Licensed to practice in Utah and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Family Conflict, Men's Issues and 4 more.
(he/him)
New to Grow
I’m Jericho Avery, a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Keys to Mending Therapy & Wellness. I work with people who feel stuck in anxiety, trauma, shame, relationship pain, codependency, or patterns they cannot seem to break. My style is calm, direct, and compassionate. I believe therapy should give you a place to be understood, but also a place to learn, practice, and change. I use CBT, DBT, EMDR, Adlerian therapy, and compassion-focused therapy to help clients understand where their patterns came from and how to respond differently now. I value honesty, personal growth, self-awareness, and practical skill building. I also know that healing is not just about insight; it is about courage, repetition, support, and learning to make different choices when life feels hard. My goal is to help you feel more grounded, set healthier boundaries, regulate emotions, heal old wounds, and build relationships that feel safer and more connected. Therapy with me is active, collaborative, and focused on helping you move toward a more stable and meaningful life, one step at a time.
Your first session is a chance for us to get to know each other and begin understanding what brought you to therapy. We will talk about what you are currently struggling with, what you hope to change, and any important background that may help me better understand your situation. You do not have to share everything at once; we will move at a pace that feels respectful and manageable. I will ask questions about your symptoms, relationships, history, strengths, coping skills, and goals for therapy. We may also discuss what has or has not been helpful in past counseling experiences. The first session is not about judgment or pressure; it is about creating clarity, safety, and direction. By the end of the session, we will begin identifying a plan for treatment and what therapy may look like moving forward. I will also answer questions about my approach, confidentiality, scheduling, and what you can expect in future sessions. My goal is for you to leave the first session feeling more understood, more grounded, and clearer about the next step in your healing process.
I bring a calm, steady, and direct presence to therapy. My clients can expect compassion, but not passive agreement or surface-level support. I believe therapy works best when clients feel understood and are gently challenged to look at the patterns, beliefs, defenses, and choices that may be keeping them stuck. My approach stands out because I focus on both insight and practical change. I want clients to understand where their pain comes from, but I also want them to leave therapy with skills they can use in real life: emotional regulation, clearer communication, healthier boundaries, self-compassion, and more honest self-awareness. I use approaches like CBT, DBT, EMDR, Adlerian therapy, and compassion-focused therapy to help clients work through pain while building a stronger, more grounded way of living. I am not the type of therapist who only sits quietly and nods. There are times when holding space is necessary, especially when someone is grieving, overwhelmed, or processing trauma. But I am also willing to ask hard questions, point out patterns, and help clients confront the gap between the life they want and the choices they are currently making. My life and professional experience have taught me that healing usually requires both compassion and responsibility. People often come to therapy carrying shame, fear, trauma, relationship wounds, spiritual pain, or years of self-protection. I try to create a space where clients do not feel judged for how they survived, while also helping them develop the courage and skills to live differently now.
My ideal client is someone who feels emotionally stuck and is ready to understand the deeper patterns driving their anxiety, trauma responses, relationship struggles, people-pleasing, codependency, or self-criticism. They may function well on the outside while internally feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, ashamed, guarded, or exhausted from carrying old wounds. They are likely looking for therapy that is both compassionate and practical: a place to feel understood, but also a place to learn concrete tools for emotional regulation, boundaries, healthier thinking, and relational repair.
Other specialties
I identify as
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT helps you understand how your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors influence one another. In sessions, we work together to identify patterns that may be keeping you stuck, such as avoidance, self-criticism, worry, or unhelpful assumptions. CBT is practical and skills-based, often using tools like thought records, behavior experiments, problem-solving, exposure, and between-session practice. The goal is not to “think positive,” but to think more accurately and respond more effectively. CBT can be helpful for anxiety, depression, trauma-related symptoms, stress, relationship patterns, and behavioral change
Adlerian
Adlerian therapy focuses on understanding you as a whole person, including your relationships, life experiences, family patterns, beliefs, strengths, and goals. This approach explores how early experiences may have shaped the way you see yourself, others, and the world. Adlerian therapy often helps clients identify discouraging beliefs, patterns of comparison, feelings of inadequacy, or ways they seek belonging and significance. The work is collaborative, encouraging, and focused on building insight, personal responsibility, courage, and healthier choices. The goal is to help you move toward a stronger sense of purpose, connection, and meaningful contribution in your life.
Compassion Focused
Compassion-focused therapy helps clients who struggle with shame, self-criticism, guilt, emotional threat, or difficulty feeling safe within themselves. CFT teaches that the mind can become heavily shaped by threat-based patterns, especially when a person has experienced criticism, trauma, rejection, or chronic stress. In therapy, we work on developing a more compassionate inner voice, not as a way to excuse harmful behavior, but as a way to create emotional safety and support real change. CFT may include mindfulness, imagery, breathing practices, values-based action, and exercises that strengthen self-compassion and compassion toward others. The goal is to help you respond to pain with steadiness, courage, and care rather than harshness, avoidance, or collapse.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT is a skills-based therapy that helps clients manage intense emotions, reduce impulsive or self-defeating behaviors, and improve relationships. The word “dialectical” refers to learning how to hold two truths at once, such as accepting yourself while also working toward change. DBT commonly teaches four core skill areas: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. In therapy, we focus on applying these skills to real-life situations, especially during moments of conflict, overwhelm, shutdown, or emotional escalation. DBT can be especially useful for clients who feel emotionally reactive, stuck in all-or-nothing thinking, or unsure how to cope without making things worse.
EMDR
EMDR therapy helps the brain reprocess distressing memories, experiences, or beliefs that continue to feel emotionally “stuck.” Instead of requiring you to talk through every detail of a painful event, EMDR uses a structured process that may include bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping, or alternating tones. The goal is to reduce the emotional intensity of traumatic memories and help the brain store them in a less distressing way. EMDR often focuses on the connection between past experiences, current triggers, body sensations, emotions, and negative beliefs about the self. This approach may be helpful for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, panic, grief, shame, and other experiences where the nervous system continues reacting as if the past is still present.