Holistic Psychotherapy

• • • Jesalyn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and currently offers individual sessions in person in the San Diego area and remotely for folks in California.
    • She believes a mind, body, spirit approach is the best way to sustain lasting changes and draws from a variety of modalities including Mindfulness, Energy Psychology, Somatic Experiencing, Yoga and Spirituality.
    • Jesalyn has an authentic and down to earth demeanor and works well with people who haven’t had luck with traditional therapy in the past.
    • Currently you can find her with the group practices Bay Area Mental Health (cash pay specializing in DBT, groups and trauma treatment) & Silverlake Psychology (takes insurance)
    • Jesalyn occasionally has sliding scale openings at Open Path Collective

Do I need therapy? 

There are a variety of different reasons a person might seek therapy. Some of these include: life transitions, relationship difficulty, mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression, processing past trauma or abuse, or a desire to explore and heal family patterns. Sometimes we just need someone to be a witness to our process. Therapy is most successful when you take an active role in your own treatment. I consider myself a guide but you are always the expert in your own life.

Is it confidential?

Yes with some limitations. Therapists are required to keep client information confidential unless there is a safety issue. What you share in therapy doesn’t leave the room unless you talk about hurting yourself, hurting someone else or other safety issues such as child abuse or adult abuse.

What should I expect?

In traditional psychotherapy also know as “talk therapy” you would expect to do just that…talk about what is going on in your life. And while sessions with me do including talking, I also find it very important to consider the body’s role in our healing. This means I might ask you to pay attention to certain areas of the body sometimes through guided meditation, reflection or gentle touch and movement. Trauma and memories are held in our cells and sometimes the mind forgets, whereas the body always remembers. There is a famous trauma informed book by Bessel van der Kolk called “The Body Keeps the Score” and it’s a very true statement that informs a lot of the work that I do with people.

Does therapy work?

Of course I would not have chosen this field if I did not believe in the power of therapy but I have witnessed first hand the many positive changes people are able to make due in part to therapy. Two aspects that seem to have the most impact are the relationship with the therapist and the person’s level of willingness to do the work. I often say that weekly therapy is only practice for life; it’s what we do outside the therapy room that creates the most lasting change. The support of a skilled and compassionate therapist is the best companion as you journey to your best self.