Meet Jess Minckley

Hi, I’m Jess (they/them)

I’m a licensed mental health counselor in 2 states and a provisional art therapist (ATR-P). I am also a PhD student studying Art Therapy at Dominican University of California. I live in Northern California.

I hold a master’s in Applied Psychology from Antioch University where I studied Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Creative Arts Therapies. I earned certificates of Adlerian study and Adlerian psychotherapy from the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. I also have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in fine art, which I use to be an educator- 21 years and counting!

Before becoming a therapist I was (and still am) a client for a long time. During my youth, I made art as a way to cope and 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, even if they have been discouraged since they were very small.

My graduate research is on Acquired Disabilities & Chronic Illnesses. I’m a “spoonie” interested in the link between traumatic relational stress, lowered immune (and other) system function, and the subsequent increase in inflammatory and disease responses. Spoonies have very unique challenges to feeling belonging and encouragement.

I spent many years as a member of various 12-step peer support communities coming to understand the underlying causes behind adult addictive behaviors. I believe that big T and little t traumas are usually part of the recipe. There is a solution, however, if you have been harmed by Alcoholics Anonymous, please reach out for support as these models can be traumatizing for some people.

I also have a passion for supporting people recovering from the effects of complex relational abuse. These experiences often manifest in codependency which usually comes out sideways- in adult romantic relationships, friendships, and at work- through traits like perfectionism and anxiety. This is where you get concepts like boundary work, consent education, reparenting, finding embodied safety, and working with the nervous system.

I have been blessed with a lot of experience counseling men, in particular trans men. I also really enjoy supporting parents or caregivers of trans and/or queer kids as they navigate their inner process in therapy so their kids don’t have to witness it, which can be incredibly painful for them.

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!

Journey with jess

My Style

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 Feminist Therapy- we are equals in our humanness, I’m no guru. I also deeply believe and have experienced that if our hurts were created in-relationship, the solution has to be created in-relationship too. Therapist-client relationships are truly unique. This is why self-help has limits and why peer support is so powerful.

Humanistic

Buddhist/Contemplative

Mindfulness Meditation

Somatic Therapy

Attachment

Feminist & Multicultural

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. 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
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 crip Spoonie
A visual thinker (lots of stories and images in how I talk)
Very hard to surprise with regard to human behavior
The one protocol I do use is EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
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 am vehemently against ABA (applied behavioral analysis) and conversion therapy for children and teens

Looks for insight into your formative experiences to find answers to today’s struggles (spoiler alert- it’s using your already existing awesomeness!) If you don’t want to talk about your past, we can still work with it. If you don’t want to look at the past, I won’t be capable of helping you.
Looking at the whole picture - what you eat, how you sleep, your sex life and desires, your hobbies, work, family, self, health, community, existential issues, how much you exercise.
I make encouraging suggestions or recommendations for you to pursue supplemental therapies that align with your personal belief systems including but not limited to: nutrition & dietician (this does not mean weight loss. I will most likely not support weight loss as a therapy goal), Western medicine and Eastern medicine, massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, psychiatric medication, Reiki, dance, religion (if applicable) & spiritual realm, specialists, assessments/testing, accommodations, unemployment.

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 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.
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 strict EBP (evidence-based practices) such as CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), though Adlerian Psychology is a cognitive-behavioral approach in some ways
I am not trained in traditional ERP (exposure & response prevention) or ICBT (Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) treatment.
I do not administer Autism assessments
I do not write emotional support animal (ESA) letters
I cannot promise I will not mistakes, especially as it pertains to memory. I have a disability that demands we both be flexible when mistakes happen. I’m also just a human being.