Jacqueline Switzer

I've spent nearly 20 years in community mental health - not behind a desk, but in group homes, care management, and direct support with people navigating some of the hardest chapters of their lives. That history shapes how I work:

I don't come in with a fixed formula. I come in with real attention. I hold two Master's degrees and I'm trained in CBT, Trauma-Focused CBT, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. In practice, what that means is I use whatever genuinely helps you move forward. I work with adults and seniors across New York State via telehealth - including first responders, people managing chronic illness, women navigating major life transitions, and anyone carrying trauma they haven't fully named yet. I accept Aetna, Cigna, and Carelon Behavioral Health.

Trauma-informed and person-centered - which means I start from the belief that you are already the expert on your own life, and my job is to help you access what you know and build what you dont yet have. I bring a participatory style: I ask real questions, I give honest reflections, and I wont let a session drift into comfortable-but-unproductive territory. Mindfulness is a practical tool in my work - for noticing patterns, regulating responses, and building tolerance for uncertainty. If something isnt working between us, we say so and we change it. Therapy with me is collaborative, direct, and paced to what you can actually carry right now.

A real conversation - not a checklist. You'll have space to share what brought you here, in whatever form that takes.

A full life history is welcome but never required. I'll ask some questions to understand not just what's happening, but how it's showing up in your actual life. We'll meet on video, and I'll make sure the first session feels like a conversation, not an intake. By the end, you'll know whether working together feels right - and well have a clear enough direction to get started. You don't need to arrive with it all figured out.