Welcome! You have been searching for relief, possibly for months. You need some rest, peace of mind and a plan for how to navigate all of the changes that have come your way. The decision to begin counseling wasn’t an easy one. You want to feel better and move on. Today you have taken a leap of courage and begun the search for help.
Trust me, I get it, I am a mom, a wife and small business owner (as I type this it is 6:30 am and there’s a 2 year old on my lap.) Asking for help is difficult. Change is hard (even when we have dreamt of and tried hard to achieve it). Now it’s here: Change has come. You are tense, tired, overwhelmed and wondering if life will ever return to normal. I am here to tell you that things will get better. What seems like a never ending emotional roller coaster can slow to a calm cruise. With some focus, education and self-awareness, you will feel better and be able to move forward.
My name is Jeanne. I have always had a passion for helping. At 19 years old, I became a massage therapist. A few years later, I began teaching and managing a massage school. Later, I opened my own vocational massage school. Massage is where my journey into listening to people’s stories began. I got into counseling after listening to the struggles of massage clients and students I was teaching. I knew if they got support, life skills and planning they would feel better, have more confidence and be more fulfilled.
How can I help you? Together we will tackle your distress. We will work to calm your mind and relax your body so you are able to think, sleep, laugh and enjoy your new life. We will not reinvent the wheel. Instead, we will focus on discovering what has been working for you and add to that. We will work from the present to increase your self-awareness, address the past as it affects you today, discover your strengths and give you skills that will last a lifetime.
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT#77993), I am here to help you feel better so you can live a more fulfilling life. I take holistic approach to therapy addressing body and mind while acknowledging the other forces (social and environmental) that affect your well-being. With a positive, strengths-based focus, I am your collaborator; we will work together to find solutions to the challenges you face.
My Education and Experience I earned a master degree in Counseling Psychology in 2009 from California State University, Bakersfield. After graduating from CSUB, I spent a year studying Somatic Psychology (the interaction between mind and body) at Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. I completed a 3000 hour Marriage and Family Therapy internship in community mental health, university training clinic and private practice settings. In 2013, I became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist.
I served as clinic manager at the University Counselor Training Clinic at CSU Bakersfield for 3 years during my MFT internship. As clinic manager, I provided counseling and assisted graduate students with launching their counseling careers while working alongside the clinic director to keep the clinic running smoothly. After receiving my MFT license, I ran a private counseling practice for 3 years before taking time off of counseling to have my second child.
I have compled a course on Maternal Mental Health to assist pregnant and new parents navigate the changes associated with having a baby. I help parents connect with their babies as a Certified Infant Massage Instructor®. My 23 year experience with therapeutic massage gives me greater insight and understanding of the mind-body connection; particularly related to how stress affects the body and mind and the physical changes of women’s bodies’ during and after pregnancy and due to hormone changes.
On a personal note I got started on building my family later in life. I was married at 36, had my first daughter at 37 and second at 40. My family is a blended family (my husband brought my son into our family). Raising children is one of the most rewarding and challenging things I have ever experienced. In my spare time, I enjoy relaxing with my family and pets, reading and being outdoors. My guilty pleasures are a cup of coffee with cocoa powder and honey, 80s new wave music and historical fiction. I understand the challenges of balancing motherhood, career and free time.