Hi, I’m Jody.

I've spent over 25 years helping people navigate some of life's hardest moments, and I still find the work deeply meaningful. I've worn a lot of hats in that time: therapist, crisis team leader, clinical supervisor, coalition facilitator, trainer, speaker. Every role has been driven by the same thing: a genuine desire to help people make meaningful change in their lives. Whether I'm in a room with a hundred people or sitting across from one, my goal is the same: to be fully present and help you get where you want to go.

My path to this work wasn't accidental. When I was a teenager, my family experienced a trauma that gave me a firsthand understanding of what it means to navigate crisis and upheaval. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but it set me on the path to becoming a therapist and I believe it has made me a more effective one.

My style of therapy has evolved over the years as I've grown and learned and lived, both as a person and as a professional. I've had many good teachers, mentors, and role models along the way, both formal and informal, that have influenced me. I've even had the chance to be one myself, serving as an adjunct instructor at Michigan State University's Graduate School of Social Work for a couple of summers and spending years as a clinical supervisor for other therapists. At its core, my approach is a strengths-based, person-centered practice that focuses on helping people recognize patterns in their lives that they can either draw upon or move away from to make meaningful change. I believe people are a lot stronger and more capable of making that change than they may feel in the moment. I'm good at helping people shift.

I'm not overly directive, so if you are looking for someone who will tell you what to do, I'm probably not the therapist for you. The real work of therapy happens between sessions, so there will be times when I make suggestions of things to practice or work on. But in the end, YOU are the expert of your life.

I am most effective working with people who actively want to make change. You may not know what changes you want to make yet, and that's okay. Wanting something to be different is a good place to start. I work primarily with adults and college-age young adults navigating depression, anxiety, trauma, major life transitions, and the kinds of questions that tend to surface at different stages of life.

Cogito Therapy is my private practice, named for the Latin phrase most people know as "I think, therefore I am." (One of my undergraduate degrees was in Philosophy.) It felt like the right name for a practice built around self-awareness and the belief that understanding yourself is the foundation of meaningful change.

On a personal note: I'm a big reader, a bit of a science fiction and fantasy nerd, and a lover of coffee in all its forms. I'm a dog person by nature, but somehow my home has been taken over by a couple of cats who think they're my boss. Anyone who knows me would tell you I'm intensely curious about a lot of things, particularly about how we, as human beings, become the people we become.

I’m looking forward to meeting you.