LPC, 20 years of experience
I'm Jacqueline, a Licensed Professional Counselor who truly gets the beautiful chaos of modern life because I'm living it right alongside you. After earning my psychology degree from Texas Tech in three years (because I thought sleep was optional back then!) and my master's in Rehabilitation Counseling Psychology from UT Southwestern, I spent over a decade working at places like UT Arlington, Children's Medical Center, and UT Southwestern's Neuropsychology department. But my real education came when life happened – getting married and having multiple kiddos. Suddenly, I wasn't just understanding anxiety and overwhelm from textbooks. I was the one eating meals with one hand while bouncing a baby, wondering if I'd ever feel human again, and trying to balance professional responsibilities with the complete identity shift that comes with motherhood. Those experiences taught me what no graduate program could: what it really feels like to juggle everything while questioning if you're failing at it all. Now, after 20+ years of marriage and navigating the ongoing adventure of raising three kids, I bring both clinical expertise and lived experience to my work. I specialize in helping women navigate anxiety, life transitions, and relationship challenges using evidence-based approaches like CBT, DBT, and mindfulness. But what sets me apart is that I apply these tools through the lens of someone who has walked the same path. Whether you're a young professional feeling overwhelmed, a new mom wondering where your identity went, or a working parent trying to find balance, I see you – because I've been you. My goal is simple: help you create a life you're thriving in, not just surviving. Because trust me, it's absolutely possible.
Our First Session I know that first therapy session can feel daunting – you might be wondering what you're supposed to say, how much you should share, or whether you really "need" to be there. Let me put your mind at ease about what to expect when we meet for the first time. Before We Even Start First, take a deep breath. You've already done the hardest part by deciding to prioritize your mental health and scheduling this appointment. Whether you're feeling nervous, skeptical, hopeful, or all of the above – those feelings are completely normal and welcome in our space. You don't need to have everything figured out before you walk through my door. You don't need to have a perfectly articulated explanation of what's wrong or a clear vision of what you want to change. Some of my most successful clients started our first session by saying, "I don't even know where to begin, but I know something needs to change." Creating Our Foundation Our first session is really about getting to know each other and creating a foundation for our work together. I'll start by helping you feel comfortable – this isn't an interview or an interrogation. Think of it more like a conversation with someone who genuinely wants to understand your world. I'll ask about what brought you to therapy right now. Maybe it's anxiety that's been getting worse, feeling overwhelmed by life transitions, relationship challenges, or just that nagging sense that you're surviving your life instead of thriving in it. Whatever it is, there's no wrong answer, and there's no problem too big or too small. Understanding Your Story We'll talk about your current situation – what's happening in your life right now that feels challenging or overwhelming. I'll want to understand your daily reality: Are you juggling work and family? Dealing with a major life change? Struggling with anxiety that's impacting your relationships or job performance? Feeling like you've lost yourself somewhere along the way? I'll also ask about your background and history, but only what feels relevant and comfortable to share. We're not going to dive into every detail of your childhood in that first hour – we have plenty of time for deeper exploration as our relationship develops. I'm more interested in understanding the patterns and experiences that might be connected to what you're struggling with now. What Makes This Different Here's what you can expect that might be different from other therapeutic experiences: I'm going to be re
My Greatest Strengths What truly sets me apart as a therapist isn't just my clinical training or evidence-based techniques – it's the unique combination of professional expertise and lived experience that I bring to every session. My greatest strengths come from understanding my clients' struggles not just intellectually, but viscerally.Authentic Understanding and Connection My greatest strength is my ability to create genuine connection with clients because I've walked similar paths. When a working mom tells me she feels like she's failing at everything despite giving 110% to everything, I don't just nod professionally – I understand that feeling in my bones. When someone describes lying awake at 2 AM with racing thoughts about work, relationships, or whether they're cut out for this life they're living, I can meet them in that space with both clinical knowledge and personal understanding. This isn't about making sessions about my experiences – it's about using my journey to create a deeper level of empathy and insight that helps clients feel truly seen and understood. There's something powerful that happens when a client realizes their therapist isn't just professionally empathetic but genuinely gets what they're going through. Practical, Real-World Application I excel at taking evidence-based therapeutic techniques and making them work in the messiness of real life. It's one thing to learn CBT techniques in a textbook; it's another to know how to use thought-challenging exercises when you're in the grocery store with three crying kids and feeling like the world's worst mother. My strength lies in translating clinical interventions into practical strategies that actually work when you're overwhelmed, exhausted, and trying to juggle seventeen things at once. I don't just teach mindfulness – I teach how to find moments of mindfulness while folding laundry or during your commute. I don't just explain DBT emotion regulation skills – I help you figure out how to use them during a difficult conversation with your boss or when your teenager is testing every boundary you've set. Integrative Approach with Personal Insight Having spent over a decade in various clinical settings before moving to private practice, I've learned to integrate multiple therapeutic approaches seamlessly. I combine CBT's practical thought-work with DBT's emotion regulation skills and mindfulness techniques, but I do it through the lens of someone who has actually needed to use these
My ideal clients are women who are tired of just surviving and ready to start thriving, even in the midst of life's beautiful chaos. These are the women I genuinely love working with because I see so much of my own journey reflected in theirs. The Overwhelmed Professional You're the woman who's crushing it at work but feeling crushed by everything else. Maybe you're early in your career, feeling overwhelmed by expectations and wondering if you're cut out for this. Or perhaps you're more established but constantly stressed about job performance, walking on eggshells with difficult colleagues, or bringing work anxiety home every night. You lie awake at 2 AM with your mind racing about tomorrow's presentation or that email you haven't sent yet. You're successful on paper but exhausted in reality, wondering when work became something that drains you instead of energizes you. The New Mom Who's Lost Herself You just had a baby and everyone keeps saying "isn't this the best time of your life?" while you're wondering where the woman you used to be went. You love your child fiercely, but you're grieving the spontaneous, independent person you were before. Maybe you're struggling with the identity shift from professional woman to "just" a mom, or you're trying to figure out how to be both. You feel guilty for missing your old life, guilty for not enjoying every moment, and guilty for feeling guilty. You're exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering if you'll ever feel like yourself again. The Working Mom Juggling It All You're the woman I see most often because, frankly, you're living my life. You're trying to be present for your kids while also excelling at work, managing the household mental load, and maintaining some semblance of a relationship with your partner. You feel like you're failing at everything even though you're giving 110% to everything. You eat lunch at your desk (if you eat lunch at all), answer work emails after bedtime stories, and lie awake wondering how other moms seem to have it all figured out. You carry the invisible load – remembering dentist appointments, planning birthday parties, knowing which kid outgrew what clothes, and somehow also being expected to be fully present in every work meeting. You love your family and your career, but you're exhausted by the constant juggling act and the voice in your head that says you're not doing any of it well enough. The Woman in Transition Life threw you a curveball, and even if it's a good one, you
How I Use CBT in My Practice I've been using CBT extensively since becoming licensed in 2012, and it's become one of my most powerful tools because I've seen how transformative it can be – both professionally through my decade of experience at UT Arlington, Children's Medical Center, and UT Southwestern, and personally as someone who has navigated anxiety, overwhelming life transitions, and the mental gymnastics of modern motherhood. Identifying Thought Patterns That Keep You Stuck The core of my CBT work involves helping clients recognize those automatic negative thoughts that fuel anxiety and overwhelm. You know the ones – "I'm terrible at my job," "I'm failing as a mother," "I can't handle this," or "Everyone else has it figured out except me." These thoughts often happen so quickly we don't even notice them, but they create a cascade of anxiety and self-doubt. Having experienced these thought spirals myself – especially during those early years with three babies – I can help you spot them quickly and understand how they're connected to your feelings and behaviors. When a working mom client tells me she's convinced she's ruining her children because she worked late again, I recognize that thought pattern immediately and can guide her through examining the evidence for and against that belief. Practical Thought Challenging Techniques I teach clients how to become their own thought detectives. We work on questioning thoughts like: "Is this thought helpful?" "What evidence do I have for this?" "What would I tell a friend having this same thought?" "What's a more balanced way to look at this situation?" For example, when a client thinks "I'm a horrible mother because my kid had a meltdown at Target," we examine the evidence. Did the meltdown happen because she's a bad mother, or because her toddler is tired, hungry, or just being a normal toddler? We work on replacing that harsh self-judgment with something more realistic like "My child had a normal developmental moment, and how I handled it showed patience and love." Behavioral Experiments and Real-World Application CBT isn't just about changing thoughts – it's about testing new behaviors and seeing how they impact your life. I help clients design "behavioral experiments" to challenge their anxious predictions. If someone believes "If I set boundaries at work, I'll get fired," we might develop a plan to test this by setting one small boundary and observing the actual response. I also assign practical homework that fits into busy lives. This might include thought records where you track triggering situations and practice more balanced thinking, or scheduling pleasant activities when you're feeling depressed. Having juggled therapy homework with my own chaotic life, I make sure assignments are realistic and actually doable. Problem-Solving and Coping Skills I use CBT's problem-solving techniques to help clients break down overwhelming situations into manageable steps. When someone feels paralyzed by everything on their plate, we work on identifying what's actually within their control, what they can influence, and what they need to accept. Then we create concrete action plans with specific, achievable steps. Addressing Cognitive Distortions with Compassion I help clients recognize common thinking traps like all-or-nothing thinking ("If I'm not perfect, I'm a failure"), mind reading ("My boss thinks I'm incompetent"), or catastrophizing ("This mistake will ruin everything"). But I do this with understanding, not judgment – because I've fallen into these same traps myself. What makes my CBT approach unique is that I understand how these distorted thoughts actually show up in the context of being a working woman, parent, or partner in today's world. I don't just explain the concepts; I help you apply them to your specific life circumstances. Integration with Real Life The beauty of CBT is its practicality, and I make sure every technique we learn can be used in your daily life. We practice challenging thoughts while you're stressed about a work presentation, overwhelmed by household responsibilities, or worried about your relationships. I teach you how to use these skills in the moment when anxiety hits, not just when you have time to sit and analyze your thoughts. My experience using CBT both professionally and personally means I can help you navigate the gap between understanding these concepts intellectually and actually implementing them when life gets chaotic – which, let's be honest, is most of the time.