Works with ages 18+

Hello! My name is Jami and I am a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate and Outpatient Psychotherapist based in the South Durham office. I received my undergraduate degree in creative writing and film studies from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and my Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wake Forest University.

I believe that the question is not, “What’s wrong with you?”, but rather, “What happened to you?” Our past can have a profound effect on our present. Perhaps you have been wounded by someone foundational and/or significant for you. Perhaps there was an event that divided your life into a “before” and “after.” Perhaps you have a sense of the kind of life you’d prefer to be living, can even visualize that authentic, realized “you” that you wish to embody. However, maybe your genuine self has become covered up with layers of unhelpful narratives, unpleasant emotions, unfulfilling relationships, and unhelpful behaviors. It can be quite adaptive and functional to create strategies to avoid feeling the pain that is within us, however these strategies can also take us further away from ourselves; they can limit and inhibit us.

In my practice we turn the dial down on the noise of the outside world and focus in on you. I will hold intentional, compassionate space for all the unique intricacies and complexities of your lived experience and self. I believe that everyone is doing the best they can, and I want you to feel welcome to show up exactly as, and where, you are. Together we will work to build self-awareness and insight, self- compassion, connection to self and others, and connection to the present and possible future. Wherever you are is the right place to begin your journey towards healing.

I specialize in grief and loss, attachment wounding, family of origin and interpersonal issues, life transitions, guilt and shame, and postpartum hardship. I operate from a relational, existential lens, honoring the importance of the connections in our lives, as well as the big questions of, “Why are we here? What do we want this life to be about? What matters most? How do we connect?"

My foundation is laid in both acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) and internal family systems (IFS), and I employ somatic and mindfulness techniques where appropriate. When working through trauma and deeply held wounds, I find EMDR to be an incredibly effective way to get beyond words, and find movement where individuals may be stuck.

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