Services

Growth and Change Start Now

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

DBT therapy offers a structured pathway to change, starting with mindfulness and building skills for managing distress, regulating emotions, and fostering healthier relationships. This evidence-based approach is highly effective in addressing intense emotional struggles, self-harm, and suicidal behaviors. Together, we'll assess whether DBT therapy can help you build a more fulfilling life.

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy is a partnership. We'll work together to understand how your past shapes your present, and then develop a personalized approach to help you move towards growth and lasting change. I specialize in supporting teens (13+), young adults, and adults navigating challenges like suicidality, self-harm, emotional intensity, trauma, anxiety, and depression. My approach recognizes the powerful connection between thoughts and behaviors, and I've witnessed the transformative power of DBT in helping individuals build fulfilling lives.

Family, Parents or Couples Therapy. Parent Coaching.

Relationships, in all their complexity, present challenges for everyone. In therapy, I prioritize early intervention to foster healthier dynamics. We'll focus on enhancing communication, cultivating compassion, practicing relationship mindfulness, expanding perspective-taking, and creating a sense of safety for all involved. Utilizing DBT, EFT, family systems, and high-conflict couple approaches, I'm equipped to support you at any stage of your relationship journey. Even when navigating separation, we can work together to achieve your goals with skill and compassion. For parents of emotionally dysregulated teens or adult children, our sessions can provide valuable behavioral strategies to avoid reinforcing unhelpful patterns.

Trauma Treatment

My approach is rooted in trauma-informed principles, acknowledging the impact of trauma on everyone. I'm dedicated to helping you move beyond these experiences and build resilience. My specialized training in DBT-PE provides effective tools for processing trauma and fostering lasting change.

DBT + DBT PE is delivered in three stages, with Stage 1 using DBT to achieve behavioral control, Stage 2 targeting PTSD via the DBT PE protocol, and Stage 3 using DBT to address any problems that remain after PTSD is treated.
Stage 1 DBT is delivered without adaptation with the goal of helping clients to achieve the stability and skills necessary to safely and effectively engage in subsequent PTSD treatment.
Clients must meet specified, principle-driven readiness criteria to begin the DBT PE protocol in Stage 2, including a requirement of abstinence from all forms of suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury for 2 months (outpatient settings) or 1 month (intensive treatment settings).
The DBT PE protocol is an adapted version of Prolonged Exposure therapy that uses the core procedures of in vivo exposure to feared but objectively safe situations and imaginal exposure and processing of trauma memories.
The DBT PE protocol includes three treatment phases: Pre-Exposure (2-3 sessions), Exposure (flexible number of sessions), and Consolidation and Relapse Prevention (1-2 sessions).
On average, the DBT PE protocol has been started after 20 weeks of DBT and lasts 13 sessions.

DBT Skills Group:

A Path to Emotional Well-being

Our DBT Skills Groups offer a structured and supportive environment to help you develop crucial emotional regulation skills. Led by experienced therapists, these groups function much like a class, focusing on practical skill acquisition rather than process-oriented discussion.

What You'll Learn

The group curriculum is divided into four core modules:

Core Mindfulness: Learn to be present and aware, gaining a better sense of emotional control.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: Develop healthier ways to navigate relationships and communicate your needs.
Emotion Regulation: Acquire strategies to understand and manage intense emotions.
Distress Tolerance: Build your ability to cope with difficult situations and urges without making things worse.

Each module is designed to empower you with tools to navigate challenging emotions and situations more effectively.

What to Expect

Participation in the DBT Skills Group involves a commitment to your growth. You'll be asked to:

Complete a daily diary card to track your emotions and skill use.
Engage in homework assignments outside of group sessions.
Embrace a willingness to make healthy, albeit challenging, changes in your life.

The group provides an extremely supportive and nonjudgmental space where you can safely explore your experiences. While detailed discussions of suicidal or self-harming behaviors are reserved for individual therapy to ensure a safe environment for all participants, you'll have the opportunity to share relevant weekly experiences and discuss how you applied (or didn't apply) the skills learned.

The second half of each group session is dedicated to teaching new skills through didactic techniques, role-playing, and discussions, providing you with concrete strategies you can immediately implement.

Commitment to Growth

To truly integrate and apply these skills, we strongly suggest a 12-month commitment for adult clients, which allows for two full rounds of the 6-month skills curriculum. Teens are required to make a minimum 6-month commitment. This dedicated time helps ensure you fully absorb and generalize the skills into your daily life.

Clinical Supervision

Elevate Your Practice: Supervision with Jen Dawn, LCSW

Supervision is more than just guidance; it's a collaborative relationship dedicated to your professional growth, well-being, and the exceptional care of your clients. For over a decade, I've empowered associates across diverse settings—private practice, group practice, and county mental health—to reach their full potential.

In our sessions, we'll delve deep into:

Case Consultations: Sharpen your clinical skills and develop effective treatment strategies.
Client Goals: Ensure your clients are making meaningful progress.
Professional Development: Align your career aspirations with actionable steps.
The Nuances of Therapeutic Work: Navigate the complexities of the therapeutic relationship.