“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over again.”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hi! I’m Jennifer Whetstone (she/her/hers) and I am a Marriage & Family Therapist and the Founder of HOPE Therapy Group! This is the part where I get to tell you a little bit about myself. Like you, I am so many different parts at once: grateful to be here; a busy, working mother to two beautiful twin toddlers; happily married; learning something new everyday; obsessed with the outdoors and with wakesurfing (and ironically a terrible swimmer, thank goodness for the life jacket!); a weightlifting/fitness enthusiast; dog lover; and living a life of purpose.
I love working with...
People who are having difficulty finding themselves in a significant relationship/partnership and are interested in identifying old patterns that may be keeping them stuck or in a continuous loop. People who are having difficulty setting healthy boundaries and identifying their self-worth.Elite achievers who may be struggling to find a balance between their work and the rest of their lives/health/relationships.
Some of my favorite approaches include...
Client Centered and trauma informed
Attachment-Based Therapy
Acceptance Commitment Therapy
DBT
Solution Focused
CBT
How I help...
Without question, safety first! I acknowledge that therapy is incredibly vulnerable and I take that responsibility very seriously. I also fundamentally believe that progress is made within the context of an emotionally safe relationship; so whether it is fostering emotional safety within our therapeutic relationship or heightening emotional safety in the relationships present in the therapy room, safety is THE priority. I also believe that to feel safe, you need to experience someone as their genuine, real self which is who I will bring into the room. I will use humor; I will gently challenge you (as trust builds and I learn your style better, sometimes ‘not so gently’ challenge you); I will help you explore and identify the parts of you that are “easy to love”, and the parts that may feel harder to love, and work with you to accept them both in kind; I will work with you to discover who you are and how to “own it”. I work from a perspective of self-empowerment, which to me means to learn to focus our energy, time and emotion on what we can control and learn to radically accept or let go of the rest.
I believe...
...trust is earned, not given (and I will work to earn your trust).
...we all do the best we can with what we know; when we know better, we do better.
...everyone is deserving of love and acceptance and at the core of us, this is what we are all fighting for.
...healing IS possible and hope is the starting line.
What it's like in session with me...
As a trauma informed provider, I believe wholly in coming from a place of being non-judgmental. You can expect me to talk a lot about emotional safety. You can expect warmth, gentleness and kindness from me. You can expect me to show you respect and to go at your pace. You can expect me to challenge you, offer skills, different perspectives, validation, reflection, references to studies, articles, books and a whole lot of brain science—I LOVE incorporating neuroscience into treatment as a basis for understanding ourselves. You can expect metaphors as I work to identify different ways to explore what may be coming up for you. You can expect me to ask “does that make sense” a lot. I want to be helpful, I want to speak your language, I want this time to feel, truly, that it is for you and about you. You can expect me to ask for and genuinely be open to feedback so I may tailor my approach to better suit your needs.