Hi. I'm Jessica
I'm a truth seeker. I'm here on a mission to deeply understand relationships and human dynamics. I'm compelled by the complexities of motherhood, and I recognize matrescence as a phase of life in which so much pain is handed down, and so much healing is possible.
I've been a therapist for a couple of decades now, but it wasn't until I found Internal Family Systems in 2016 that I really arrived. As a Level 3, Internal Family Systems Approved Clinical Consultant, I bring parts work into the domain of motherhood to help moms understand themselves and heal. I help moms unshackle from the critical voices inside and outside that tell them they're not good enough (they are). I support clinicians who want to deepen their understanding of IFS, matrescence and motherhood.
These days I'm focused on integrating ketamine into my work with moms, because of its incredible power to untangle internal knots and allow access to healing...quickly. I'm also writing a book called When Good Moms Feel Bad: Using Internal Family Systems to Heal Distress in Mothers, due to be published in 2026 by Hachette.
I'm excited to be on this healing journey with you.
My Story
Where I Come From
I’m a white, cis, hetero woman who identifies as a mom, step-mom, wife and most of all, as a seeker of the truth. I come from a long line of musicians and writers and I grew up with parents who were talented, troubled and turbulent. Throughout my life, my mom (the little girl pictured here with my grandma) had significant addictions and mental health challenges and didn’t provide the kind of mothering I needed. She grew up in a home where there was domestic violence and sexual abuse.
My ACE score is 8. I carried some very heavy burdens with me into a precarious and painful adolescence, from which I did my best to launch into adulthood and motherhood. For all my years, I have been reckoning with my own childhood wounds, trying to understand what happened to my mom that kept her from mothering well - and then figuring out how to grow myself into the kind of mom I aspired to be.
As a teen and young adult I was a performing singer and songwriter, trying to tell my story and connect my lonely kid parts to a sense of belonging through music. From age 14 to age 34 I pursued music - writing, recording and performing. But I got tired of being poor and I wanted a career trajectory I could better control. I went to graduate school in my 30's, hungry for all the knowledge I could ingest on the topics of attachment, dissociation, relationships, trauma and healing.
More than anything else, I wanted to be a mom. After 15 years of therapy and a graduate program in clinical psychology, I believed myself to be thoroughly prepared for motherhood (haha). But my postpartum years completely blasted apart my psychological infrastructure. Matrescence forced me to reckon with an onslaught of truths I had been avoiding up until that point. Learning to mother this precious little person taught me how to mother myself.
A few years later I discovered Internal Family Systems. IFS brought me the structure I needed to heal the deeper layers that I hadn't been able to access through talk therapy. I'm still obsessed with IFS, motherhood and healing - and I feel very lucky and grateful to get keep growing and sharing this healing with you.
My Experience
Education & Training
Education
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UCLA - Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
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Antioch University - Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology
Training & Certification
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Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
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IFSI Approved Clinical Consultant
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Perinatal Mental Health Certified (PMH-C)
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Internal Family Systems Certified (Level 3)
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Intimacy From the Inside Out, Post-Advanced Training
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Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy
