Get the Right Help to Feel Better – Call (650) 461-9026 or Text (650) 461-9026
Jennifer “Jenny” Hays, LMFT
Ages: Adults (18+ years)
Teens (14-17 years)
Pre-Teens (12-13 years)
Children (4-11 years)
Experience: 10+ years
Jennifer “Jenny” Hays, LMFT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapist
#106527
Jennifer (Jenny) Hays believes that we already have the tools to heal ourselves inside of us, sometimes we just need help finding those tools within and support to learn how and when to use them. Jenny provides a warm, nurturing, culturally responsive, and collaborative environment where you will try things out, practice new skills, and discover what helps you feel your best day-to-day.
For the last decade, Jenny has worked in a variety of community health settings with clients diverse in age, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and immigration status, as well as persons who are neurodivergent and differently-abled. In her work, Jenny pairs creative, embodied therapeutic techniques with evidence-based approaches, including CBT and DBT to help you solve problems, process and express emotions, and achieve your goals.
Jenny has vast experience working with school-aged children (K-8) struggling with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and PTSD, as well as parents who are struggling in relationships with their children, struggling to support their children, and/or struggling with their own mental health, sometimes impacted by parenthood.
Jenny earned her Master’s in Counseling Psychology, with a focus in Drama Therapy, from The California Institute of Integral Studies in 2012. Jenny also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre with a Minor in Psychology from the College of Santa Fe.
In her free time, Jenny can be found out and about on any number of toddler-aged adventures in the Bay Area (zoo, beach, local parks, you name it!) with her daughter, family, and friends.
Concerns:
- Academic Stress
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Behavioral Difficulties
- Body Image
- Death, Grief, and Loss
- Depression
- Diversity/Cultural Identity
- Family Problems
- Infertility
- Life Transitions
- OCD
- Panic Attacks
- Parenting and Discipline
- Phobias
- Postpartum Depression
- PTSD/Trauma
- Relationship/Communication
- Self-Esteem
- Social Anxiety
- Stress
- Work/Career
Intensive Study/Specialization:
- Attachment
- Behavioral Interventions
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Drama Therapy (degree Specialization)
- Family Therapy
- Mindfulness
- Play Therapy
Marriage and Family Therapists are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy with a family systems influence, and licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders that affect individuals, couples, and families. The Federal government has designated marriage and family therapy as a core mental health profession along with psychiatry, psychology, social work and psychiatric nursing. The State of California support and regulate the profession by licensing MFTs.
Educational requirements
Marriage and Family Therapists have graduate training (either a masters or doctoral degree) in counseling psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy. Prior to a rigorous exam process leading to licensure, LMFTs must complete at least 3,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience under the supervision of a licensed mental health professional. Before full licensure, LMFTs are called “Associates”. LMFTs are employed in a variety of private and public settings, including private practice, community mental health centers, and behavioral managed care organizations.
Do LMFTs only work with clients who are having problems in their marriages and families?
No. While LMFTs are qualified to do couples and family therapy, most LMFTs work with individual adults to not only enhance the quality of their relationships, but also decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.
How can a LMFT help me?
Like other mental health professionals such as social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, LMFTs help clients by diagnosing and treating common emotional and behavioral difficulties that interfere with functioning at an optimal level. LMFTs use empirical-supported counseling techniques to help their clients achieve desired goals.