Jacqueline Taillant
I’m a daughter, mother, grandmother, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over a decade of clinical experience. While I’m newer to private practice, I’ve spent years working closely with clients navigating health challenges, grief, stress, relationships, and major life transitions. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside hundreds of people and supporting meaningful change in their lives. For more than a decade, I worked with people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic health conditions. I also understand personally how isolating and overwhelming a difficult health journey can feel. After years of struggling with unexplained symptoms, I learned the importance of advocating for myself and eventually discovered I was living with an autoimmune condition.
I strive to offer a warm, nonjudgmental space where people can openly share their stories and feel genuinely heard.
Both my professional and personal experiences have taught me about resilience and the possibility of finding beauty even during darker seasons of life. I strive to offer a warm, nonjudgmental space where people can openly share their stories and feel genuinely heard. Outside of work, I enjoy staying active, working out, dancing, and pole fitness. I also have a love cooking and listening to all types of music.
First session
Starting therapy can feel a little nerve-racking, especially if it is your first time. My goal in the first session is to create a welcoming, nonjudgmental space where you can begin to feel comfortable, heard, and understood. We’ll talk about what brought you to therapy, what you have been experiencing, and what you hope might be different. You will also have plenty of space to ask questions about therapy, my approach, or anything you are unsure about. I also like to begin exploring your values—what matters most to you—so we can eventually build goals that feel meaningful and manageable rather than overwhelming. We may also review a few practical items, such as consent forms, confidentiality, and what to expect from future sessions. You do not need to arrive with everything figured out. The first session is simply a place for us to begin.
Strengths
Becoming a teenage mother taught me firsthand about adversity, resilience, and the power of continuing forward even when life feels overwhelming. Through my own experiences, I learned that with consistency, support, resilience, and a sense of purpose, we can move through difficult seasons and discover strengths we may not have known we had. As a young single mother, I continued my education, earning an associate degree in psychology, a bachelor’s degree in social work, and a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in health. I went on to spend many years working as a case manager with people living with HIV/AIDS and later in a busy trauma emergency department. Over the years, the people I worked with inspired me to move more deeply into therapeutic work. I saw how much emotional support, self-understanding, and a strong therapeutic relationship could matter during some of the hardest moments in a person’s life. That experience, combined with my own journey, is what ultimately led me to become a therapist.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is someone who is curious about themselves and open to growth, new perspectives, and different ways of approaching challenges. I work well with people who are willing to reflect, explore, and try new ideas as they move toward meaningful change. I enjoy working with people from all walks of life and have experience supporting young adults, men, women, transgender individuals, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also interested in working with teenagers and supporting younger people as they build self-awareness, confidence, and healthier ways of navigating stress, relationships, identity, and life transitions. I also have a particular interest in working with people navigating chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, or other health challenges. I welcome clients who want to talk deeply about their health journey and the ways it has affected their identity, relationships, emotional well-being, and hopes for the future.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you notice how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors may be moving you toward or away from the life you want. Together, we explore your values and understand what truly matters to you. We will identify realistic ways to make choices that are more aligned with those values. We also practice skills such as cognitive defusion, which can help you step back from difficult thoughts and emotions rather than feeling controlled by them. The goal is not to eliminate uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, but to learn how to make room for them while continuing to move toward what is meaningful to you. At times, we may use worksheets, charts, exercises, or between-session homework to increase self-awareness, practice new skills, and better understand patterns that show up in your daily life.
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Doesn't specialize in
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 104763