Meet Jessica

Jessica Hernandez, LCSW

Lead Clinician & Clinical Supervisor
Pronouns: she/her
jessica@empoweredmindca.com
Languages: English

About Me

Clients have told me that I have a grounding and soothing presence while still showing up in a relatable and humorous way. I can crack a joke and support in self-reflection, all at the same time! My style is relational, humanistic, culturally-humble, and trauma-centered. I’m not a blank slate therapist - I bring my whole self to the work and to building the therapeutic relationship. My identities as a mixed Filipinx/Latinx, bi, first-generation, Fat woman informs a therapeutic perspective of anti-oppression and celebration. When I'm not working, catch me getting some sun at Lake Merritt or Alameda Beach, cooking my mom’s sinigang, and singing my lungs off at karaoke with my partner and chosen family.

Favorite Books

• How Long 'Til Black Future Month (N.K. Jemisin)

• To Love as Aswang: Songs, Fragments, and Found Objects (Barbara Jane Reyes)

• Cloud Cukoo Land (Anthony Doerr)

• The Cerulean Chronicles #1 & #2 (T.J. Klune)

• Remarkably Bright Creatures (Shelby Van Pelt)

• The Emperor of Gladness (Ocean Vuong)

• Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mysteries #1-#6 (Mia P. Manansala)

• The Broken Earth Trilogy #1-#3 (N.K. Jemisin)

How I Can Support You

I support folx in recognizing their own resilience, exploring intersectional identities and sense of self, and navigating life's stressors and challenges.

Maybe you're experiencing a shift in your life. Maybe there are parts of yourself that you need support with reconciling and integrating. Or maybe you have experienced trauma and are ready to process it. Whatever it is, I'm excited to bear witness to your growth and be part of your journey. My experience includes working with folx experiencing depression, anxiety, grief/loss, and PTSD/CPTSD, as well as LGBTQIA+ and QTBIPOC youth and their families.

My Approach

Healing occurs within the relationship, through cathartic action, and in community.

In my experience of working with QTBIPOC youth, adults, and families, I have learned that showing up, living authentically, and centering in queer joy, liberation, and celebration are sustainable ways to dismantle oppressive structures, systems, and the cishetero-patriarchy. I find that utilizing narrative processes, movement, art, and music are helpful tools in navigating, deconstructing, and processing through racialized trauma and experienced bigotry. My hope is to utilize my work and my position to support in decolonializing therapeutic spaces and uplifting QTBIPOC folx as we move through this healing journey together.

How I Can Help

Therapeutic Approaches: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR‍) • Narrative Therapy • Feminist Therapy • Parts Work • Somatic Therapy • Dialectival Behavioral Therapy (DBT) • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) • Mindfulness • Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) • Motivational Interviewing --- Guiding Principles: Compassion-Focused • Collective Care-Centered • Trauma-Centered • Decolonial and Anti-Oppressive • Liberation-Focused • Culturally-Responsive

Specialities

Trauma (CPTSD/PTSD; developmental; attachment-related; chronic and complex) • Anxiety •Depression • Grief/Loss • QTBIPOC Intersectionality & Identity

Client Focus

First & second gen youth and adults; individuals navigating life stressors and challenges; eldest daughters of BIPOC households; folks navigating active and/or compounded grief/loss; intergenerational trauma and family dynamics; intergenerational trauma cycle breakers; group therapy for Filipina/x/o adults navigating hurtful/harmful family dynamics and wanting to break those cycles