A person with mid-length hair smiling and holding a small, multi-colored chiweenie puppy indoors near a window with curtains and greenery.

Jessi has been practicing psychotherapy for almost 2 decades

I met my first client in 2006, in my role as a counseling intern at Northwestern University’s Family Institute. Since completing my MA in Counseling Psychology, I have worked in non-profit, public, and private practice settings, as both a clinical counsellor and a clinical supervisor.

I have completed postgraduate training in a variety of theoretical approaches and modalities, including relational psychodynamic therapy, multi-systemic family therapy, motivational interviewing, and dialectical behaviour therapy. I maintain my status as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York State and am also registered as a clinical counsellor (RCC) in British Columbia.

In addition to my counselling experience and qualifications, I have a history of queer and feminist academic work and organizing. I completed an undergraduate degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Cornell University, and a PhD in American Studies at University at Buffalo (SUNY). My academic research focused on prison abolition, and my book, Uniform Feelings, is a critique of how psychotherapists participate in policing. I have also worked in community and union organizing in Chicago, supporting striking hotel workers and criminalized youth in their campaigns for social and economic justice. My practice continues to be rooted in two things that guided these pursuits: a commitment to interrupting cycles and systems of harm, and a recognition of the value of diverse ways of being.

In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my dog, watching movies, running in the woods, and making pottery.

A person smiling and crouching on a trail in a forest with trees and a waterfall in the background.