Jessica Mohan

Hi! I'm Jessica Mohan, LCSW. Over the 8 years I've been in practice, I have developed an allied approach to therapy. I believe that progress toward mental health goals is most effective when the client and therapist are equal partners throughout the process, including goal setting, information sharing, and treatment evaluation. I find that being open to change, transparent about thoughts and feelings, and accountable for actions supports an allied approach best. When these factors are in place, I have found success in addressing anxiety, depression, and emotion dysregulation with clients.

My approach

I consider Person-In-Environment and Cognitive Behavioral Theory as essential guides to understanding client behavior. These approaches highlight that individuals are shaped by their unique environments and thought processes. In order to treat client target behaviors, I favor DBT strategies that comprehensively help increase the clarity of mind, self-compassion, skill-based behaviors, and overall life satisfaction.

My focus

My practice began as a member of the DBT team as a therapist and skills group leader working with adults with high emotional sensitivity, including borderline personality disorder. I most recently worked in various school settings with students ranging from ages 5-18. The student populations I served included foster youth, students experiencing homelessness, and students with disabilities and neurodiversity. Addressing anxiety, depression, and emotion dysregulation has been central across each population.

My communication style

In alignment with my allied approach to therapy, I implement an open communication style. With that, I encourage clients and myself to be transparent about therapy goals, personal thoughts, and feelings, as well as overall progress. I engage clients with Socratic questioning methods to unearth complex ideas and use handouts and visual aids to inspire insight.

My journey to mental healthcare

When I left home for college, I had a vague sense of what mental health entails and a clear interest in finding a career centered around helping others. As I learned about the wide array of factors that impact mental health in my academic settings, I personally began to learn to take care of my own mental health, including engaging in self-care and developing a language to help me describe my internal and external experiences. This journey has been paramount to my current well-being as I am an emotionally sensitive person. My increased investment in mental health, coupled with my interest in how people develop into unique individuals, led me to the connection that a career in social work is the helping career I had been drawn to all along. I am grateful for all the growth I have experienced and witnessed as a mental health practitioner.

My goals for you

As goal setting is foundational to therapeutic progress, goals will be identified in the initial session and will guide future sessions. Goals will be set to target specific behaviors, and monitoring goal progress will be informed by both client self-report and therapist observation. Goals can be adjusted throughout the process as determined by the client and therapist together.

My first session with you

The first session will include introductions, a discussion of expectations, and a client overview of the presenting problem. Goals will be set, and the client will provide a general background describing current barriers to goal achievement as well as current coping skills in place. As relationship building is key to progress, therapist and client have equal opportunity to guide discussion and share information in all sessions.