Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer’s approach to therapy is interactive, warm and accepting. She tailors each treatment to the patient’s individual needs and uses a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, stress management, play therapy, inner child work, mood management and emotional regulation, anxiety reduction, strength identification and empowerment to help patients meet their goals. Understanding that life can be overwhelming, Jennifer helps create a safe environment where patients can drop pretentions and be truly open about emotions and experiences. Jennifer wants patients to feel comfortable exploring and processing thru difficult feelings and experiences that are holding them stagnant in life. Her goal is to help patient identify what is preventing them from achieving their greatest potential and develop strategies to overcome these issues. She works to restore patient’s sense of self and belief in their own abilities.

As a parent, she also understands the unique challenges and frustrations of parenthood especially since children often cannot verbalize their fears, needs and wants. For young children, she utilizes play therapy to assist them in expressing feelings, modifying behavior, developing problem-solving skills, and learning a variety of ways of relating to others. Play therapy helps children to express themselves when they don’t have the verbal skills or cognitive capacity to tell you what is troubling them. Research shows that play therapy can assist children whose problems are related to life stressors, such as divorce, death, relocation, hospitalization, chronic illness, assimilate stressful experiences, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, and natural disasters. She also works with adolescents to overcome self-esteem issues associated with peer pressure, bullying and body image issues. In addition, she works with parents to not only ensure they understand developmental stages and normal childhood behavior but also assist them in coping with the challenges of parenting a child who is acting out, anxious or sad.