Jessica Flewelling, is a limited licensed master social worker. She uses a client centered approach to aid children, adolescents, adults and couples with stress, relationship conflicts, difficult life transitions, past trauma, and sense of self issues. She has specialties working with children and families in foster care/adoption, as well as working with adoptive/foster/biological parents. She utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
She believes in creating a safe, welcoming place where people can become empowered, heal and grow.
Specialty Serivces
CBT
CPT
DBT
PCIT
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy that has been effective in reducing symptoms of PTSD that have developed after experiencing a variety of traumatic events including child/sexual abuse, combat and natural disasters.
CPT is generally delivered over 12 sessions and helps patients learn how to challenge and modify unhelpful beliefs related to the trauma. In so doing, the patient creates a new understanding and conceptualization of the traumatic event so that it reduces its ongoing negative effects on current life.
This treatment is strongly recommended for the treatment of PTSD.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on modifying dysfunctional emotions, behaviors, and thoughts by interrogating and uprooting negative or irrational beliefs. Considered a "solutions-oriented" form of talk therapy, CBT rests on the idea that thoughts and perceptions influence behavior.
CBT is appropriate for people of all ages, including children, adolescents, and adults. Evidence has mounted that CBT can address numerous conditions, such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and many others.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a structured program of psychotherapy with a strong educational component designed to provide skills for managing intense emotions and negotiating social relationships. Originally developed to curb the self-destructive impulses of chronic suicidal patients, it is also the treatment of choice for borderline personality disorder, emotion dysregulation, and a growing array of psychiatric conditions.
It consists of group instruction and individual therapy sessions, both conducted weekly for six months to a year, The “dialectic” in dialectical behavior therapy is an acknowledgment that real life is complex, and health is not a static thing, but an ongoing process hammered out through a continuous Socratic dialogue with the self and others. It is continually aimed at balancing opposing forces and investigating the truth of powerful negative emotions.
DBT acknowledges the need for change in a context of acceptance of situations and recognizes the constant flux of feelings—many of them contradictory—without having to get caught up in them. Therapist-teachers help patients understand and accept that thought is an inherently messy process. DBT is itself an interplay of science and practice.
EMDR
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a combination of play therapy and behavioral therapy for young children and their parents or caregivers. The adults learn and practice new skills and techniques for relating to children with emotional or behavioral problems, language issues, developmental disabilities, or mental health disorders.
Used mostly by parents and caregivers, this intervention teaches specific skills to help improve physical and verbal exchanges with their children. PCIT was developed for use with children ages 2 to 7 and has been shown to be effective for children who exhibit disruptive behavior or have experienced trauma, as well as those on the autism spectrum. PCIT and PCIT-based programs can also serve as interventions for preventing child abuse and neglect and for decreasing a child’s risk for antisocial and criminal behavior later in life.
EMDR is a psychotherapy technique designed to relieve the distress associated with disturbing memories. Short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, it involves recalling a specific troublesome experience while following a side-to-side visual stimulus delivered by the therapist. The resulting lateral eye movements are thought to help reduce the emotional charge of the memory so that the experience can be safely discussed, digested, and stripped of the power to trigger anxiety and avoidance.