A safe landing place for you

My name is Jessica Faith Achugbue (pronounced “uh-choo-bway”) and I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist, EMDR-certified trauma and anxiety therapist, and perinatal mental health certified specialist. I specialize in helping women and birthing people heal from painful experiences and feel peaceful and calm in their daily lives.

While working in community mental health centers, I supported children, adults, couples, and families in trauma recovery, healing from grief and loss, learning helpful coping skills to create inner peace, and building healthy relationships with themselves and others. In both my career and personal life, I have had the honor of walking beside parents who strive to break harmful family cycles and nurture their children in safe, peaceful households. I love helping new parents resolve both past trauma and the trauma that can occur during pregnancy and birth-giving in order to be their most peace-filled selves.

As a person who has had lived experience with anxiety disorders and has experienced first-hand some amazing physical, emotional, and spiritual release through EMDR therapy, I’m thrilled to be helping others experience that too - life is so much more enjoyable when your body and mind feel at ease!

About my work: I practice with Feminist, Humanistic, Attachment Theory, Gentle Parenting, Conscious Parenting, and Respectful Parenting frameworks. I focus on helping anxious women, pregnant and postpartum people, and parents with young children heal from painful, stressful, and scary experiences that have happened in the past or are happening currently. I primarily use eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness approaches - always led by empathy and compassion - to help clients experience relief from feelings of panic, worry, and overwhelm.

In addition to individual therapy, I offer group therapy, classes, and workshops where you can find comfort in relating to others with shared experiences while learning and healing in a supportive communal space.

On a personal note: I am an LGBTQ-affirming progressive Christian with extensive understanding of and clinical experience in treating religious trauma and the intersections of spirituality and trauma recovery. For those who want and request it, I incorporate trauma-informed and liberation-oriented Contemplative Christian practices into our work.

Besides mental health care and awareness, I’m a big fan of coffee shops, wandering through artsy fairs and markets, long walks with loved ones or with my favorite music, reading, writing, sunset-gazing, and watching movies and shows!