Jessica Lang, LMFT
How I Got Started
I have always loved stories. As long as I can remember I have always been fascinated by getting to know people and hearing their life stories. I have fond memories of playing with my barbies and creating these elaborate stories like the ones I would read about or from the snippets of the adult conversations I had slyly listened to. I just loved to listen and to offer a comforting word here or there even when I was younger. These people in my life had such interesting lives and I was so struck by their behaviors. I wanted to know why they did what they did? What lead them to make those choices? As I entered middle school I began to learn more about human behavior by watching movies and even listening to talk radio (anyone remember Loveline with Dr. Drew and Adam Corolla. In this I learned about the effects of childhood abuse and how that impacts adults later on in life. Even though I didn't understand everything I learned it all made sense some how and I knew that I wanted to study psychology in College and be a therapist. I wanted to help people heal from childhood trauma even as a child.
My Journey
As a child I knew my calling was to be a therapist and to help people who had been abused as children. In high school I started taking psychology classes in community college so I could learn more. I loved psychology from the beginning and have always absorbed myself in the world of mental health. Of course this love/borderline obsession meant I was always analyzing my own behaviors as well as others. Mostly buy family who often call me out for "psychoanalyzing" them. I couldn't help myself though, I was just a kid who felt drawn to people and wanted to stop their pain. It didn't matter that I was just an undergrad and still had a lot to learn, I just saw their pain and wanted to ease it any way I could. I've always been like that though. I've always acutely felt others pain and suffering and had a desire to ease it, sometimes at the expense of myself. Compassion fatigue is a real thing, I just didn't know it then.
Where I am Now
So I studied and I learned. I felt pulled to work with trauma survivors from the beginning and every job or volunteer experience I've had since I was in my early twenties was working with trauma survivors, mainly kids. I am devoted to stopping the passage of childhood trauma from one generation through the next by letting survivors speak about their experiences. Allowing their voice to be heard and being a partner with them on their journey to self discovery and healing. I am passionate about talking about child sexual abuse and mother-daughter sexual abuse so that people become aware of how pervasive it is and why we need to be vigilant about protecting our children. I believe that everyone can have a life filled with peace and content and that they don't have to be burdened by their past trauma.
Specializations & Experience Treating to Heal Somatically:
- Child sexual abuse, incest, rape, and molestation
- Mother-daughter child sexual abuse
- Complex Trauma & PTSD
- Attachment wounds from childhood
- Parenting support for pregnant women and new moms who are survivors of trauma and wanting to heal to be the best mom they can be
- Support for Single Mother's By choice
(SMBC) - Childhood trauma during early childhood (0-5 Mental Health therapist)
- Multicultural & Gender Affirming Therapist
Certifications
- Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT Brain Mapping). Certification through the Phase I level.
- Infant-Parent Mental Health Specialist (through Napa Infant-Parent Mental Health Program)
- Somatic Experiencing Intermediate (in the second year of the 3 year certification track which focuses on healing trauma through the body through the trauma institute)
Education
- San Francisco State University, BA Psychology 2008
- Chapman University, MA Psychology 2011
Verifications:
Expert tips from trauma therapist that will help a sexual abuse survivor live a better and happier life