Jessica Barton-Grimley
My name is Jessica Barton-Grimley and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing therapy in the state of California. I am committed to fostering a trusting environment where you can freely explore your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions at a pace that feels comfortable to you.
My name is Jessica Barton-Grimley and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing therapy in the state of California.
Alongside my empathetic and compassionate support, I focus on equipping clients with practical tools and resources to support you in achieving your goals.
First session
During our first session, we will have an opportunity to get to know one another, with a primary focus on hearing your story. I am interested in exploring your strengths, values, social supports, and symptoms impacting your daily life. My goal for this session is to understand what motivated you to seek therapy, explore your best hopes for therapy, and determine whether my therapeutic approach aligns with your needs.
Strengths
I am empathetic and non-judgmental in my approach, with a natural curiosity about your previous successes. I strive to create a welcoming, accepting, and collaborative space where you feel valued, understood, and empowered to actively participate in your growth. Additionally, I work from a de-pathologizing lens that separates your identity from the symptoms you experience. I view diagnoses and symptoms not as personal defects, but rather as protective responses to structural oppression, systemic stress, or traumatic environments.
Ideal clients
I have experience working with adults between the ages of 18 and 86 living with hoarding disorder, anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, life transitions, low self-esteem, and interpersonal challenges. Additionally, I have experience working with formerly unhoused individuals, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, veterans, and individuals with unique abilities. I was drawn to a career in therapy to support individuals in coping with the emotional toll of societal expectations, norms, values, and stressors of everyday life. My goal as a therapist is to provide a space to explore the distress you experience, deepen your self-awareness and self-compassion to lead a life that is meaningful to you.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
In my practice, I utilize Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to assist you in uncovering and prioritizing your core values, helping you to integrate values-based actions while becoming more self-aware and accepting of your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. This involves acknowledging and accepting difficult thoughts and feelings, choosing your value direction, and taking action in a way that aligns with your values. Together, we will work on gaining distance from your thoughts and cognitions by utilizing defusion techniques. The overall goal is to guide you to live a life according to your core values.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I incorporate a Solution Focused Approach by shifting the conversation toward solution talk and emphasizing your preferred future. This involves collaborative discussions that explore your desired outcome; exploring the history of the outcome; identifying your resources and strengths to achieve that outcome; and setting small, attainable goals.
Psychoeducation
I will provide psychoeducation during our sessions to share information and offer support in an effort to guide you to understand and cope with your specific mental health condition(s). That may include verbal explanations, videos, handouts, and collaborative discussions to gain an understanding of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Ultimately, my goal is to enhance your understanding, and equip you with tools, coping strategies, and techniques to live a life that is meaningful to you.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
In my practice, I may incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by using cognitive restructuring to challenge unhelpful thoughts. While I tend to rely more on acceptance (ACT), I have encountered clients with a preference for challenging negative thoughts and discovering strategies to help moderate their emotional reactions.
Narrative
I incorporate narrative therapy to help deconstruct oppressive cultural and societal messages. Together, we will work on externalizing the issue, mapping its influence, unpacking social norms, exploring power dynamics, and validating your lived experience. My intention is to partner with you in challenging the dominant narrative through exploration of exceptions, resistance, and ultimately the creation of a new narrative that aligns with your values.
Location
Virtual sessions