Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerrica Lavooy
Hi Jerrica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I look back at my childhood, I realize now that I had a deeper knowing and connection to my intuition, but I had no idea what it actually was at the time. I grew up in the north eastern part of New Jersey that people only know if they’ve lived there, snowboarded there or hiked the Appalachian trail. It was a beautiful place to grow up and I love to visit but I can not imagine living there anymore. I was able to be a great student and athlete without trying that hard most of the time, but I also never felt like I actually fit into any circle or met the expectations of my family. Somehow I was simultaneously loved and praised while also being bullied and it was confusing. Doing what I was supposed to do never felt like enough for myself or anyone else, but things were “good enough”. As a teen, to everyone outside my nuclear family I was the perfect kid, but in my family I was a pot stirring stubborn nonconformist who tried desperately to pursue things for herself and learn her own lessons which meant pushing back against what others wanted for me. For much of my life I felt isolated or othered and misunderstood. These were the years a doctor tried to tell us that I likely had depression but my parents said I would be fine and I would get over it. These were also the years I began ditching the AP classes for art and had quit basketball despite “missing out on being a 3 sport varsity athlete” so that I could snowboard. My years in college were full of hard lessons in an attempt to figure out who the hell I was, but the patterns of confusion and conflict continued, especially with the addition of mentally abusive relationships and pressures of collegiate sports. Although I did not end up utilizing my degree in graphic design, I will forever be grateful to the people I found during those years that ended up leading me to a more clear version of myself. I had realized in my last year of undergrad that I did not want to work for people like the ones I saw in the advertising and marketing industry, and I knew quickly during my NYC internships that if I pursued that life, it would suck my soul. I went through various kinds of jobs that were much more self led after graduating, and despite lengthy arguments about my future or comments that eluded to the fact that I was crazy, I had begun my search into art therapy, interpersonal psychology and healing in nature without any idea how I would eventually get there. My twenties were a series of leaps of faith that I now know seriously paid off. I left jobs when I felt like I was not being respected by the older men in charge. I drove across the country to visit a school and begin considering life out west. I quit a great job that I had just gotten a substantial raise at to be a drystone masonry trail builder so that I could save money and move into a van. I met a guy when I was determined to focus on myself and built a beautiful relationship with the person who is now my husband and partner of 13 years. We traveled around the country in a van that we bought for a thousand dollars so that we could snowboard as much as possible and decide where we wanted to live next and to pursue wilderness therapy. The nearly three years I spent as a wilderness field staff was one of the most formative experiences I have had in my life, for better or worse. I like to think that the toll on my body and nervous system was well worth the life long friendships and invaluable insights that inform my work with clients to this day. It was so different from what has been depicted on recent documentaries about these programs. I would have never guessed that we would end up living in Utah. I would have never guessed that answering a craigslist ad for a nanny could lead me to a mentor encouraging me to apply to the University of Utah MSW program. I could not have imagined that people my husband and I had known from teen years would also lead to the vast community of amazing friends that we have in Salt Lake City today. I could give more details about my time in wilderness therapy, graduate school, or working in residential treatment with adolescents, but I think that the years leading up to the start of my therapeutic career deeply inform how I have passionately embraced my role as a supporter of others that want guidance in navigating life’s difficulties. I do not believe in coincidences and I believe that we deserve to romanticize the life that we live. I have no idea how I was able to maintain connection to my inner knowing through all of those chaotic years, but I do think that it has informed what I consider to be my specialty today. There is a laundry list of factors that create disconnection from ourselves, and I have found that people just need help rediscovering what life has made us forget.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think I always knew that I wanted to take the road less traveled, the one that was not going to be smooth so that I could do it my way and learn what I needed to learn. I have been doubted, criticized, bullied, dismissed or disrespected numerous times throughout my journey, but I will be forever grateful that something in me remained open despite the hurt I have felt along the way.
We’ve been impressed with More Being Psychotherapy, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
After years of experience with adventure and outdoor programs as well as residential treatment, I transitioned into my work as a private practice therapist. Today I am a solo practitioner and practice owner, as well as a creator and facilitator of multi-day therapeutic intensives where I can combine all of the tools that I find powerful in an outdoor setting. I am also a therapist and team member for the non-profit combating mental health and suicide stigma in action sports, Somebody’s Thinking About You.
I often say that I bring a human approach to therapy. During my years of experience working with clients and families, I have found that addressing people with a pathology mentality that utilizes a narrow approach, modality or anticipated “fix” to reach an end goal never truly gets to the root of the suffering. When we are able to acknowledge the complexity of the human experience of life, including the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, we can more clearly see each other and ourselves.
I have helped individuals, couples and families of all ages acknowledge the power of vulnerability and develop healthy communication & boundaries skills. My specialty is in connecting how the present day struggles, our family of origin, as well as the experience of shame, attachment, and relationship with self all play a role in the underlying work. I implement a range of tools, with a focus on the mind-body connection, to effectively address the traumas that can create our darkest parts. In therapy my clients figure out how to shine light in the places that feel most vulnerable, and find power in curiosity and compassion.
I use and am inspired by a wide variety of modalities: internal family systems, attachment-based, compassion & emotionally focused, EMDR, polyvagal theory, mindfulness and mind-body connection including movement and breathwork, for an experiential, trauma-informed, strength-based, client focused and integrative approach, including habits, physical health and nutrition. Common presenting issues that I often work with include anxiety, depression, trauma including developmental and complex PTSD, stress management, addiction, relational distress, life transitions, self sabotage and familial conflict.
Ceremony and intention is a beautiful component of healing that can often be forgotten in a therapeutic setting and I utilize this as often as possible with my clients. I believe in respecting transformational life experiences as something sacred and to be honored.
As humans we are constantly navigating internal and external stress, expectations and criticism. When we can explore our internal landscape in the presence of a loving other, we can also discover more compassion and presence with Self. Being is existing with consciousness, remembering who you are, and living by it with balance, exploration and freedom. More being is what I aim to support others in discovering.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
There has been so much development in the mental health industry over the last 5-10 years. I would said it has been mostly positive and I am so glad that taking care of our mental health is so much more accepted as a mandatory part of our overall health. I think conversations that normalize internal struggles and challenge limiting beliefs will continue to develop as we have a better educated general public. I am also concerned, however, that with increased technology and AI platforms, despite potentially making mental health care more accessible, it will also automate and depersonalize the therapeutic experience. This kind of development may have benefits and uses, but it may also perpetuate disconnection and isolation in a time when human connection is needed more than ever. Therapists are already undervalued and underpaid by organizations and insurance companies, and I worry that these kinds of technological developments in mental health would only compound this issue.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/morebeing
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/more_being_
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jerrica-lavooy-salt-lake-city-ut/958485
