Los Angeles psychotherapy for addiction, trauma, depression, and anxiety

If you’re considering starting therapy with me, maybe it would be helpful for you to know that my own life hasn't been without turmoil and heartache. 

I know what it's like to feel hurt; damaged, even. Lost, empty, and afraid. I know what feeling stuck in a tumultuous relationship is like. What it’s like when the darkness creeps in, sometimes from all directions.

Maybe you can relate to some of these feelings, maybe not. The details of our stories are unique to us.

I bet we share the experience of worrying what will happen if things don’t change, though.

I was fortunate in my life to find support when I needed it, to help me unlock my innate ability to heal, grow, and feel better again. Nowadays I view it as my responsibility, and great honor, to provide that experience to others.

So, here I am, ready to explore with you whether I can help you clear up the unfinished business or unhealed wounds that are holding you back.

That healing process is precious and sacred. It can be difficult, too. Sometimes the first step is hardest of all: the phone call or email that only you can initiate.

I promise though, if we end up working together, you won’t have to take the other steps alone.

CLINICAL BACKGROUND

I began my career as an operator for the only U.S. crisis line for older adults. I went on to spend years in the public mental health system serving disadvantaged populations experiencing trauma, addiction, and severe mental and physical illness.

Los Angeles mindfulness-based therapy

Later, I developed a subspecialty treating physicians, attorneys, and other professionals with addiction and co-occurring mental and physical health conditions.

I’ve developed an eclectic mix of therapeutic skills and tools along the way. My training includes psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral approaches, Gestalt therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®, and clinical hypnosis.

My psychotherapy is also informed by mindfulness and the well-documented connection between it and mental health and human well-being overall. (I can also personally vouch for its benefits, as a mindfulness practitioner for almost 30 years and a teacher for almost 15.)

Whether or not it plays any overt role in our work together, mindfulness certainly has helped me develop, as a person and clinician, a special quality of groundedness and connection that enriches the therapeutic relationship.

Qualifications | AFFILIATIONS

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California (LCSW63567)

  • Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Washington (LW61193012)

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Oregon (L13997)

  • Certified Mindfulness Teacher-Professional Level, International Mindfulness Teachers Association

  • Certified Mindfulness Facilitator, UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

  • Member, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis

  • Member, National Association of Social Workers

  • MSW, University of Southern California, specialization in Systems of Recovery from Mental Illness

  • BA, University of California, Los Angeles, Sociology and Abnormal Psychology

PUBLICATIONS

Hjort, J. (2016). Mindfulness in mental health care settings. In E. Schott & E. Weiss (Eds.), Transformative social work practice (pp. 69-81). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Advanced Training

  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute

  • Clinical Hypnosis, American Society for Clinical Hypnosis

  • Gestalt therapy, Pacific Gestalt Institute

  • Mindfulness facilitation, UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy

  • Interpersonal Therapy

  • Motivational Interviewing