Mental Health Counselor in Kendallville, IN
Kendallville, IN - CounsELing Sessions with Jessica Witmer
Jessica Witmer, MA, MS.Ed.,CHt, LMHC-A provides mental health counseling services to residents of Kendallville, IN and the surrounding areas through telehealth sessions, or in person at Isch Counseling Services, LLC in Fort Wayne, IN. As a mental health counselor and therapist, Jessica has chosen to specialize in EMDR therapy as she enjoys seeing the transformation and benefits her patients experience.
Jessica has long been interested in helping people find healing from mental, emotional, and spiritual problems. After working in ministry and receiving an MA in pastoral ministry from Bethel University, Jessica began to research other ways to help people find healing from emotional and spiritual wounds. This led her to the Cleveland Clinic where she was trained in Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy and received her certification as a hypnotheripist. From there, Jessica continued her studies by graduating with an MS.Ed from Purdue University. Today, Jessica is a mental health counselor who specializes in EMDR therapy, as she finds EMDR to be one of the most effective tools for mental health improvement.
Jessica is especially passionate about working with clients who have experienced some form of trauma, from developmental “small t traumas” like experiencing the divorce of parents or being bullied at school, to “big t traumas” such as emotional neglect, sexual assault, or physical abuse. In fact, Jessica conceptualizes issues of “emotional dysregulation” such as depression, anxiety, and even some manifestations of mood or personality disorders, from a trauma-informed lens, recognizing that the way the brain stores memories of traumatic events can have a lasting and profound impact on the nervous system and the entire mind-body.
Is EMDR Therapy a type of mental health counseling?
EMDR therapy is a popular form of mental health counseling used to help heal from traumatic events. Known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR provides a structured process where a patient focuses on a traumatic event while experiencing “bilateral stimulation”, which just means that both the left and the right hemispheres of the body/brain are stimulated in a rhythmic fashion.
This technique, using bilateral stimulation while focusing on a traumatic memory, has several wonderful effects. One, it helps the brain stay distracted long enough to be able to focus on a trauma without being overwhelmed, and two, by helping the client stay anchored in the present moment, it helps the brain recognize that the event was in the past - and that the event is truly over once and for all! This is great news for clients who have had the miserable of experiencing of feeling like they are reliving a traumatic experience, or of being constantly “triggered” by reminders of hurtful events.
What does EMDR therapy look like in counseling sessions?
Once you become a client of Jessica’s, the therapy process looks something like this, recognizing that the course of treatment is unique to each client:
Counseling Session 1): Jessica and the client get to know one another, fill out consent forms, review office policies, and discuss the problem for which the client is seeking help.
Counseling Session 2): Jessica and the client continue getting to know one another, and begin unravelling some of the core historical experiences that are contributing to the problem.
Counseling Sessions 3-6): Jessica and the client begin assessing for emotional resources that can assist the client with processing. Because sometimes doing trauma therapy can be distressing to a client, Jessica’s number one priority is to equip the client with techniques to contain any distress or disturbing emotions or sensations that may arise during treatment. Trauma work cannot be successful if a client is too disoriented to attend sessions, or if the work is interfering too deeply in the client’s daily life. Therefore, Jessica empowers her clients with techniques to manage the course of treatment in a way that is not overwhelming, keeping in mind that trauma therapy is a marathon, not a sprint!
Counseling Sessions 4-8): Once the client’s history has been taken, and the client has been sufficiently resourced, Jessica and the client begin putting together a treatment plan. This is a list of core memories that will be reprocessed and desensitized during the course treatment.
Counseling Sessions 6 and on): Jessica and the client begin systematically working to reprocess and desensitize core negative memories, while integrating positive experiences, beliefs, and resources.
What options are there to work with Jessica?
There are two ways you can work with Jessica for counseling and therapy sessions:
1) In Person Counseling. Jessica is currently accepting new clients at J M-Turner, Inc. Counseling & Play Therapy, a counseling center in Kendallville, Indiana.
2) Virtual EMDR Therapy. A second option for counseling sessions is to do so virtually. Over the last several years, the entire healthcare industry has learned the value of online sessions, and Jessica has conducted many sessions virtually. Some of Jessica’s clients will meet with her exclusively through Telehealth, while others will rotate between in person visits and virtual appointments.
About Counseling & EMDR Therapy By Jessica Witmer
About Jessica
Jessica Witmer, MA, MS.Ed, CHt, LMHC-A is passionate about serving her clients through a trauma-informed, attachment-theory lens. Jessica holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Purdue University and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry from Bethel College. In 2017, Jessica completed training in Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy™ at the Cleveland Clinic through the Wellness Institute of Seattle, WA. She is also a trained EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapist and is currently working toward EMDR certification.
Jessica has received advanced training in the treatment of PPD (Psychophysiologic Disorders) through the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association, and is currently pursuing certification as a Certified Mental Health Integrative Medicine Provider (CMHIMP) through Dr. Leslie Korn's Institute for Integrative Medicine. She has been trained in several healing modalities in association with her ministerial work over the past 17 years and integrates the best of these components into her therapeutic work, to serve clients toward their healing of body, mind, and spirit.
Jessica is a proud member of the Heart-Centered Therapies Association, the American Holistic Health Association, and the Alliance for Self-Directed Education.
Location
After working in Kendallville, Indiana for over a year, Jessica is now accepting new clients at Isch Counseling Services, LLC, a counseling center in Fort Wayne. Jessica also offers virtual EMDR therapy sessions to residents of Kendallville, Indiana.