Jessica Waters PhD (she/her/we)

I have trained with the world more renown clinicians to understand trauma and practice the methods that combine both mind and body. I'm a certified clinical trauma specialist, a certified trauma informed expressive arts therapist, a certified somatic regulation level 3 practitioner, a HeartMath Resilient Heart and Stress/Anxiety Certified Provider and have studied trauma sensitive mindfulness, the neuroscience of trauma, Mindfulness Mind Fit with specific integrated, alternative practices.

After experiencing my own NDE and the loss of several members of my family my journey took me to understanding grief and loss in not only a clinical manner of treatment but also as a soul journey. Grief is an integration into your life. It often changes your life, perceptions and philosophies of life in many different ways. We look at spiritual perspectives, develop coping mechanisms, traverse through guided imagery, sound, movement and while using and creating rituals that honor your loss.

I am trained to use mind, body, behavior nutrition, movement/somatics, mindfulness and meditation, guided imagery, affirming thinking and traditional talk therapy along with supplement support, food/mood support and traditional indigenous practices to help develop coping strategies to navigate your anxiety. We explore expressive arts therapy in all my specialties and explore thoughts and the neuroscience behind anxiety, trauma, addiction, depression and loss.

I utilize an integrative approach that doesn't focus on only one method of therapy or coaching. I incorporate my training and certifications in Curanderismo (traditional folk medicine healing), energy work, sound healing, alternative and natural medicine, culinary medicine, mindfulness and meditation (moving and still), reflexology and acupressure, psychoeducation and culinary medicine to help people create lifestyle supports and alterations that influence them mind, body and spirit.

I am trained in trauma informed expressive arts therapy, therapeutic art, healing with the arts, art in palliative care, expressive arts in addiction recovery, grief, with the elderly with adolescents and children as well as for trauma recovery, anxiety and depression. I believe the arts (music, visual art, writing, dance, etc) saves lives and helps individuals process things that the mind cannot speak of making things conscious.

My philosophy of trauma treatment is deeply influenced by my years of training and education as well as experience with the teachings of Dr. Besel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Stephen Porgues, Cathy Malchiodi, Janina Fischer, Jamie Marich, and many more. I believe in the mind, body, spirit path of releasing trauma, healing wounds through releasing them through touch, movement, creative expression, guided imagery and imaginal revisiting, talk therapy, nutrition and learning triggers/coping.

I have my own personal experience with addiction and recovered from alcohol for 18 years. I believe in the medicine use of plant medicines for mental health including addiction treatment. As a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Guided Imagery Practitioner I've helped individuals manage their cravings and navigate alcoholism, binge drinking, cannabis physical addiction, stimulate abuse, chronic pain and anxiety, and process disorders (caffiene, sugar, relationships).

DBT offers wonderful interventions and processes for navigating distressing thoughts, anxiety, cravings and triggers. Mindfulness based, I use elements of DBT, CBT, ACT, SFT (solution focused) and person centered treatment.