One of the truths about life is that it is full of difficulty. Usually, we come to therapy when we are struggling and we know that our own resources are not working. My strategy with clients is to promote healing and growth by offering treatment that is evidenced-based and uses the inner wisdom you already possess to bring about change.

As a Buddhist and a meditation practitioner, I frequently bring guided mindfulness and breathing into my work. Supporting people to manage and transform their stress is critical to alleviating suffering and find beauty, peace and love.

Whether you are seeking this support and guidance or you are in crisis, I look forward to meeting with you and developing and working to achieve your goals.

My Background & Qualifications

With more than 25 years experience as a clinical social worker, I have a professional background working with children and families in a community mental health setting, addiction and co-dependency treatment, and hospice and palliative care.
 
  • Master’s in Social Work, University of Southern California, 1997
  • California Board of Behavioral Services, Licensed Clinical Social Worker No.119987
  • Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute, Two-year Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Certificate, 1999
  • Metta Institute, End-of-Life Practitioner Certificate, 2016
  • AF-EMDR Training in process, Parnell Institute, 2024. Monthly consultation group with Christine Ashe, Certified AF-EMDR Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner

Grief and Loss

I have an extensive background working with grief and loss as a hospice social worker. Whether we’ve experienced the loss of loved one following a death or a separation, estrangement or divorce, that loss can go to core of who we are. I liken grief to a wild animal that does not respond to tricks or training. Sometimes we cannot talk ourselves out of it and reach a place where we know we need help. I create a safe environment that is conductive to change by validating your pain, processing memories and activating neurological resources that will help you release the power that the grief has over you. This process starts with a positive, collaborative relationship that stays focused on your goals. The result is the development of inner strength and trust in yourself allowing you to recover a sense of peace.

Addiction, Compulsive Behaviors and Codependency

There is no doubt that addiction is one of the most confusing and demoralizing aspect of the human condition. When you get trapped by behavior that seems to solve one problem, but then the consequences destroy everything you value, you know that you need help. I come to the treatment of addiction with a background of 10 years at Kaiser Chemical Dependency Services. I will join you on this journey of recovery with the goal of healing underlying forces that are driving the compulsive behavior. We must embark on this journey with great compassion and respect for how you initially turned to the substance or behavior as a coping strategy. I am versed in both harm reduction and 12-step, abstinence-based models. Together we can work to get you unstuck and moving forward in your life.

Chronic Pain, Cancer, Life-limiting Diagnoses, and Medical Trauma

If you have been coping with chronic pain, a diagnosis of cancer, or any medical condition that has changed the trajectory or quality of your life, then seeking support and resources can be crucial. My background in hospice and palliative care gives me the capacity to provide a comprehensive perspective that will inform the work we do together. We will develop your inner resources which will allow you to process and release the emotional burden you are carrying thereby clearing the way for your body to instruct you on next steps.

Caregiver and Provider Fatigue/Burnout

I have an extensive background in working with caregivers, nurses, doctors and parents that are struggling with fatigue and emotional or mental health challenges.
 
I create a therapy environment that identifies and validates your role as person of service in the world. I endeavor to create a space that validates and sees you for who you are and how hard you’ve been working. Perhaps how you have sacrificed yourself and are now feeling lost and overwhelmed. In our work, we will promote the development of healthy boundaries, identify self care needs, and tap into your capacity for self love.

Explanation of EMDR by Laurel Parnell, PhD.

When a trauma or significant stressor occurs, we understand that it seems to get locked in the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts and feelings that went in at the time of the event. The bilateral stimulation (BLS) we use in EMDR seem to unlock the nervous system and allow the mind and body to process the experience. That may be what is happening in REM or dream sleep – the bilateral stimulation helps to process the unconscious material. It is important to remember that it is your own brain that will be doing the healing and that you are the one in control.
 
We will begin by bringing up a memory you want to work on with the thoughts, feelings, and body sensations associated with it in order to stimulate the memory network. Then we will begin the bilateral stimulation and you are to let whatever happens happen without censoring it. It is like a mind-body free association. When you feel like you are at the end of a piece of processing and you are ready to check in, we will pause the bilateral stimulation, I will ask you what is happening, and you simply report back to me your experience. We will then begin a new set of bilateral stimulation. At times I will ask you to return to the memory you started with and to tell me your experience. It is most important that you not judge or censor your experience. We’ll do the BLS for a while and then we’ll talk about it. We’ll keep doing bilateral stimulation and check-ins until the memory you started with is no longer disturbing to you. 
 
 

Contact Details:

Phone #: 707-318-6584
Email: jmckenzielcsw@gmail.com
Address: 659 Cherry Street, Suite 206, Santa Rosa, CA 95404