Jenna Richardson, MSW, LSWAIC
Licensed Social Worker Associate Independent Clinical
(206) 388-3929 | [email protected]
In my sessions, I like to take a collaborative approach. With empathy and encouragement, I will guide and support you as you learn how to use your skills and develop increased motivation to reduce the mental health symptoms you are experiencing. One of my goals is to empower you to be in control of your own choices and, with God’s help, determine what is best for you according to His plan for your life. As you gain the tools to take these steps, you will become even more capable of handling life’s challenges on your own. As a result, there will be a decreased likelihood of symptoms flaring up in the future.
Edmonds – Mon, Tue & Wed
Online (WA only)– Mon, Tue & Wed
I offer professional, faith-based counseling for a variety of challenges including anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, relationship issues including codependency and abandonment issues, and more. My hope is that through our time together, you will feel validated and comfortable sharing the grief and pain that you have endured. I know firsthand how it can feel to not have a person to be vulnerable with, and in my therapeutic practice, I want you to feel you can communicate openly and honestly without the fear of being judged.
My Goal as a Christian Counselor
I will strive to help you feel better about yourself after therapy than you did before our session. My aim is for you to have increased self-esteem and confidence in yourself, as well as a toolbelt full of skills to help you with interpersonal relationships and emotion regulation so you can continue to grow and have the best relationships with yourself and others.
What I Offer in Christian Counseling
I offer a welcoming space where we can work together to determine the main causes of your concerns and establish a practical plan to overcome them. By using a collaborative approach, I will come alongside you to help you connect parts of yourself you knew were there but perhaps need a bit more support understanding. My aim is for you to grow in your self-esteem and confidence as you learn how to feel comfortable making decisions, with God’s help and direction.
My Approach to Christian Counseling
There are many benefits to bringing my Christian faith into my practice. God knows the needs of all the people who walk this earth and who to connect them with to help them heal and seek Him. The Bible provides many powerful insights when it comes to mental health concerns as well, especially with anxiety, depression, and grief, which is encouraging since the God who created us also anticipated we would struggle in this way and provided us with information to help us.
Qualifications & Experience
I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Honor’s degree) and a Master’s degree in Social Work, both from the University of Southern Indiana.
My Call to Christian Counseling
I decided to become a counselor after my own traumatic experience of being sick and partially disabled during my early teen years. I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder at the age of 12 and underwent treatment for four years to regain my physical strength. During this time, I was well taken care of physically, but my emotional care was not acknowledged as much. I did not seek help until I was 19 years old. Going to therapy that first time was life-changing for me and led me to want to pursue being a therapist myself after the validating experience I had with my first therapist.
More About Me/On a Personal Note
Growing up in a rural community in Indiana, I came to love being outside and doing anything related to agriculture. I love to garden and grow my own food, and have fond memories of my dad and I tilling the garden every spring, planting seeds, then going down to harvest food in summer and fall. While it has been a few years now since I have played, I love marching band, concert band, and pep band, and I played the French horn/mellophone from 5th grade up until I graduated from high school. I am also an avid lover of cats and have my own little fur baby named Delilah.
Areas of Expertise/Specialties
- Abandonment and Neglect
- Anxiety
- Codependency
- Counseling for Teens
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Individual Counseling
- OCD
- Online Counseling
- Personal Development
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Relationship Issues
- Trauma
- Women’s Issues
Eating Disorders
I have been fortunate to work with those who struggle with eating disorders, listening to their challenges and helping them understand their worth beyond body image, as it relates to what the Bible says. Eating disorders can be one of the hardest mental health conditions to treat, and having worked with many clients struggling with Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, and Disordered Eating, along with leading a support lunch group for those struggling to eat alone, I understand these struggles and want to work alongside my clients to help them find worth in themselves and from God that does not come from their outward appearance.
Codependency
Many often find themselves stuck in relationships they feel they cannot truly be free from or feel they need to constantly people-please or give in to their boundaries to avoid judgment and keep the peace in relationships. It is exhausting for the individual to please others constantly, but it can also result in tumultuous relationships and resentment building up. Having worked with many individuals stuck in this cycle of codependency, I want to help my clients learn to respect their wishes and boundaries and communicate assertively, increasing their self-esteem and improving the quality of their relationships.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
OCD can be a tricky mental health disorder that leaves those suffering from it in a constant state of anxiety. OCD is not just someone who lacks self-control, it truly is a problem stemming from brain chemistry. If you have tried to will the OCD compulsions and thoughts away and it hasn’t worked, this is why. The combination of seeing a medication provider for OCD and getting skills to help disengage from the thoughts and compulsions is one of the most effective treatments for this disorder. I have worked with many forms of OCD (such as scrupulosity, fear of contamination, and more) and use a method called the 4 R’s from the book Brain Lock to help the individual, in combination with the care of a psychiatrist/doctor, to help free the client from the repetitive and often debilitating cycle of OCD thoughts and compulsions.
Trauma
Almost everyone will experience trauma in some way, shape, or form. When it comes to trauma, it’s a matter of when rather than if. With that, many of us do not understand the trauma we have experienced or even think to explore it. Trauma is not a one-size-fits-all type of diagnosis and can come from sources of childhood abuse/neglect, toxic relationships, insecure attachments, or medical events, just to name a few. I encourage all my clients in sessions with me to take inventory of their early memories and experiences to address any unrealized trauma and begin the process of healing from it using methods from CBT, DBT, and IFS.
Anxiety
Hardly anyone can say they haven’t experienced anxiety. Living in an age when technology keeps us up and expectations are higher than ever, life for some always feels like an uphill battle and anxiety is our mind’s first pick as fuel to get us up that mountain. While anxiety can be helpful in small doses, our brains often take it to the extreme, which can lead us to be self-critical and hypervigilant of our environment. If this sounds like you, most likely your anxiety has overstepped its healthy boundary. Thankfully, many forms of therapeutic treatment can help with anxiety, including the modalities of CBT, DBT, and Motivational Interviewing. As a fellow recovering anxiety sufferer myself, I have witnessed firsthand how going to therapy can greatly impact the amount of stress and anxiety we feel.
Sessions: I offer 53-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.
Availability (by office location):
- Edmonds – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
- Online (WA only) – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for individuals looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to most insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session the entire fee for the session will be waived. For ongoing treatment the full fee per session is required at the time of service.
Insurance: As a Licensed Social Worker Associate Independent Clinical (LSWAIC), some insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out of Network Provider).
Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).
Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 4% per transaction may be added for credit card payments.
