You’ve probably already tried some version of therapy. Maybe it helped a little. Maybe it felt like you were doing everything right and still something wasn’t moving. That’s usually not a you problem, it’s a method problem.

I’m Jess, a trauma therapist in Washington, D.C. I specialize in working with LGBTQ+ adults and people with ADHD, and I built my practice, Alleviate Trauma, around the belief that real healing has to reach the nervous system, not just the mind.

I’m a lesbian and have ADHD myself, and I think that matters. Not as a credential, but because it means you won’t spend our sessions explaining what it’s like to be queer in a straight world, or why your brain works the way it does, or why you’ve learned to hide parts of yourself just to get through the day. I already get it. We can skip straight to the work.

I’m not a blank-slate therapist. I show up as a real person: curious, direct, and genuinely invested. I’ll meet you where you are. I won’t rush you, and I won’t let you stay stuck when you’re ready to move.

The work I do is built around EMDR, IFS, and ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP). I’m EMDRIA-certified and one of a small number of therapists in D.C. offering fully integrated KAP. I chose these approaches because they work at the level where trauma actually lives: in the body, in old protective patterns, in the parts of you that are still braced for something bad to happen.

I’ve lived in D.C. for over eleven years and currently live on Capitol Hill with my partner and dog. Outside the office, I’m a rock climber, a traveler, and an enthusiastic eater.

Credentials: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) — DC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania | EMDRIA-Certified EMDR Therapist | Trained in EMDR 2.0 and the Four Blinks FLASH Technique | Somatic EMDR Certification in Progress — The Embody Lab | Certificate of Completion in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Theory & Methodology — Journey Clinical