Jennifer Matthes

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor and Board-Certified Art Therapist who works with adults and college students experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, stress and overwhelm, self-esteem concerns, relationship challenges, life transitions, and difficulty setting boundaries.

I especially enjoy supporting people who tend to overthink or intellectualize their emotions, feel disconnected from themselves, or have reached a point where they don’t quite feel like themselves anymore. Sometimes this looks like going through the motions, putting everyone else’s needs first, or simply feeling like your spark has dimmed.

My professional background includes both counseling and art therapy, which allows me to bring creativity, curiosity, and a whole-person perspective to our work together. I believe therapy should be individualized rather than one-size-fits-all, and I value creating a space where you can feel comfortable being yourself while gaining a deeper understanding of who you are and what you need.

My approach is warm, collaborative, compassionate, and individualized. I want therapy to feel like a place where you can slow down, be curious about yourself, and explore what is happening beneath the surface without feeling judged or pressured to have everything figured out.

I draw from art therapy, mindfulness, experiential approaches, and compassion-focused therapy, adapting our work to your personality, needs, and goals. For some people, therapy may involve talking and reflecting; for others, creative or experiential approaches can help access emotions and perspectives that are difficult to put into words. You never need to be “artistic” to benefit from art therapy, and creative approaches are always optional.

Together, we may explore patterns in relationships, emotions, thoughts, boundaries, and the ways you have learned to cope or protect yourself. My goal is not simply to help you manage symptoms, but to help you develop greater self-understanding and self-compassion, reconnect with yourself, and create meaningful changes that carry into your everyday life.

Our first session is an opportunity for us to get to know one another and begin understanding what brought you to therapy. I’ll invite you to share what has been going on, what you would like support with, and what you hope might be different as a result of therapy. We may also talk about important experiences, relationships, strengths, and patterns that can help me better understand you as a whole person.

You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what to say or having clearly defined goals. Part of our work can be figuring that out together. I know starting with a new therapist can feel vulnerable, so I aim to make the first session conversational, comfortable, and collaborative rather than feeling like an interview.

By the end of our first few sessions, we’ll begin developing a clearer picture of what you need from therapy and how we can shape our work together in a way that feels meaningful and supportive to you.