A safe landing place for you

My name is Jessica Achugbue (pronounced “uh-choo-bway”) and I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist, certified EMDR trauma therapist, and certified perinatal mental health specialist. I specialize in helping women and birthing people heal from painful experiences and feel peaceful and confident in their daily lives.

While working in community mental health centers, I gained extensive experience supporting children, adults, couples, and families in trauma recovery, healing from grief and loss, learning helpful coping skills, and building thriving relationships. In both my career and personal life, I have had the honor of walking beside parents who are striving to break harmful family cycles and nurture their children in safe and peaceful households. I love helping new parents resolve both past trauma and the trauma that can occur during the perinatal period in order to be their most peace-filled selves.

About my work: I practice with Intersectional Feminist, Humanistic, Attachment Theory, Gentle Parenting, Conscious Parenting, and Respectful Parenting frameworks and use a trauma-informed lens in my work. I focus on helping anxious women, pregnant and postpartum people, and parents of young children heal from painful, stressful, and scary experiences that have occurred in the past or are happening currently. I primarily use eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), alongside acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), somatic exercises, “inner child” and “parts” work, and mindfulness approaches - always led by empathy and compassion - to help clients experience relief from feelings of panic, worry, tension, and overwhelm.

As a person who has experienced some amazing physical and emotional benefits of EMDR therapy, I’m thrilled to be helping others experience that relief too - life is so much more enjoyable when your body and mind feel at ease!

In addition to individual therapy, at times I offer group therapy, classes, and workshops where you can find comfort in relating to others with shared experiences while learning and healing in communal spaces.

On a personal note: I am an LGBTQ-affirming progressive Christian with understanding of and clinical experience with the intersections of spirituality and trauma recovery. For those who want and request it, I incorporate trauma-informed and liberation-oriented Contemplative Christian practices into the therapeutic space.

Besides therapy and mental health awareness, I’m a big fan of coffee shops, long walks with loved ones or with my favorite music, reading, sunset-gazing, and watching movies and shows!