Jenna Sackman, LMHC + 1
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Message from Jenna
My name is Jenna Sackman, and I'm an integrative and holistic therapist who is passionate about working with individuals (children, teens and adults) and couples. My areas of expertise are anxiety / stress, relationship challenges, low self-esteem, loss/grief, depression, life transitions and persistent negative thinking patterns. With extensive experience and training in psychotherapy, positive psychology, mindfulness, Gottman Method for Couples, Buddhist Psychology, meditation and yoga, I aim to uniquely tailor therapy sessions to each client’s needs by utilizing a variety of techniques that encourage emotional, behavioral, and cognitive change. My main goal is to support my clients in gaining the necessary insight and skills to live their best, healthiest and most authentic life. Most clients and couples are drawn to working with me because they are looking for concrete skills to apply to and improve their everyday lives and/or address specific concerns. I understand that therapy is a huge investment, and I, too, am fully invested in providing my clients with practical tools and skills to successfully navigate through life and to realize significant and observable change. Passionate about fusing traditional Western psychology with Eastern healing modalities that encompass a more creative and comprehensive approach, I believe that there is no "one size fits all" in therapy. Generally, I work to help my clients broaden their awareness, gain insight, challenge problematic patterns and faulty narratives, learn healthy coping skills, communicate intentionally, live mindfully and authentically and seek their unique version of joy. Above all, I believe that the strongest therapeutic relationships are built on trust, respect, transparency, empathy and equality, and I always counsel from a nonjudgmental place of understanding and compassion. From my own experiences in therapy, I truly understand how scary and vulnerable the therapeutic process can be, and so I feel it is my role to meet and honor every individual wherever they currently are on their journey and to walk alongside them to help facilitate growth. I look forward to connecting and scheduling a free 15 minute phone consultation to learn more about one another and to discuss how I may best support you! I'm ready when you are!!
About Jenna's practice
Weekdays 9am - 5pm
Weekdays After 5pm
Weekdays Before 9am
$$$
Sliding scale
Directive
Reflective
Body-based
In-person available: No
Virtual available: Yes
Intrusive Thoughts
Emerging Adulthood
Grief and Bereavement
Romantic Life
Life Transitions
Depression
Anxiety
Self-Esteem
Out of network providers
NY + 1 more
Why state matters
Get to Know Jenna
"I was always good at building great relationships with adults in my life, but my junior year of high school, I was blessed with Jenna as my counselor. Jenna helped me think about my future and what I wanted to do for a potential career and how to be successful. She has made a tremendous impact on me. I could never thank her enough!"
Shanty, Client
"Working with Jenna cracked my heart open in so many ways. She held a supportive space for me while moving through a big life transition that I could not have processed without her. I have seen and felt myself change, shift, grow and accelerate in all areas of healing in so many ways especially in my relationship to feeling, allowing and accepting all parts of myself. I am now able to give myself so much more grace, compassion and ease when validating my own feelings. Her approach is so uplifting and unique. Jenna always had the most beautiful wisdom to share that I will never forget. I left sessions feeling deeply seen, supported, cared for and with resources to guide me deeper each time (i.e. the best book recommendations!). From the beginning, Jenna ensured my needs were met. I am deeply grateful for Jenna, she is an incredible resource to anyone seeking support."
Alison, Client
"When I first sought counseling, it was during the time when I lost loved ones during the pandemic. During our months together, Jenna was able to assist in navigating my times of trauma, depression, grief, and loss. We automatically developed a therapeutic relationship, and she provided me with the tools necessary that helped me through life’s challenges. There is a plethora of therapists out there, but I’m forever grateful for Jenna and her contributions to my life. Her Eastern healing techniques integrated with her theoretical orientation taught me what to look forward to in the future as a grad counseling student.""
Earl, Client
"Jenna always taught me something new and helped me learn how to better myself. There are no words to explain all the ways that she helped me in my life. I still look at all of the papers she gave me about cognitive thinking and anytime I need a reminder, I go back and read over my detailed notes. Without Jenna, I would not be the person I am today. I am forever thankful for her working with me during my darkest times."
Adriana , Client
"No matter where you find yourself on your journey, Jenna has the knowledge, tools, and, most importantly- an excellent, empathetic lens to help foster personal growth along the way. From my initial session, Jenna has highlighted my strengths and provided me with meaningful feedback and skillsets to help promote my growth in virtually every aspect of my life. My only regret is not starting with Jenna sooner."
Brianna, Client
How long should I commit to being in coaching, at least in the beginning?
It’s best if we schedule a consultation call to discuss this further as each person and situation is unique. In general, I recommend that people commit to a minimum of meeting once a week for 4 weeks to begin and then we can determine if continuing weekly or moving to bi-weekly is more appropriate. There are many factors which determine length and frequency of therapy, including individual circumstances, the magnitude of the problem or goal, commitment to doing the necessary work to bring about positive change, and discipline to challenge faulty behavioral and thinking patterns. While it is always better to receive consistent counseling over a period of time, I understand that not everyone is looking for long-term counseling, and that’s ok. Depending on your situation, short-term counseling may be effective for you and should not deter you from reaching out and scheduling a consultation.
How can you tell if I am feeling stuck, unseen, or unheard?
First and foremost, I aim to create a safe space in which you always feel comfortable sharing your feelings and thoughts with me, even if those feelings are negative, hard to express, or are critically directed at me or our work together. The best way for me to know how you feel is if you share with me how you feel, and I hope you will always do so. However, I may also be able to notice if you’re feeling this way by your avoidance to meet, frustration, ambivalence, or anger.
How can you tell if I am benefiting from working with you?
During our first few sessions together, I will be able to form a better idea of who you are and what you’re looking for from therapy. We will create goals together and, therefore, be able to check in on those goals to see progress. However, I think it’s important to note that progress is not a linear process and it’s not always about accomplishing a specific goal. Benefits from therapy and progress can be seen in a multitude of ways, whether big or small. If you’re increasing your awareness, mindfulness, and consciousness about yourself, your thoughts, your feelings, and your behaviors, those are huge positive steps that lead to noticeable change!
What is the best part of the work for you?
Witnessing the vulnerability and resiliency of my clients. Therapy is not easy, showing vulnerability is not easy, and I am just so deeply moved and inspired by every person with whom I work and their commitment to growth.
What led you to become a mental healthcare practitioner?
I have always been a deeply emotional, empathetic, and feeling person, which sparked my curiosity and passion for psychology and working closely with others. While working as an Elementary School Teacher at a Title 1 school, I was disheartened by the lack of accessibility to social, emotional and psychological resources and support that my students and families needed. I hold a deep belief that every human deserves accessible mental health care and support, and it became my personal mission to provide it.
Have you received any particular training beyond your post-Bachelor's training?
In 2016, I received my MA in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education and in 2018, I received my MEd in Mental Health Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2019, I spent five months in South East Asia, during which I received my Yoga Teacher Certification and extensively studied mindfulness and meditation.
Where did you work before going into private practice?
I started my professional career as an elementary school teacher in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn before deciding to follow my passion and get my graduate degree in mental health counseling. While at Teachers College, Columbia University, I spent a year working as a counselor at LaGuardia Community College. After graduating with my master’s degree, I then spent a year as a counselor at a startup charter high school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn before starting my own business as a yoga and meditation instructor and life coach.
Is there ever a time when you would encourage me to leave or graduate? Or how do I know when it's time to end or move on, or time to stay and explore more?
My goal as your therapist is to provide you with the tools, techniques, skills, and strategies necessary for you to comfortably, confidently, and independently (although of course not without help from others) navigate through your life. Therefore, although endings are undoubtedly difficult, I also view them as a celebration of growth and empowerment. Deciding whether to end our work together will always be a conversation and one that can and may be initiated by either of us. If you’re feeling unsure about whether we should be continuing our work together or wrapping up, I encourage you to bring that to my attention so that we can discuss further and decide together what will be best for you. Likewise, if I clinically feel as though it’s time to wind down, end, or perhaps increase the frequency of our sessions, it is a conversation that I will initiate with you.
Do you assign homework, activities, or readings for me to do between sessions? Why or why not?
Yes! While the seeds of change are planted during our sessions together, the actionable change happens between sessions when you have the opportunity to put your hard work into practice in your everyday life. I aim to provide my clients with an arsenal of tools and techniques to successfully navigate through life, and, like any other skill, practice is necessary in building competence and confidence. Homework, activities, and readings help to reinforce and strengthen your awareness and ability to utilize coping strategies and skills in your life.
How do you approach diversity in the room or working with clients who may come from a different background than you?
I have had the honor to spend my professional career, thus far, working with diverse populations that differ from me. The main reason I chose to attend Teachers College, Columbia University for my MEd in Mental Health Counseling was because of their commitment to providing multicultural-social justice counseling training. Despite my education, training, and experiences, I am the first to acknowledge that I still have much to learn and many ways to grow. I will never pretend to or insinuate that I know what it’s like to hold differing identities to mine, but I do work to create a safe space of sharing and understanding. I encourage our differences to be an ongoing discussion and consideration in our work together.
What is unique about the work you do, or how have you found your work to be different than your colleagues'?
With my unique education, qualifications, and experiences, which include Western psychology and psychotherapy training alongside Eastern healing philosophies and practices, I offer an opportunity to view and explore mind, body, soul, and spirit in an integrative and holistic way not often provided or readily available in the mainstream. Growing up in a conventional Western society, which unequivocally favored science over spirituality and mind over heart and instinct, I always felt like there was a crucial aspect missing in traditional counseling and therapy. While I certainly value, trust, and utilize conventional science, education, and practices, I have always been drawn to seeking a more holistic understanding of humanity. I quickly discovered that I am not alone. There are so many people who, like myself, want the training and knowledge that comes with a Western psychology and counseling degree, but also crave more meaningful, spiritual, and collective therapeutical experiences and deeper understandings of themselves, others, and our world that conventional Western therapy, alone, doesn’t often provide.
How participatory are you during sessions?
It depends on the client and the session, but I generally tend to play a more active role and believe it’s important to offer psychoeducation when appropriate. Since I work from an integrative perspective and use a variety of modalities and techniques, I may purposefully alter my level of participation from session to session based on individual client needs and our unique working relationship. The longer we work together, the better able I will be to offer interpretations and feedback for you throughout each session.
How much do you share about yourself during our time together and why?
Because I believe in creating a transparent space in which therapist and client work as equals, I may share something personal from time to time when trying to normalize shared human experiences and emotions. However, I will only do so if I believe that it will be beneficial and helpful to my client’s growth at that particular time.
Please share 2-3 anonymized examples of how the work can play out and/or look in the room so that I can form a visual or narrative of what to expect.
1. With one client who suffered from anxiety, we first talked about anxiety triggers – what makes you anxious? Then we explored if his anxiety (the effect) was proportionate to the trigger (the cause). We discussed that while we often cannot control the things that make us anxious, we can control our reaction to them, which, in turn, reduces the intensity and power that our anxiety has over us. However, doing so requires a level of awareness and consciousness that we often don’t utilize. In order to increase his awareness, we broke down the many ways that anxiety manifests itself physically – how does anxiety show itself in your body? – emotionally – how do you feel when you’re anxious? and behaviorally – what do you do when you’re anxious? From there, we then discussed and practiced uniquely tailored techniques to mitigate and reduce his reaction to and manifestation of anxiety. For him, we discovered that mindfulness, particularly doing a quick body scan when experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety, and daily meditation were helpful in reducing his anxiety. 2. With another client who was experiencing debilitating self-esteem issues, we worked from a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) framework to identify and challenge her core belief that she wasn’t good enough. Before diving into her core belief together, I suggested articles and worksheets that explained what core beliefs, faulty thinking, and cognitive distortions are so that she was able to have a preliminary understanding and exploration on her own time. Together, we first explored the origin of her core belief – Where did you learn this from? How has it been reinforced in your life? In between sessions, I also asked her to complete exercises in which she built her awareness of how her core belief had and continued to shape her reality and behavior. We then began to question and contradict the validity of those beliefs – What proof do you have that this belief is fact? Do you have examples of when this has been disproved? Once we proved those beliefs as false, we then worked to change the narrative and replace her false belief with a more accurate and beneficial belief of self by utilizing affirmations, journaling, and positive self-talk.
Are there any philosophies or values that inform your work that I should know about?
I am passionate about fusing Western psychology and psychotherapy practices with Eastern spirituality and healing modalities that connect and enhance mind, body and soul. From my own personal experiences in therapy, I believe that the strongest therapists are those who have experienced their own challenges and struggles and, therefore, can truly empathize and relate to the people with whom they work. Therefore, above all, I believe in equality and transparency and work from a place of understanding and compassion. I feel it is my role, as a therapist, to meet and honor every individual wherever they currently are on their journey and to walk alongside them as they forge their own unique path.
From your perspective, what is therapy?
Therapy is a safe and open space that offers people an opportunity to: • share, explore, and process emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences • confront and resolve unhealthy and problematic thinking, emotional, and behavioral patterns • learn and practice healthy coping skills and techniques to resolve conflict and/or generally enhance personal and inter-personal relationships • build self-confidence and self-worth In therapy, therapists and clients work together to identify areas of concern, pursue positive change, and implement skills and strategies that help clients become healthier versions of themselves, enhance their lives, and reach their highest potential.