Jessica Cedeno
I’m originally from Seattle, WA, and now live in Alexandria, VA. I’m an Army veteran, a mom to two sons (ages 11 and 18), and I share my home with a chocolate tabby cat. I’ve worked in the mental health field for eight years—six as a psychotherapist, one as a substance abuse counselor, and one in a psychiatric inpatient setting. Currently, I provide telehealth counseling and am licensed in both North Carolina and Virginia. Personality-wise, I bring a mix of motivation and energy, balanced with an easygoing and nonjudgmental approach.
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.
First session
I truly believe that everyone can benefit from therapy—whether challenges feel big or small, we all have areas to grow. In our work together, I typically start with building coping skills and stress management tools, then move into identifying and reshaping unhelpful thinking patterns. From there, we can focus on what matters most to you—whether that’s processing past trauma, boosting self-esteem, strengthening relationships, improving anger management, or developing mindfulness and self-care practices (just to name a few). Some clients enjoy therapy exercises and homework, while others prefer open conversation—I’m flexible and will tailor our sessions to your needs and comfort level.
Strengths
I specialize in supporting clients with anxiety, depression, trauma, stress management, coping skills, and negative thinking patterns. I also have experience working with mood, personality, and psychotic disorders.
Ideal clients
I work with adult and teen clients, as well as couples and families.
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.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Serves
Licensed in
- North CarolinaLicense C014557
- VirginiaLicense 0904015083