About Us
Imagine a safe space to heal.
Jess is a member of the +++LGBTQIA2S+++ community. They are gender-affirming & sex-positive. They are allied with people who hold marginalized identities, including sexual identity: those in the kink community and those who practice consensual non-monogamy (CNM).
They are body-positive, which extends far beyond health at every size (HAES) and into stigmatized shapes, disability, disfiguration, and body differences. They aspire to be antiracist and anti-oppression by employing a Liberation Psychology framework, which means they actively engage in dismantling systems of oppression, including in the therapeutic arena. The Feminist approach means more egalitarian relationshipping than you may be accustomed to in therapy.
Meet Jess Minckley
Hi, I’m Jess (they/them)
I’m a licensed counselor and a Registered Art Therapist (ATR) living and working in Los Angeles, California. I hold a master’s in Applied Psychology from Antioch University Seattle, where I studied Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Creative Arts Therapies.
I’ve earned certificates of Adlerian study and Adlerian psychotherapy from the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. I also have a bachelor and master degree in Fine Art from Otis College of Art & Design. I’ve been an art educator for over 20 years.
I’ve been in therapy myself for 30 years. During my youth, I made art as a way to cope with a life I couldn’t control. Once I learned about art therapy, I already knew it worked because I’d done it with myself. As a teacher, I encountered my students healing through art & our relationship. I believe all people are creative and artistic, sometimes they have just been discouraged by others.
My research has been on topics from Chronic Illness & Belongingness to Sexual Harm in the Trans/Gender Diverse community to Art Therapy with people on the Ace/Aro spectrum. I also write and lecture about the connection between creativity and happiness, and am frequently contacted about the education of art therapists. I’m happy to speak to you if you’re interested in becoming an art therapist!
I’m a “spoonie” interested in the link between traumatic relational stress & lowered immune system function. The subsequent increase in inflammatory and disease responses are real. Spoonies have very unique challenges to feeling belonging and inclusion.
I spent many years as a member of various 12-step peer support communities coming to understand the underlying causes behind adult addictive & dysfunctional behaviors. However, some people have been harmed by AA or other peer support groups. Please reach out for support if so.
I also have a passion for supporting people recovering from the effects of complex relational abuse. These experiences often “come out sideways”. Adult romantic relationships, friendships, work can be challenging due to adaptations like perfectionism, people-pleasing, and neurosis. This is where boundary work, consent education, reparenting, finding embodied safety, and working with the nervous system can help.
I have been blessed with a lot of experience counseling men, in particular trans men.
I also really enjoy supporting parents of trans & queer kids as they navigate their inner process in therapy so their kids don’t have to witness it, which can be confusing and incredibly painful for kids. Some people say that kids are the future, I think parents hold the keys to changing the world. I love the Adlerian teachings on working with kids & teens and am always so excited when I get to share it with parents. A lot of parents will happily spend their money on their kid’s therapy. Rarely do they realize that it’s a whole-family affair that requires they “do their work” too. You can do it. There is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow!
Our Office
6919 North Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90042
I’m affirming of
Black & African American people, Indigenous people, and people of color
fat bodied people
transgender, non-binary, intersex, & otherwise gender diverse individuals
the neurodivergent / people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
members of the d/Disability community
people living with chronic illness and/or pain
individuals who struggle with addictions
My Style & Approaches
What you will notice about me is that I love to laugh, I can articulate things clearly, and I’m not afraid to interrupt or challenge people. I’m also very persony, so I talk about appropriate things about myself in therapy, such as telling the truth when someone asks “how are you?”.
This is called a Feminist approach: we are equals in our humanness; I’m no guru. The Fellow Traveler means I’m growing and changing just like you. I believe that if our hurts were created in-relationship, the solution has to be created in-relationship too. We will establish a real relationship. Therapist-client relationships are truly unique. This is why self-help has limits and why peer support is so powerful.
Art-making
Humanist
Contemplative
Mindfulness Meditation
Somatic Therapy
Attachment Theory
Feminist Theory
Cultural Humility
Polyvagal Theory
Meet the
co-therapists:
Canine-assisted psychotherapy will soon be offered with our adorable pups.
I work best with people who have been in therapy before.
I work best with people who have been in therapy before.
What I am…
I’m a “real” talker, down to Earth + hot takes
Anticapitalist leftist
Strengths-based, positive psychology, non-pathologizing
Frank. I can call people on their crap without judgment.
Insight-oriented
Goofy and funny. My clients and I like to laugh and make fun of ourselves sometimes, even in the darkest times
Likes to take things a bit deeper. Is capable of holding many layers of complexity and conceptualizing the connections- and the way forward
A visual thinker (lots of stories and images in how I speak)
Very hard to surprise with regard to human behavior
The one protocol I do use is EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). This can also be done with art-making.
I trust the evidence called “common factors”. It says across dozens of various therapy models, the only thing that was consistent in helping people: our relationship is the solution. This is called Humanistic or Person-Centered.
I look into your formative experiences to find answers to today’s struggles. Spoiler alert- you solve problems using your already existing awesomeness! If you don’t want to talk about your past, we can still work with it nonverbally sometimes.
I try to see into the whole picture: what you eat, how you sleep, what medication you take, your sex life/desires, hobbies, work, family, self-image, internalized oppression, physical health, your community, existential issues, and how much you exercise.
I do write Gender-Affirming surgery letters to surgeons provided we do a formal interview.
What I’m not…
Not a ma’am, girl, lady, or woman- just a person
I’m not a coach, so if you’re looking to solve targeted, logistical problems through 6 easy steps, I’m not it.
If you’re not ready to [or ready to contemplate how to] face your own dragons and take steps toward accountability, I am not your best therapist
If you don’t want to look at the past, I won’t be capable of helping you.
I am vehemently against ABA (applied behavioral analysis) and conversion therapy for children & teens
If you need support such as executive functioning, time management, or mental roadblocks, try to find an ADHD coach.
I’m not the best therapist out there for people who want solely to tackle their ADHD symptoms. I have many clients with ADHD (some who know they have it when they start, some find out) but we are dealing with holistic issues which also touch upon trauma, relationships, and the Self too.
Symptom management can be part of the treatment for this or I can refer you to a special ADHD adjunctive service, such as a coach, psychometrist, or psychiatric provider.
I don’t often give you a list of tasks to accomplish like homework (unless you want it). People don’t do their homework. Let’s not create another thing to feel ashamed about.
I don’t use workbooks or worksheets. You can do those on your own time- it’s much cheaper than therapy. Most people come to therapy after self-help has not yielded the results they have hoped for.
I don’t do manualized treatments like CPT (cognitive processing therapy), TRE (trauma release exercises), Somatic Experiencing, etc. for the treatment of trauma except EMDR, with which I take ethical creative license. While I can offer you various interventions from these modalities, I see things as more organic, intuitive, holistic and relational. This means we take a multi-pronged approach, tossing what doesn’t work for Y.O.U.
I’m not strictly EBP (evidence-based practices) because there are not enough clinical trials for approaches such as art therapy and EMDR yet…
My CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is folded into the rest of my work, through Adlerian Psychology.
I am an autodidact about ERP (exposure & response prevention) & I-CBT (Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). These modalities do not have certifications.
I do not administer the kind of Autism assessments that often serve accommodations. These typically have to be done by doctoral-level psychometricists.
I do not write emotional support animal (ESA) letters as I am not trained in the legalities.
I cannot promise I will not make MiStAkEs, especially as it pertains to memory. I have a disability that demands that we both be flexible when mistakes happen. I’m also just a human being and I’d like to be given a little grace.
I make encouraging recommendations
for you to pursue supplemental services and therapies that are outside of my scope of practice but align with your personal belief systems.
Take what you like and leave the rest.
These include but are not limited to:
Registered nutritionists & dieticians (RDNs). This does not mean weight loss. I will most likely not be useful to you if weight loss is a therapy goal, as I am fat-positive, body-inclusive, and HAES: health at any size. I believe in your bodily autonomy, and this is a grey area for me regarding bias.
Western medical doctors: Primary care/Internal Medicine, Specialists such as Immunologists, Gynecologists/Reproductive Healthcare professionals, Gastrointestinal doctors, Rheumatologists, Cardiologists, Gender-Affirming Care specialists, blood labs, CAT scans and MRIs, Dermatologists & Dentists (you can die from untreated dental issues!)
Eastern medicine & Naturopathy, such as herbal and mineral supplements, acupuncture, and Ayurveda. Massage, physical therapy, cranio-sacral practitioners
Psychiatric medication providers (PMHNPs, PAs, & doctors)
Other spiritual/energetic: Reiki, dance, chanting, hypnosis
Religion (if applicable) & the cosmological/spiritual realm, psychics
Psychometric assessments & testing
Disability: Accommodations, SSI/SSDI, FMLA (although, I cannot write letters for this as I am not a doctoral-level trained clinician or a medical doctor).
Unemployment insurance
Veteran’s benefits
ADHD coaches
COVID testing & immunizations
