SPEAKER_01: 0:30

I'm Dr. Jennifer Elizabeth Kaufman Walker. Um, my company is True North Psychological Services, and I work with children, adolescents, and adults primarily in trauma and grief and loss.

SPEAKER_00: 0:43

Amazing. Now take me back to how you got started in all of this. Tell me how you got to where you are today.

SPEAKER_01: 0:50

So I started out at Lynchburg College. I took psychology classes, not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it. But then I began volunteering at the sexual assault response program Crisis Line. Then I decided to major in psychology, transferred or graduated, and then went to Marymount University for my master's. There I worked at Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, Arlington Artworks, Arlington Community Residence, PRS, and the domestic violence shelter. And then from there went on to get my PhD at George Washington University. I worked at Arlington County Behavioral Health slash the Arlington County Jail and in the Community Services Counseling Center.

SPEAKER_00: 1:40

Very cool. So it sounds like you've had kind of a wide variety of going all over and getting a taste of a little bit of everything. Cool. Okay. So you've been named best mental health practitioner in Loudoun County. What does that recognition mean to you and your practice?

SPEAKER_01: 1:54

Well, it means a lot, especially because I'm newer in a brick and mortar private practice. Um and it shows that in a short period of time you can make an impact on the people you work with, but it was a great honor to be considered even. So winning it was very surprising, but much appreciated.

SPEAKER_00: 2:16

Amazing. And you often say the phrase, one size does not fit all in therapy. How does that philosophy shape your approach to mental health?

SPEAKER_01: 2:26

I believe that every person, regardless of the diagnosis or the symptoms, will not respond the same to every typical therapy. So I have been trained and certified in a variety of therapies so that when a person comes in and I'm working with them, I get to know them, I give them my idea of what I believe would be beneficial. And to ensure that there's a sense of autonomy, um, we go through them and they get to say, I'm interested in trying that or this. And we kind of go from there.

SPEAKER_00: 3:06

And what values guide you when working with clients through their most difficult challenges?

SPEAKER_01: 3:12

First and foremost, trust they feel safe and that they have accessibility so that they know that they could pick up the phone or text me at any time and that there's someone in their corner who is wanting to help them and see them succeed.

SPEAKER_00: 3:32

I feel like that's such a sought-after um way to run your business, being able to reach out in practically any time of the day. That's that's amazing. And what inspired you to pursue counseling and specialize in grief, trauma, and first responder support?

SPEAKER_01: 3:51

Trauma, I feel like, is of uh misunderstood and not as accessible specialty. And so many people have experienced it, especially in this day and age with everything that has occurred. Greet it first responders, it was during COVID when I realized that there were so many first responders needing support and so few counselors who were certified within the first responder um community. Um, and then on top of that, the grief and loss, when I lost my dad in 2002, I realized that is one thing that we have all experienced, whether it's a loss of a loved one, a pet, a loss of our own health, a job, a home, grief and loss kind of infiltrates everything.

SPEAKER_00: 4:51

Absolutely. So it's important to note that grief spares no one. Yeah, no, it definitely doesn't. How has your work with children, families? Oh, I'm sorry, I just asked you that one. Can you share a moment when you truly saw the impact of your integrative approach on a client's healing journey?

SPEAKER_01: 5:10

Um, so uh every day I'm lucky enough to see the impact and my client's hard work. But I think one of the most rewarding experiences was with a girl who sort of maybe 10 years ago um was having behavioral problems. She was in the foster care system, and she was diagnosed with conduct disorder. And I felt like something was off about the diagnosis. So I continued watching, doing research, and I said that I felt like there were she was having seizures, non-convulsive seizures, and advocated for her to go to a neurologist. And sure enough, she was having seizures. So the seizures would happen, and she'd just kind of stare off into space, so it wasn't very obvious. And then the behavioral piece would happen immediately following. So once they got her on medication, the behaviors completely stopped, and she was able to kind of live her best life.

SPEAKER_00: 6:19

How wonderful that she could start that healing process, and you had such an integral piece of it. It was pretty cool. So you provide clinical supervision across multiple states. What values do you emphasize when mentoring the next generation of counselors?

SPEAKER_01: 6:38

Supervision is probably one of my favorite pieces of this field. I love instilling confidence in my supervisees and taking a collaborative approach because really supervision sets the stage for your work, right? So if you have a supervisor who makes you feel as though you don't know enough or makes your confidence dip, or you don't feel supported by, that's going to impact how you feel about your abilities as a counselor once you are within the field. So trust, collaboration, confidence.

SPEAKER_00: 7:23

Absolutely. And as we were talking of earlier, I feel like with trust in any job or any field, without trust, you have nothing. What role does collaboration play with between you, clients, families, and other providers?

SPEAKER_01: 7:40

I feel like collaboration among providers and family members is such a huge piece of the puzzle. So I am very communicative, communicative with families, especially with children. And I cannot do my job if I am not in communication with the school or the primary care physician or the psychiatrist or the, you know, occupational therapist. If we are not all working together, then it's kind of like throwing pieces of a puzzle on a table and not having the pieces to connect them.

SPEAKER_00: 8:16

Exactly. And you use a wide range of modalities from ED, EMDR to IFS to somatic practices. How do you decide which tools best serve a client?

SPEAKER_01: 8:30

So obviously, there is kind of the standard of care and what we consider the go-to for different disorders, but I don't typically look at that as much as I get to know the client and what their goals are, what their symptoms are. And I like to be creative with my therapy modalities, so which is why I've been certified in so many different types, and I present them to my client and say, you know, here are the ways we can tackle this and go through the pros, the cons, their address their fears, concerns, thoughts, and then to ensure that sense of autonomy, I like that they have the buy-in to what they feel is best.

SPEAKER_00: 9:19

Sure. Absolutely. And what do you wish more people understood about trauma-informed care and why it matters?

SPEAKER_01: 9:29

So I think the most important piece is the fact that trauma looks differently for everyone. So it's not about the event that occurred as much as it is about the person's ability to cope with the event and the support system they have behind them. So someone can experience an event that one person may not feel is traumatic, but they don't have the scaffolding, I think you said earlier, to help support them. So if like a child goes through something and goes home and is dismissed or invalidated, or the parent doesn't believe them, or they feel like they have no one to turn to, doesn't have to just be a parent, anyone who is they're strongly connected with, that event is more likely to turn into long-term trauma for that individual versus someone who could go through an absolutely like horrific disaster and have support in place. And that won't turn into a long-term trauma for them. So it's really about coping and the people you have around you to support you.

SPEAKER_00: 10:45

Kind of having those building blocks at home with the family. And how do you integrate neuropsychological insights and mindfulness to create a holistic treatment experience?

SPEAKER_01: 10:59

So everything is connected. Our body, our physical health, our mental health, our brain. And in order for someone to truly gain control over their mental health, and this doesn't apply obviously to severe mental illness, but more so, you know, anxiety, depression, somatic type of things, is to first understand how the brain and the body work and communicate, and then bringing awareness to the different shifts in your body and ways to control those shifts and calm them down so that it goes and sends those signals to the brain to be like, okay, you can calm down now. That is kind of the the circle, so to speak.

SPEAKER_00: 11:53

What do you hope clients walk away with after working with you beyond symptom relief?

SPEAKER_01: 11:59

That they have someone in their corner, that it doesn't matter if it's been a week since we stopped working together, five years, 10 years, that they can always reach out. Once you're a client of mine, you'll always be a client of mine. And so if you're in crisis in 10 years from our last meeting, you can send me a text and I will find a way to get you seen and in to the practice as soon as possible.

SPEAKER_00: 12:24

Awesome. I feel like that would be really reassuring to a client. They can reach out at any time, whether it's 10 years down the road. And how do you see your role, not just as a clinic clinician, but as an advocate for reducing stigma around mental health?

SPEAKER_01: 12:44

I think just continued conversations, whether it's reels or podcasts or books or just talking to people, therapy and mental health doesn't have to be a shameful experience. We all, every single person in the world, and I will die on that hill, has struggled with their mental health, whether it's for a moment or a long-term issue. We have all been there, and so not talking about it, I think, is the biggest issue. So just continued conversation and communication about our experiences without shame.

SPEAKER_00: 13:31

For sure. Like at the end of the day, we're all human and we all need help sometimes. There's no shame in that. So looking ahead, what's your vision for your practice and the legacy you want to leave in the field of mental health?

SPEAKER_01: 13:45

I'd like to continue the way I'm going, um, where my practice is small enough where I still have that one-on-one communication with my clients. I'd like to continue supervising, writing just to make an impact, even if it's just on a few people, feels like enough to me.

SPEAKER_00: 14:06

Sounds very rewarding. Very rewarding job. Yeah. And so, Jennifer, as we wrap up, is there anything that you'd like to add that I haven't touched on?

SPEAKER_01: 14:16

One important part of my practice is the name your your price sliding scale. I, if anyone cannot afford my services or the services of someone who I work with, we ask for you to look at your budget and name a price of whatever you're comfortable with and we'll honor it. No questions asked. Um, the same applies for full playing clients. If they are they hit a hardship, we're not going to stop seeing them because they can't afford to pay our price. We don't ask for any sort of proof or any of that. Um, and the other thing is, is even if you do reach out and you don't, you know, we're not the right fit, the one promise I can make is that I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that you get connected to someone who can help you. Again, even if you're not going with us as a clinician.

SPEAKER_00: 15:12

That's wonderful. Well, I want to thank you so much today for joining me on the podcast. It was a pleasure having you. Thank you for having me.