(she/her)
New to Grow
Hi I'm Jess, and I'm happy you are here! I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive experience in behavioral health, and I believe therapy works best when you feel emotionally safe, genuinely seen, and able to show up as your full self—including the sarcastic, overwhelmed, people-pleasing parts. My goal is to help you feel more connected, confident, and grounded in your relationships and everyday life. If you’re looking for a therapist who can hold depth and honesty while still keeping things human and relatable, we may be a good fit.
Whether this is your first time going to therapy or your tenth, meeting someone for the first time, in such a vulnerable space, can be uncomfortable and intimidating. I make every effort to keep things light and warm while still being prepared for whatever my client needs, whether that is a full-blown breakdown and word vomit from their overwhelm, or if they are more anxious and need more time getting to know me and my style to feel comfortable. Regardless, my goal is for you to leave your first session feeling hopeful, even if the road ahead might be messy and hard.
While all therapists are supposed to have "unconditional positive regard" for their clients and hold a safe space, I have been told by many that they can physically feel that genuine care and concern when they are with me. I will hold space and validate the valid, and I am also comfortable gently challenging your perspective when needed to help you meet your goals. I can also be goofy, and welcome sarcasm and humor.
You don’t need to be in a full-blown crisis or have a “big enough” trauma to deserve support. A lot of people come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, emotionally disconnected, stuck in unhealthy relationship patterns, or exhausted from holding it all together for everyone else. Sometimes it’s not one major event—just years of stress, anxiety, burnout, people-pleasing, or slowly losing yourself along the way. Therapy can be a place to untangle the messy stuff without feeling judged, overanalyzed, or told to “just practice gratitude.” I work with adults navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, attachment wounds, relationship patterns, and life transitions. My style is warm, direct, collaborative, and occasionally funny—because therapy can be meaningful without feeling painfully clinical. I take a trauma-informed approach that combines insight with practical tools to help clients better understand their patterns, manage emotions more effectively, and feel more grounded in daily life without turning therapy into a never-ending emotional deep dive.
Other specialties
I identify as
Integrative
I'm not tied to one theoretical orientation or practice, rather I take a person-centered integrative approach and follow my clients needs in the moment. My job is to listen deeply to capture the heart of what is burdening you, and from there I work alongside you and utilize modalities that I feel will be effective to help you meet your goals. I always follow my clients lead and if something isn't working, we pivot.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
When I use tools from ACT, I lean heavily on the values aspect as I believe our values play a significant role in our wellbeing. I have found that many feel discord and suffering when working against their values. I also believe it can help some find meaning or direction that may be missing in their lives.
Attachment-based
I always assess the status of my clients connections and attachments to others. Many people come to therapy wanting deeper connections in their lives, whether that be enhancing current relationships, or creating new attachments and they need help getting there. We explore how attachment styles can impact our relationships and from there we can create a plan for strengthening our connections.
Somatic
I am a firm believer in the science behind our wellbeing, and that sometimes we need more than talk therapy and insight based coping skills to meet our goals. I feel that if we can also expand our awareness of our body and what it is trying to tell us, we can more successfully cope in stressful situations and make lasting change.