Why Therapy?

I believe that we feel our best when our values and our day to day lives connect. Purpose and meaning is the foundation for a life filled with peace and enjoyment. The way we build this foundation is through relationship with self and others. All thoughts and emotions are part of human experience and we have the ability to define our relationship to these thoughts and emotions, just like we have the ability to make choices about the directions we take in our visible actions.

My twenty years of experience includes working with clients from diverse countries of origin, sexual preference and gender identity, race, age, level of education, religion and socio-economic background. I have extensive training and experience working with clients with chronic health problems and mental health issues.

I believe successful therapy is built on a relaxed and trusting collaborative relationship. It is a safe way to move forward and to learn new strategies to get unstuck from negative emotions and behaviors.

Jennifer L. Pauk

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

District of Columbia and Maryland

My Approach

I draw from a variety of types of therapy. My goal is to help you identify changes you’d like to see happen, and then find a path that works for you to make these changes.

The types of therapy that I rely on most include:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

Solution Focused Brief Therapy

Motivational Interviewing

Who Am I?

  • Mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, foster mom, single mother by choice

  • Cis-gender, heterosexual, white female

  • Gardener, amateur mycologist, ceramic artist, cat lover, world traveler, enthusiastic cook, board game enthusiast, avid reader, Unitarian Universalist, kayak and SUP novice

  • Former Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali and Human Rights Observer in Haiti, Health Educator with migrant farmworkers

  • Proficient in Spanish and French

  • 25+ years of experience as a clinical social worker, providing services to diverse clients/patients age 13+ in community health and mental health settings. Director of integrated primary care behavioral health programs

  • 12 years as clinical supervisor for social work and professional counselors towards their licensure

  • Volunteer forensic mental health evaluator and trainer other clinicians for Physicians for Human Rights for immigration cases.

  • Masters in Social Work from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Social Work & Masters in Public Health, Maternal and Child Health from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Public Health. Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, Political Science and Religious Studies