Jacqueline Cordova, AMFT

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Therapy Style: Collaborative, Direct, Warm

I believe that when people connect, lives get better. I have always been an advocate for others’ growth, and enjoy helping people gain insight into themselves and their world. As a marriage and family therapist, I help individuals address elements of their lives and themselves that are interfering with their relationships. The definition of those relationships extends far beyond family, and often includes friends, coworkers, and community members that are significant in the client’s life.

My psychotherapy practice is tailored to give clients exactly the kind of supportive opportunity they need to focus inward, realign with their personal needs, and heal from stress as they learn to manage it. I have a warm communication style that clients describe as encouraging, analytical, and deeply sympathetic. I use a Cognitive Behavioral approach, with elements of Emotionally Focused Therapy to explore deeper memories, and Solution-Focused principles to create measurable progress between sessions.

I enjoy working with working professionals struggling with career stress, “burnout,” fatigue and loneliness. Some of the issues clients such as these might experience include overcoming personal habits interfering with effectiveness, improving boundary setting, and overcoming political obstacles in the workplace. Another population I care deeply about is those managing chronic illness or conditions. Finding happiness, in life can be difficult even with good health, but the omnipresent threat and ongoing management of some chronic conditions can really impact the lives of those struggling to handle them. I help find support, creative solutions, and ongoing encouragement to uplift those managing chronic conditions (alongside all of the other stresses they are handling from their work and personal lives).

I worked for over a decade at high-stress bay area media companies, and later as a director at Microsoft. I went into psychology to address what I believe is a growing imbalance of work/life stress and personal guilt in professionals. Work extends into more realms of our lives than ever before, and often the signs that we need help handling something deeply personal are expressed without our awareness. It can be a lack of focus, hyperfixation, anxiety, depression, “burn out”, fatigue, substance abuse, or any combination of similar symptoms. I help clients struggling with these issues both individually and as couples or families. I also taught English in Japan for two years, and worked as a speech pathologist in an elementary school in Oakland, CA during college. These experiences gave me an appreciation for diverse learning methods and cultural attitudes. I learned to be flexible and creative in my coaching to connect on a deeper and more effective level with clients of all ages. A final influence, throughout my life has been exposure to chronic illness. Managing the ups and downs of any chronic condition is the unacknowledged full-time job of millions of people, and yet there is little credit given to those managing chronic conditions. I am supportive, inventive, encouraging, and sympathetic to clients who are either learning to manage new diagnoses or struggling with the ongoing stress of managing existing conditions. I collaborate with clients to find new perspectives, creative solutions, and helpful support systems to lead an enjoyable life no matter what they may be handling.

Lic # 141700

Registered Associate Mental Health Therapist receiving Supervision at Foresight Mental Health