Meet JaeJeung So, LPC-S, ATR-BC, CTT
Hi, I’m JJ
I help Highly Sensitive and Creatives liberate themselves from covert traumas to live with ease & excitement.
How is therapy with me different?
No B.S.
“Every session is like a slap of fresh air” - client
I’m allergic to B.S.
Hence, I’m not a fan of nodding and smiling, saying things like “Tell me more” and “How does that make you feel?” on repeat. You can expect me to start the session with clear intentions and end the session with shifts and changes toward the intended direction.
I’m also trained in many non-BS therapy methods that can get my clients straight to where they desire to be.
Fun
You can expect laughter, fun, and realness when working with me. Besides my intention to get you to feel better, seriousness is not warranted in therapy. Humor and creativity make therapy more enjoyable and have significant clinical benefits - so why not make it fun?
Best of Both Worlds
I was born in Virginia but raised on two vastly different continents simultaneously. By 16, I had moved across the Pacific Ocean 10 times! It was tough when I was in the thick of it, but little had I known then that such an experience would greatly help me as a therapist. Current psychotherapy incorporates Eastern and Western philosophies, bringing about a richer perspective of the human condition. By the same token, my unusual upbringing has naturally given me an advantage in finding answers to suffering from a broader angle.
Highly Sensitive & Creative
“JJ has a gentle spirit and a sharp mind” - colleague
As a highly sensitive person (HSP) and empath, I naturally have the capacity to notice and conceptualize deeply. This, coupled with my creative nature, allows me to help my clients step outside the box to draw upon creative insights and solutions to their suffering.
What makes me legit
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George Washington University, M.A. Master of Arts in Art Therapy, Washington D.C., 2009
The College of William and Mary, Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Virginia, 2006
Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor #69994, Texas
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Flash Technique Advanced
Flash Technique Foundation
IFS Institute - Level 2
IFS-Generational Trauma Training
IFIO- Intimacy From Inside Out
RRT-Rapid Resolution Therapy
RRT-Clinical Hypnosis
EMDRIA-Approved Basic Training in EMDR
ATCB - Board Certified Art Therapist #12-198, National
Somatic Zen
ITR - Instinctual Trauma Response Level 3 Certified
Bruce Perry Nuerosequential Model
Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies Certificate
My Approach to Therapy
Bridge the Unconscious
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“I” is your conscious mind, and “me/myself” is your unconscious mind. Sadly, the two have a hard time communicating with one another. So, when there is a conflict between the two, it can lead to anxiety, depression, anger, intrusive thoughts, and relationship issues. It gets worse with trauma, which gets imprinted in the unconscious brain.
This is where I come in. I bridge the two minds so your unconscious knows what’s up with you. In my experience, the unconscious is always ready to follow your dreams as much as you do.
Keep it Real
“Fish don’t know they’re in water.”
Often, your problem has nothing to do with you and has all to do with what you’ve been told, believed to be true, socially conditioned through education, the media, and systemic oppression. You simply don’t know, like fish in water.
This is where I come in. I get you out of that fishbowl and show you what you’ve been swimming in. There’s usually an immediate “ooooh…” sense of relief.
Are we a good fit together?
We’re likely a good fit if…
You are open and contemplative
You’re ready for transformative, lasting change
Appreciates humor and is comfortable with occasional f-bombs
We’re may not a good fit if…
You are looking for a place to vent on a weekly basis
You’re interested in advice on how to fix someone else who you’re certain is the cause of your problem
You gasp at the word “shit”
Here’s How We Can Work Together
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Liberation
Intensive trauma therapy to liberate yourself from past wounds, unwanted thoughts, and feelings.
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Integration
Tune-up and follow-up sessions focused on overall growth and evolution in relationships, career, and personal goals.
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Creation
Coaching for highly sensitive people (HSP) and empaths who want to share their creative work with the world through entrepreneurial ventures.
Reviews
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"Every session with JJ was impactful, progressing through a mixture of developing therapeutic skills and new insights. We could quickly assess a wide variety of approaches to therapy and identify what worked really well for me. Between each session I had tools to apply that reliably made a big differences. And we routinely addressed what I brought to each session. Gradually, I witnessed my orientation to my "issues" changing, whereby I felt ever more equipped to address whatever should arise. My life started to feel more honest and my heart more open. My time with JJ changed my life."
Client, resolved complex trauma
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“I have been to therapy multiple times and have never really clicked with anyone before JaeJeung. She was able to understand the deeper injuries beneath my depression and negativity and helped me to heal those wounds. I feel more capable to face the challenges of life now that I know how to handle my emotions and fears. I can finally feel happiness again that reaches the edges of my soul. I am beyond grateful."
Client, resolved depression and negative self-perception
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"From the outset of therapy with JJ, I found it extraordinarily easy to connect with her. She has an authenticity and sincerity I could sense right away, and it was so easy to be honest and vulnerable in our sessions. Eventually, I felt safe enough so that I was not holding anything back, which was, itself, a unique and incredibly powerful experience for me. For example, I was able to offer and witness (and let go of!) even my deepest feelings of shame, which I hadn't previously been able to show myself, let alone someone else."
Client, resolved childhood tauma
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"JJ is a transformative therapist and teacher. She practices therapy with such sincerity and authenticity, so that it's easy and therapeutic to trust her. She is so adept at listening, seeing, and understanding. One can feel her openness and lack of judgment, which is also therapeutic and creates an incredibly ripe environment for true witnessing and change. She is incredibly skillful at helping, easily shifting among a large variety of therapeutic approaches to find what fits. She is just an unbelievably gifted therapist in my opinion."
Client, resolved complex trauma
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“I feel like an adult for the first time”
Client, resolved complex childhood trauma
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“JJ is very professional and makes you feel important and worth her time. Her intelligence and compassion makes her kind, attentive and incredibly resourceful. She will gentrly challenge you to make positive changes in your life, and be with you every step of the healing process.”
Client, resolved dissociation in relationships
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“I got something out of every single session. JJ has a very refined eye. I often came in with a tangled cloud of abstractions and she never failed to find the string that connected it all. Because of this, I felt like I often moved rather quickly, in a positive sense. I also felt very well taken care of in every issue that I brought in, from the cultural aspect to the trauma-related fears to the individuating process."
Client, resolved struggle with individuation and career alignment
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“JJ has a lot of knowledge and experience with trauma work and art therapy, both of which I benefited from in my sessions. She is understanding but also frank about situations. I also appreciated her sense of humor that helped build rapport and made discussing more difficult experiences easier.”
Client, resolved self-doubt and anxiety stemming from toxic relationship