Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirsten Jacobson.
Hi Kirsten, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Having been a survivor of trauma myself, I knew I wanted to choose a career where I could give to others that have been through what I had gone through. This is the desire that led me down the path of social work, and into my own private practice where I specialize in treating trauma through the use of EMDR. I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s of Social Work from Arizona State University, and have been practicing in Utah ever since. After my daughter was born, I knew I wanted to go into private practice, so I could balance my time between work and my daughter. I felt equally called to this work and to being a mom, and have been so lucky to be able to find this balance between both worlds. I have been in the field over 10 years, and have worked across the lifespan with clients ages 4-84 years old.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Anyone in the Social Work field knows it is never a smooth road to try and balance the needs of those we serve and our own self-care and self-preservation needs. Social Workers are enthusiastic caregivers, and we often overlook the vicarious trauma we experience working with the sensitive topics we do, and our needs to replenish to avoid caregiver burnout. I have experienced this in my career, and have had to learn how to keep myself healthy emotionally in order to give my best care to the clients that I serve. The most stressful time came in 2020 when the need and demand was so high, but we were navigating how to continue to do therapy when things began to shut down. Moving an entire business online during such a hectic time was something I was not totally prepared for. I remember being woken up by an earthquake on the day I had set aside to get my home office up and running and to get things switched over to telehealth. Owning a business definitely takes flexibility since you never know when a public health crisis or earthquake may derail your plans for the day!
As you know, we’re big fans of Mountainside Counseling Services. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Mountainside Counseling Services, I have put time and effort into making the process of starting therapy as trauma-informed and easy as I possibly can. Often following a trauma, the last thing our brain is thinking about is filling out paperwork. We make the first call to the last session seamless to support our clients in their recovery and recognize the needs individuals may have from their recent trauma.
I specialize in using EMDR to treat sexual abuse/assault, birth trauma, perinatal mood disorders, physical and emotional trauma, and attachment traumas. My goal is for someone to come to my office and leave with just a little more hope than what they came in with. I make sure that all are welcome here in my office regardless of gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation. All are welcome and deserve to have the best level of treatment that I can provide.
How do you define success?
For me, success is two parts: 1) providing opportunities for my family and 2) seeing individuals finding that light in their life again. I am so lucky that my business helps others find success and helps me find success in my life as well. I leave my office feeling like a good therapist when I see that light spark in someone’s eyes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mountainsidecounselingservices.org
- Instagram: @mountainsidecounselingservices
