Jamie McKenna (she/her)

I work with educators, college students and professionals of many fields to address burn out, compassion fatigue, and work related anxiety.

Transitions, identity, anxiety, grief, depression, social media, school challenges, peer circles, and new hobbies or interests... adolescence is full of changes and conflict. I love working with teens and have extensive experience working with teens and their caregivers.

Although we all confront grief or loss throughout life, our individual experiences with each loss are unique and can be quite impactful. Loss of sleep, loss of appetite, depression, irritability, anger, disconnection and new behaviors can all arise during periods of grief. I believe we can confront and overcome losses with health, and I help individuals gently unpack their own experience and explore the impacts of that loss on their own wellbeing.

I have supported individuals recovering from a wide range of traumatic experiences, and gently support my clients to understand the impact of their trauma on their mind, body, behaviors and relationships. I believe "The Body Keeps the Score" and much of our traumatic reactions are in our body- headaches, difficulty sleeping, body tension, and our "flight-fight" responses are just a few.

I consider mindfulness to be the moment-to-moment paying attention to our experiences. How are we breathing, feeling or reacting? While not a meditation expert, I incorporate mindfulness into nearly all of my treatment sessions. Clients of all ages have reflected back the positive impact of mindfulness during treatment, and often clients leave with helpful mindfulness tools and practices.

Understanding the many ways our complex identities interact is critical to my approach. I help individuals look at the systemic, cultural and internalized experiences of their identified race, class, gender, sexuality, ability and family identities.

Humans are relational beings. When our relationships suffer, it can be hard for to function or think about anything else. I work with individuals to confront anxiety, guilt, fear, jealousy, resentment, irritability, and longing, and help people feel more fully present and honest with themselves and others. I also help individuals define and pursue relationship goals, which could be related to intimacy, friendship, separation or conflict resolution.

Anxiety hits us all differently- from panic attacks to consistent thoughts or worries. I work with individuals to confront the mental, social, physical and emotional impacts of anxiety. Let's get to know your anxiety together. While I can't promise an overnight end to your anxiety, my goals for treatment of anxiety are a) a deepened understanding of your anxiety and it's triggers b) 3-5 tools for you to use to confront the anxiety.

Traumatic experiences leave a mark on our hearts, minds, and body. I have training in PTSD and work with individuals to gently explore their trauma, gain insight into the impact of trauma on their day-to-day living, and identify individual and social strategies to overcome the trauma. I bring a shame-free approach to my work, and am always impressed by the strength of humans to overcome our biggest traumas.