Hey, I'm Jess. Do you struggle with feeling disconnected? Is it difficult for you to manage your emotions and make sense of how you feel? Are you finding it hard to be kind to yourself? I help individuals manage their anxiety and depression as a result of their life experiences and trauma by finding ways to cope with distressing emotions and finding safety in their bodies and environment. Together, we can work towards understanding how your life experiences have impacted your behaviors and identify what survival skills no longer serve you. I prioritize building a trusting therapeutic relationship and providing you with compassionate, trauma-informed care that allows you to voice your experiences and symptoms. As your therapist, I will help you develop the skills you need to feel empowered while finding peace, self-compassion, and strength within yourself. I utilize telehealth sessions where I provide CBT, EMDR, and mindfulness skills in order to assist clients with their healing journeys. I have 5 years of experience working with individuals battling addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, and other issues. I’m so proud of you for making an investment in yourself. Sometimes it can be difficult to prioritize our own wants and needs. Let's work together to help you create a life outside of survival mode and step into a life of compassion and peace.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

First sessions can feel intimidating whether you are starting therapy for the first time or the tenth time! In our first session, we will get to know each other and work together to establish a comfortable and open atmosphere. From there, we will shift our focus to exploring the specific challenges that are bringing you to therapy so that we will create a personalized plan designed to address your unique needs and goals.

What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?

When working with a client, I identify what modalities to work with based on what coping skills a client already has. I make sure clients become efficient in feeling safe and calm in their bodies by utilizing various DBT skills. We will work together on building up a practice of meditation and mindfulness that will help you increase your self-awareness, reduce tension, and alleviate distressing emotions. I also address my client's thinking styles by utilizing CBT skills. I am EMDR trained, which is an excellent modality for individuals who have experienced trauma. Together, we will identify more well-balanced ways of thinking while I assist you in understanding how certain thinking styles can cause feelings of anxiety, distress, and depression.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

My niche of therapy is working with adult children of parents who suffered from addiction, mental illness, or dysfunction. Often times these adult children are in addiction or recovery themselves, display addictive behaviors or lifestyles, or are trying to navigate life in a way that is polar opposite of their parents. I have worked in a outpatient methadone clinic, a drug and alcohol inpatient treatment center, and a mental health outpatient treatment center. Much of my career has been devoted to assisting individuals with understanding coping with their PTSD and C-PTSD.

About Jessica Pendergast