I am from Seattle, WA but now live in Alexandria, VA. I am an army veteran, and I have two sons, ages 10 and 18, as well as a chocolate tabby cat! I have been working in the mental health field for six years--four as a psychotherapist, one as a substance abuse counselor, and one in a psychiatric inpatient setting. I now do telehealth counseling, and I am licensed in both North Carolina and Virginia. Personality-wise, I am a combination of motivated and energetic but also easygoing and nonjudgmental.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
I firmly believe that everyone can benefit from therapy—whether our problems feel big or small, we all have things we can work on. I would love to see everyone with a primary care physician AND a therapist someday! I like to start out therapy by strengthening coping skills and stress management and then lead into identifying harmful thinking patterns and help you adopt healthier ways of thinking. From there, if need be, I can help you process past trauma, increase your self-esteem, strengthen your relationships, and improve anger management, self-care, mindfulness, and much more (this is just the tip of the iceberg)! Some of my clients like to engage in therapy exercises and homework, while others like to use their time just chatting. I am flexible and open-minded‚ let's figure out what works best for you!
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I feel my biggest strengths as a therapist are assisting with anxiety, depression, past trauma, stress management, coping skills, and thinking patterns. I also have experience with mood, personality, and psychotic disorders.
About Jessica Cedeno
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT to teach my clients the relationship between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Clients learn how to challenge possibly untrue, inaccurate, irrational, or overly negative thoughts. They also learn how to use a "thought log", use Socratic questioning to challenge their thought process, and how to de-catastrophize. CBT helps my clients identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
My clients use CPT to process past trauma, such as how trauma has negatively affected their perspectives of the world, others, and themselves. CPT helps my clients address and reframe unhelpful thoughts and beliefs related to their traumatic experiences.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
My clients use ACT to promote psychological flexibility. Instead of trying to eliminate difficult feelings, ACT helps them accept those feelings while committing to behavioral changes that align with their values.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
My clients use DBT to improve mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT helps them manage intense emotions, reduce self-destructive behaviors, and improve relationships.