look at what’s already working, even a little, and what you did that helped. From there, we identify steps you’re willing to try. Your circumstances still matter. We’re finding a useful place to begin and checking what happens when you put it into practice.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT to help you notice the connection between what happens, what you tell yourself about it, how you feel, and what you do next. Sometimes a familiar thought moves so quickly that it feels like a fact. We slow that down and examine it together. We also look at behaviors that may keep a problem going and practice different responses between sessions. I take your circumstances seriously. If something unfair is happening, we need to acknowledge it while working on the choices available to you.
Faith-based therapy
If your faith matters to you, we can bring it into our work. You can talk about what gives you strength and what you’re struggling to make sense of, including hurt you’ve experienced in religious settings. You don’t have to have it all settled before we can talk about it. When you want a Christian perspective included, I integrate that with my clinical training and attention to your experiences, relationships, and culture. We can explore how your beliefs support you and where someone else’s interpretation may have left you feeling ashamed, silenced, or responsible for things that aren’t yours. You decide whether faith belongs in your sessions and how much attention we give it. I work with people from all backgrounds and beliefs. This option is here for those who want it.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Black / African American
Woman
Top specialties
Burnout
Trauma and PTSD
Women's Issues
Other specialties
Anger Management
Anxiety
Coping Skills
Family Conflict
First Responders/Healthcare Workers
LGBTQ
Men's Issues
Self Esteem
Sexual Abuse
Spirituality
Serves
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Individual Therapy
Man
Non-binary
Transgender
Woman
Doesn't specialize in
Couples Counseling
Family Therapy
Licensed in
IndianaLicense 35001636A