Jen Schafer PsyD

Our first few sessions will be about working to develop a collaborative, trusting therapeutic relationship where you feel safe to explore life's greatest challenges. We will do this by learning more about what is troubling you and take time to learn about your current and past experiences. Every person is unique and so the goals and process of therapy will be different for everyone. Once, we develop those goals then we can create a treatment plan and process that works best for you. It is imperative that we work together as a team and that this is a space that you feel safe and supported in as talking about struggles is not easy.

I tailor my treatment methods to fit each individual person. I incorporate an psychodynamic, CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical-Behavior Therapy), emotion-focused, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and experiential modalities into my work. I believe the therapeutic relationship is the key to fostering change and through that relationship I will use other tools to help us explore and change the way you perceive, feel, and act in life experiences to create a more fulfilling life. I also think it is important to enhance your understanding and knowledge or your own strengths and ways to cope that tend to be overshadowed by life stressors and negative self-talk. I do believe we all are capable of truly understanding ourselves and living life to the fullest.

• Illinois, PsyD, 71010860