tending
the ground

Jessica Baker MA, LPC | Psychotherapy

I'm here to help you connect with your authentic, engaged, and essential self.

My work centers around supporting clients to cultivate their inner observer to find awareness, pause, and choice in skillfully relating to life experience. For most of us, there is a wound of unworthiness that may have been carried for a very long time; unquestioned, ungrounded and lacking in truth. Within the safe container of our work together, we discern what isn’t working, understand core unmet needs, bring care, clarify choices, and rise to new heights.

Learn more about me, and how I can support you.

Specialties AND AREAS OF FOCUS

Chronic pain and nervous system education

PTSD / complex trauma

Grief / loss / transitions

Self-esteem / emotional resilience / personal growth

Therapeutic Approaches

Polyvagal Informed
Therapy

Trauma-informed Attachment-Based Therapy 

Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

Sand Tray Therapy
for Adults

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

Inner Child Work through Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Ages Served: Adults (25-64)

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

Somatic awareness fosters a deeper connection between the mind and body, leading to greater emotional regulation, stress reduction, and physical health. It supports the opportunity to find ground in the present moment, which can improve focus, decision-making, and deepen intimacy. 

Cultivating Somatic Presence

modality 1/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

Integrate mindfulness based therapy practices with traditional therapeutic techniques drawn from traditions of spirituality to promote non-reaction. This modality emphasizes understanding how the mind works, skillful use of choosing where to place our attention, and what can be done to reduce suffering through kindness practices and detaching from outcome. 

Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

modality 2/8

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

EMDR is an evidenced-based tool for enabling clients to process and reduce the distress associated with traumatic memories. Through bilateral stimulation, it facilitates the reprocessing of these memories, allowing clients to integrate them in a less emotionally charged way. This approach can lead to trauma recovery, with significant reductions in symptoms of PTSD and anxiety, promoting emotional health and resilience.

EMDR Therapy

modality 3/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

Explore how Polyvagal-informed therapy helps clients by leveraging an understanding of the autonomic nervous system and how it responds to stress and safety cues. This therapy emphasizes the importance of creating a safe therapeutic environment, allowing clients to regulate, rewire their nervous system and access higher cognitive functions for processing emotions and trauma. Working within the experience of different nervous system states help clients move toward safety and connection.

Polyvagal Informed Therapy

modality 4/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

Grief, when held in a sacred space, can be a profound vehicle for transformation. Bereavement counseling is a therapeutic process that helps individuals cope with the emotional, physical, and psychological impact of loss. It provides support and guidance to navigate the stages of grief, manage overwhelming feelings, and adjust to life after the loss. It assists individuals in honoring the loss on the path toward renewal.  

Grief/Bereavement Counseling

modality 5/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

Discover a form of tactile, expressive therapy where clients use miniature figures and objects in a tray filled with sand to create scenes that reflect their inner thoughts and emotions. It allows adult individuals to explore and process complex feelings, traumas, or experiences in a non-verbal and symbolic way. It helps in gaining insight, resolving conflicts, and fostering personal growth in all aspects of life. 

Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

modality 6/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

Online nature-based counseling integrates the healing aspects of nature into the therapeutic process, conducted virtually through video sessions. It often involves activities like mindfulness exercises, visualization, and somatically engaging with nature to foster connection. This approach aims to cultivate embodied aliveness or eros and reduce stress through connect to the sensual world.

Online Nature-Based Counseling

modality 7/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

At the heart of couples counseling is identifying relational stances and unconscious communication deficits due to culture and early conditioning. A willingness is needed to engage in the assessment process, learn intervention strategies and exercises, and interpret a new relationship based on self-discipline, enhanced listening, and compromise.

Online Couples Counseling

modality 8/8

01. Cultivating Somatic Presence

08. Online Couples Counseling

07. Online Nature-Based Counseling

06. Sand Tray Therapy for Adults

05. Grief/Bereavement Counseling

04. Polyvagal Informed Therapy

03. EMDR Therapy

02. Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology

choose one

A blend of these modalities help clients work through issues of anxiety, depression, PTSD, low self-esteem, relationship issues, trauma, grief, transitions, chronic pain, death loss, codependency, coping skills, spirituality, women’s issues, and others. 

Modalities

A Holistic Approach

In addition to traditional therapeutic techniques, Jessica Baker utilizes the creation of client-generated ritual to transform generational trauma through symbolic practices that allow acknowledgement and processing of pain. Our North American culture has very little intentional, communal ways to move through threshold experiences involving a beginning, middle, and end. These ritual activities can provide a structured way for clients to honor the past, express emotion, and create new, transforming narratives. By creating and engaging in these meaningful-to-the-client events they can release the grip of carried trauma, foster connection, and interrupt the cycle. 

John O’Donohue

"What we encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree upon the quality of our approach. When we approach with reverence great things decide to approach us."

Whether you’ve felt that therapy might help or you’re just exploring your options, I’m glad you’re here.