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Cloud in the Sky

Welcome to

Joychild Collective Healing

Compassionate guidance in the realms of inner healing
through IFS Therapy with Jenna Wheaton

All parts of you are welcome here.

Hi, I'm Jenna

Jenna Wheaton Licensed Marriage Family Therapist in San Diego

Welcome to Joychild Collective Healing! My name is Jenna, and I am a licensed Marriage and Family therapist in California (LMFT #128169).  My job is to help individuals, couples, and families turn inward, safely and compassionately, to unravel the mystery of yourself and experience lasting self-transformation and fulfillment in relationships.

So often we walk through life feeling stuck, confused, and disconnected from ourselves - or worse -  in a state of self criticism and rejection. Although it’s true that “the only way out is through”, that journey doesn’t have to be scary nor intimating. The word “mystery” comes from the Greek muo, which literally means “to shut one’s eyes” and “to be just under the surface”. I’ve come to believe that “just below the surface”, you have lively and vivacious parts of you that are typically eager for some attention and willing to assist you in transforming your life. 

While I am confident that you have a dynamic and unique inner landscape, I also know that we tend to gather serious wounds throughout our lives. We often carry interior scar tissue within us, that not only pains ourselves, but also our loved ones closest to us. My wish is to help bring a deeper consciousness to these internal patterns, and in so doing, help all parts of you be liberated from past pain, and restore harmony in both your internal landscape and outer relationships.

Outside of the therapy room, you might find me: in nature with my dog Cookie, practicing yoga, volunteering at a local hospice, traveling, or trying unsuccessfully to hide countless Wikipedia tabs 🤓 Some favorite topics include prehistoric religions and civilizations in the Mediterranean, and researching mystical experiences and ancient texts.

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Education & Training

Jenna Wheaton
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist #128169

B.A. Psychology, with honors
Butler University

M.A. Marriage and Family Therapy
University of San Diego

  • Internal Family Systems, Level 2, 2023

  • Gottman Couples Therapy, Level 1, 2019

  • Center for Mind Body Medicine Facilitator Training, 2016

  • 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training, Chandra Yoga International, Mcleod Ganj, India, 2015

Services

 Receive Holistic Healing

My approach is holistic: I address your mind, body, spirit, and story. In other words, when we work together, no part of you is left behind. I operate with an open-minded and client-centered lens. We co-lead and co-follow, as a team. My approach is curious, compassionate, and hopeful. I fully believe in your ability to heal yourself. I’m here to help you tap into that innate ability that you have within. If this sounds wistful or out-of-reach right now, you have probably come to the right place. 

It is important to me that I educate myself with both the newest finding of neuroscience, and the oldest intel on the human experience I can find. The result is a perspective both modern and ancestral; to appropriately address the various layers that exist within you.

integrate a variety of approaches for my clients, including couples and families. My primary orientation is Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), but I also integrate Narrative Therapy, Bowenian Family Therapy, mindfulness, and non-violent communication.  At the heart of my work with all clients is cultivating compassion for self and other.

Individual Therapy

Telehealth or Eco-Therapy

$150 dollars/50-minute session

For individuals residing in California

Couples + Family Therapy

Telehealth or Eco-Therapy

$200 dollars/50-minute session

For couples and family members ( age 18+) residing in California

Clinical Supervision

Online or In-Person

$100 dollars/50-minute consultation

For AMFTs, ASWs and professional clinical counselors in California

Forest

Free Resources

Open Book

Books

Fiction:

  • The Law of Love by Laura Esquivel

  • The Red Tent by Anita Diaman

Poetry:

  • Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, by Joy Harjo

  • Freedom, by Jaiya John

  • The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran

Non-Fiction:

  • No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz

  • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

  • The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate (+ anything by Gabor!)

  • Sacred Contracts by Carolyn Myss

  • The Dao de Jing - there are many great translations - I love Brian Browne Walker’s translation

  • Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss

Dark Waves

Music & Podcasts

A playlist I made for you

Podcasts

  • This Jungian Life (on spotify)

  • The Emerald (on spotify)

Blooming Garden
Loutraki_lighthouse.jpeg

My Inspiration

To name  a very small few within the absolute hive of individuals who inspire me:

Bayo Akomolafe, Gabor Mate, Brene Brown, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Carl Jung,

Richard Schwartz, Darcia Narvez, Philip Wolfson, my mentor Dr. Don Myers, my sister who is forever my guiding light, and my clients (past, present, and future).

"Dreamers are the saviors of the world."

James Allen

Night Sky with Stars

FAQs

How do we proceed?

  • If you feel we might be a good fit, reach out to me via email at jennawheatontherapy@protonmail.com. The first step is to arrange a free 10-15 phone consultation. If you determine my services are right for you, we will complete the necessary paperwork, then get to work :) 

What is your fee?

  • $150 for a 50- minute session. I have a limited number of sliding scale clients and student discounts, but all those spots are currently filled.

Do you take insurance?

  • I do not accept insurance at this time. However, many insurances offer out of network benefits for therapy. If so, I can provide you with a document you can submit to your insurance, and they may be willing to assist you with the cost. Please contact your insurance to confirm their policies.

Why don’t you take insurance?

  • Insurance requires that I diagnose individuals and, based on that diagnosis, they determine how many sessions they will cover. This is incompatible with my non-pathologizing approach to therapy, where I operate outside of the paradigm of diagnosis. Secondly, I feel strongly that therapy duration should be determined by the client and therapist; not by an external entity. 

What is IFS?

  • IFS stands for Internal Family Systems Therapy. Let’s break it down. Internal indicates a focus on the internal landscape. Oftentimes, I will encourage you to close during our sessions in order for you to connect more deeply to your inner world. It is surprising how little time most of us spend with our selves! Once we start turning our focus inwards, we are usually greeted (or bombarded with!) parts of us that have been eager for our attention

  •  IFS posits that we all have “parts” to us, usually arranged as some form of strategic (and at one time, adaptive) self protection, but also including inner children or wounded parts eager to be illuminated. We often experience these “parts” as thoughts, feelings, visions, or sensations in or around our bodies. They tend to interact with each other; and create patterns both internally and externally in our lives.  This is where the “family systems” comes in. Just like a family evolves, and quite often gets “stuck”, in roles and patterns, so can our inner parts become stuck in roles that no longer serve them. I’m here to get you unstuck and create more space for your true “Self” to emerge, bringing with it a sense of inner wholeness and tranquility.

  • There have been some fascinating studies that indicate IFS is effective in treating somatic conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis. Link for more info here.  

  • I received my IFS Level 2 Training in person in the Netherlands in November 2023.

  • More information on IFS can be found here: https://ifs-institute.com/ 

Who is a good fit? 

  • I work with adults (age 18+) residing in California. I am an LGBTQ+-friendly therapist, and have found IFS to be a model highly compatible with outgrowing a mindset of colonization and healing from the scars of oppression. 

  • I enjoy working with a wide range of human beings, and I recognize the attempt to find our place in the world, especially amidst pain, trauma, and confusion, comes in many different shapes and forms. 

  • Although I am open and enthusiastic about working with a wide variety of folk, you might be particularly interested in working with me if you are interested in connecting more with yourself.

  • Additionally, I have specialized experience working with eating disorders, addictions, grief and loss, traumas, life transitions, spiritual seekers, and artists. 

Who is NOT a good fit?

  • If you are grappling with consistent and severe thoughts of suicide, I am not a good fit for you during this time. One reason being I recommend you connect with an in-person therapist for more hands-on assessment and treatment. Secondly, I am a solo practitioner with limited availability. 

  • That being said, I am not afraid of working with parts that have suicidal thoughts and impulses, but if this is an overwhelming part of your daily life, I want you to be in the hands of a more readily available provider.

What do you mean when you say “healing”?

  • Through direct experience, I cannot ignore the fact that when you give feelings and sensations attention, they naturally deliver necessary information and transform. 

  • Often, the parts of us that feel the heaviest, the most rejected, the most confused, and the most hurt, offer keys to our lives that actually deliver us into wholeness and self-understanding. This is what I mean by healing. 

  • My job is to guide you, calmly and compassionately, more deeply into yourself, so you can cultivate your own self-compassion, and understand and experience yourself in a deeper way. I have come to believe that this work does spark realizations, release feelings in the body, and provide a deep state of relief. Furthermore, I have also come to the conclusion that this also benefits our species as a whole, directly or indirectly, as it promotes a paradigm shift in how we view ourselves, our lives, and our realities.

Contact

Jenna Wheaton
Jenna Wheaton

Holistic Psychotherapist

Thanks for connecting! I will be in contact with you soon.

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