Jean Austin-Danner
I am a licensed clinical social worker with many years of experience. working with people. My focus is on hearing you and connecting with you in a way that helps you feel deeply understood. Then, together, we can explore the issues causing you concern and determine a plan for dealing with all of it. I work with clients who are going through a life transition; are struggling with sadness, grief, depression, loss of positive identity, or may be feeling overwhelmed or chaotic, or even a bit lost and purposeless. I am also here to support people dealing with new diagnoses of significant medical issues, and chronic or terminal illness. I am able to have some of the tough conversations with you about end-of-life decisions, if you need or want this. I also am a big believer in supporting you in learning how to befriend, express and listen to your emotions. They are an important part of your coping capacities. I am a trained and educated professional AND also a human being who has experienced many things in life. I bring a deep sense of understanding, empathy, and wisdom from that human-to-human experience, too.
First session
I know from personal experience that going to a therapist can feel a bit overwhelming and uncomfortable. I usually want to dump all my problems out on the floor and start finding relief right away. Doing work together in therapy is a process, though. In the first session, we will talk about my role as a therapist. We will review the Informed Consent document, so I can make sure you understand what you are consenting to, and what that looks like in a counseling session. I will ask questions to get a basic history, and to learn what is on your mind, and what you hope to accomplish by coming to therapy. As appropriate, we can develop specific goals and talk about how those goals will be achieved and how we will know if those goals are being met. We will develop a safety plan in case you are ever feeling you cannot continue to cope. I may teach you a strategy to self-soothe and/or to ground yourself, if that seems like it may be helpful to you, and identify support resources and coping skills. We can talk about things you can do during the week to pursue your inner work. I will confirm that this all feels helpful to you and aligned with what you want, and modify if it does not. We may or may not get all of that done in a first session. Sometimes, some of that has to spill over into a second session. We will discuss future sessions, frequency, appointment times, etc. You will have an opportunity to ask any questions, gain clarity, give feedback about what you want to happen.
Strengths
Past clients have said that they find me very approachable, and down-to-earth. They feel comfortable and safe with me. They are able to open up to me even more than they had planned (or, maybe even wanted!). They feel that I really understand them and what they are going through. They feel accepted and respected and more hopeful after we talk. I tend to explain things in everyday ways that make them more understandable. I am not directive in terms of telling you what to do, but I will give honest feedback about what I see going on and check out with you whether it feels that way to you, too. I am a human being, too. Life affects me, too. Our sessions are about you and what you are going through, but I will sometimes share something that helps you know you are not alone and not weird (or we are both weird and will be weird together!). Even if I don't say anything about myself, I think you will sense that I understand and have walked similar paths. Most clients find that helpful, too. I do not rely on platitudes or positive statements. Life can be hard and that cannot be talked away. We have to go through the feelings of it being hard, but I believe there is always hope and I will hold onto a sense of that hope for you, even when you cannot. I will sometimes utilize specific techniques of processing, or calming, or meaning-making to facilitate your inner work and provide a sense of support for you.. I am a life-long learner. If something comes up in a session that I don't know much about, I will research it so I can be more helpful in the next session. I am not an "expert with all the answers". I am an educated person, trained to understand human dynamics and respond in certain ways. to what clients share. I believe we do the work together, though, and that clients will come up with their own answers when given the right support and feedback. Wisdom emerges from our dialogue.
Ideal clients
The kinds of clients that are likely best suited for working with me are those who are open to looking inwards and self-reflecting, and who want to get to know and express their emotions, their limiting beliefs, their projections and other defensive strategies. They understand that improvement in their lives will require them to do inner work. They are not expecting a magic, therapeutic wand. They will lean into the therapeutic connection as part of the healing process, and they understand that growth and healing ARE a process. They want to find out what makes them come alive and learn how to live with the constraints and joys of being a human being. I know that sounds a bit trendy. Saying it slightly differently, I work best with people who believe their hearts and souls matter and who want to befriend and integrate heart and soul into their daily lives, living in alignment and at peace with what goes on inside them, and figuring out how to make that work with the external realities and demands of their lives.
Treatment methods
Humanistic
The humanistic treatment method just means that my work with clients is about connecting with them as people and hearing the things they might not feel comfortable sharing anywhere else,. I want to help clients learn to hear themselves, too, which is something that may not happen very often in a typical day. I will determine an appropriate diagnosis to fulfill insurance expectations, but I do not envision this relationship as being about a client presenting with a problem and me, as clinician, providing an intervention that will fix everything. The client is an active part of the process. I listen deeply to understand the client's unique experiences, values, and perspectives. Together, we will follow the path revealed by the client's inner knowing.. I am here to support client's emotional, spiritual and personal growth, to sort out relational challenges, and to have meaning-of-life conversations as needed or wanted.
Relational
I define the relational approach in therapeutic work as being about utilizing a relational framework to help clients organize their experience and understand how they developed certain beliefs, which often happens in the context of relational influences. "Relating" refers to the idea of connection between people ,or between people and things, or between people and expectations/ideas/attributed meanings . It is important and helpful to recognize the dynamics of all that a client is in relationship with his/her own life.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Serves
Doesn't specialize in
Licensed in
- FloridaLicense SW5444