Hi! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who is originally from Chicago, and who is now living in western Michigan. I was a school social worker working with adolescents with complex trauma for 6 years, and have now been working with adults for the past 3 years. I specialize in Internal Family Systems and Polyvagal Theory, and I also like to sprinkle in some CBT, DBT, and Mindfulness training depending on what the client needs.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In my first session with clients I review some of the intake paperwork, and then complete a Psychotherapy Assessment with clients. In this assessment I will ask client a variety of questions to cast a wide net and aim to learn about client's social history, family history, mental health background, presenting symptoms, strengths and goals for therapy. This will sometimes take the first few sessions, as I want to leave a lot of room for clients to fully explain their circumstances and needs before setting treatment goals. Once client and I have a good understanding of the problems, we will work together to identify treatment goals (how would you like to be feeling better 1 year from now?)
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I love the work I do because I am a very genuinely curious, empathetic, and validating person, and I have yet to meet a client who I didn't care for and enjoy meeting with. I am an excellent listener, and love digging deeper, finding patterns, and asking hard questions to get clients to take their thinking one step further. I also stay up to date on the most evidence-based modalities in the psychology realm and am always reading and attending trainings so I can offer my clients interventions that have been proven to be effective (IFS, Polyvagal Theory, CBT, DBT). I love engaging in psychoeducation with clients and teaching them skills from various modalities and watching their faces light up as a new concept clicks.
About Jaci Biere
Appointments
Virtual
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have found that it is incredibly difficult to tackle external challenges until we have first dealt with our own internal dialogue, and the limiting beliefs we have about ourselves. Through CBT I teach clients that our thoughts fuel our emotions, and our emotions then guide our behaviors. We must therefore become aware our intrusive thoughts, and decide whether to assign meaning and power to them, or to replace them with something more true and helpful.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I use internal family systems to help clients increase awareness of and find distinctions between their "core self" and protective parts. In IFS sessions, we work on mapping out client's internal parts and defense mechanisms, and identifying what core beliefs each of those parts stem from. We use practice exercises and behavioral experiments to challenge client to befriend their various parts, and empower the "core self".
Polyvagal Therapy
Using Polyvagal theory, I teach clients about the 3 states of arousal that the nervous system goes into based on how safe the person feels in their environment and circumstances. Together we identify what each state of arousal (resting, fight or flight, freeze) feels like for the client, and what external variables communicate safety to their nervous system through their five senses. We then use practice exercises and exposure therapy to help client increase awareness of their state of arousal, and provide tools to help them climb back down the latter when trapped in a "freeze" or "flight" state.
Strength-Based
I strongly believe that when provided with a safe space where they are given unconditional positive regard, clients are incredibly capable of solving their own problems and coming up with their own solutions. With a lifetime worth of knowledge on themselves, I believe that clients are always the experts, and I am simply a guide who helps to offer perspective, tools and space for processing. Rather than looking at client's deficits I find it much more helpful to examine the areas where they excel and shine, and to lean into those areas. No one is good at everything, and owning and being proud of our strengths and letting go of our shortcomings often helps to diminish guilt and insecurities.
Attachment-based
The way that we attached to our primary caregivers during childhood has a big impact on how we perceive ourselves and others, and often carries into and plays out in our adult relationships without our knowledge. I reflect with clients on their childhood and how their emotional needs were met and validated when they were children, and do several screenings to help clients identify their primary attachment style (anxious/avoidant/combined/secure). After identifying their attachment style, we then examine how it is impacting their relationships, and work on moving towards a more safe and secure attachment style with their loved ones.
