Meet Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT

A note from Thrive's founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman: 
Welcome to our latest blog series!  Since I am often the one writing our Thrive blogs, I wanted to make sure that our readers would be able to also get to know the amazing team I work with at Thrive. I am so grateful to work with each of these therapists and they each offer our clients something special. Since we have a team of 6, we will be sharing these blogs over the coming summer weeks! ​

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Tell us about you and why you wanted to become a therapist. 
I was about ten years old when I figured out what I wanted to be “when I grew up.” I consider myself very lucky as I understand that not everyone has this luxury.  From a very early age I realized that I wanted to help people make a difference in their lives.  My journey began when I volunteered my little brother’s first grade class, this experience gave me the opportunity to witness some of the struggles that children face in and outside of the classroom.  
 
What do you love about being a therapist? 
It is my life’s passion and I can say with great certainty that I could not possibly imagine doing anything else! There is no better satisfaction than being part of an individual’s personal growth.  I enjoy being people’s support system and advocate to help those people that many times are struggling to help themselves. My favorite part of being a clinician is witnessing first-hand the progress that a person can make with a little assistance and encouragement. 
 
How would you describe yourself as a therapist? 
Client-centered! I believe that my clients are the experts on their own lives, and it is my job to learn about them from them and meet them where they are.  I am empathetic, humorous, a story teller, warm and non-judgmental. I see my approach as a collaborative effort and take the time to work on building and nurturing trusting therapeutic relationships with my clients.
 
Who do you love working with in therapy? 
I enjoy working with school-age children, adolescents, adults and families. Although my passion began with my work with children, through my education and experience I learned to love and appreciate every stage of a human’s development.  As a systemic thinker, I promote and advocate for family therapy whenever possible and appropriate. I believe that there is a lot of power to change, adapt or adjust to a situation when more members of a family are involved in treatment. My areas of focus include but not limited to depression, anxiety, academic and school-related struggles, attention deficit/hyperactivity, oppositional-defiance, grief and loss, self-harm, parenting, relationship and identity related issues.
 
Do you have a particular theory or framework that guides your work as a therapist?  If so, describe it and tell us why you use that. 
I have been trained in multiple approaches such as Solution-Focused Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, Brief Strategic Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  My philosophy is that the approach should be good fit for the client not the other way around. 
 
Share one thing you are passionate about in your professional or personal life. 
A professional goal I set myself post licensure was to become a clinical supervisor.  I enjoy being a teacher and leader; becoming a clinical supervisor will give me the opportunity to help others grow professionally and help create the next generation of therapists. This goal will become a reality this year! 
 
My personal passion is traveling! Culture and diversity never seize to amaze me.  Although culture shock can be scary and intimidating, I find it fascinating.  My goal is to visit all continents. At the end of this year, I will have visited 18 countries in 5 continents.  My travels provide me the opportunity to learn about different, backgrounds, idiosyncrasies, traditions, customs and beliefs which I often incorporate into my treatment.

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For more information about Jennifer and her work, please check out her bio here! If you would like to schedule an appointment with Jennifer, please also feel free to call our main number and ask for her or fill out our contact form here and note that you would prefer to work with Jennifer!