My passions and interests: I am passionate about music, about justice, about writing and reading to heal, about community, and about recognizing, naming and exploring (and ultimately dismantling) systems of power. I spend a LOT of my time reading around: intersectionality, prison/incarceration abolition, racism, grief work, feminism, family systems, trauma and recovery, nervous system integration, attachment, sexism, disability and chronic illness justice, somatics and Indigenous healing work, fighting white supremacy, religious/spiritual trauma, adoption trauma, neuroscience, and devouring memoirs from folks with diverse backgrounds. I take delight in my family and dear friends, singing, my pets, trying to keep my houseplants alive, laying in the hammock, painting my nails, architecture, poetry, a good cry, playing the piano, laughing until my face hurts, an enthralling show, thrifting, and delicious food (mostly from the continent of Asia) and coffee or tea.
Background: All of my past varied experiences have prepared me to be the therapist I am today, and although I’ve cared about helping those who are hurting since I was very young, I took a winding path to get here. I’ve been a substitute school teacher at public and private schools, a pastor (in what feels like another life altogether), a voice and piano teacher, a hospital Clinical Spiritual Care Provider (Chaplain), and before starting my own practice, I worked as a counselor in Community Mental Health, serving youth, adults, children and families in schools, residential treatment settings, domestic violence shelters, homes, incarceration institutions, and wherever folks were at. In 2020, I started the Counseling Program at a local non-profit that serves young people who’ve been impacted by the Criminal Punishment system. It was a tremendous honor to work with these resilient young people, and it cemented my desire to make therapy accessible (we offered free individual and group therapy to anyone in the program). I volunteer therapy through a non-profit program for former or current Foster System involved youth called A Home Within. I am also available to provide free therapy to Black community members through this incredible organization created by Ashley McGirt-Adair called Therapy Fund Foundation.
Hopes: I hope to help create a world where everyone can thrive, where education is prioritized over incarceration, and where families and children are safe from exploitation. I personally want spiritual, social, emotional, financial and physical thriving. I want to see re-indigenization, affordable healthcare and housing, a place where music and the arts and healing are prioritized over tech, AI and capitalism. I want us to have refreshing instead of burnout, and for gratitude to mark every day. I want wars to cease, and for the Earth to prosper, and for every person to know how essential we are to one another.
THERAPY WITH JANA 