Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns...

We may want to love other people without holding back, to feel authentic, to breathe in the beauty around us, to dance and sing. Yet each day we listen to inner voices that keep our life small.

- Tara Brach

Psychotherapy for Adult Women*

Jamie K. Beck is a compassionate and experienced psychotherapist with the training, commitment and desire to help adults who identify as women remove the obstacles that block the path to health and well-being. 

*Why Only Women?

I believe that most women tend to live their days in worlds designed around the lives of others. They come to caregiving easily and early thanks to how we socialize girls when they are very young. Those roles don’t end when families start and careers begin. By the time most women come to see me, they have been managing several caregiving roles at the same time: mother, spouse, full time worker, adult caregiver of aging parents, etc. In addition, each of their relationships requires their focused attention but only one, if they are fortunate, can return their care.

This is where therapy can make a life-changing, positive difference. Women deserve a therapeutic environment where the focus of mindful compassion, embodiment, and empowerment is designed for their specific needs. After over twenty years, working with every age range and gender, this is the population I know the best. I know them professionally and I know them personally. I have seen how hard they work in therapy and I believe they have benefited the most from my approach to compassion-based interpersonal and personal mental and physical health.

I think it is important to give one’s limited time and hard-earned expertise to the people you know you can help. For individual psychotherapy, I choose to give mine to this much deserving population and I include all women, whether assigned at birth or after transition.

Note: Therapy groups and meditation gatherings in person or online will be open to various populations and ages and will not be exclusive to women only.

Important Factors for Choosing a Therapist

Therapy is hard work. It requires a great deal of patience and the willingness to feel pretty uncomfortable at times; it is rare for us to spend a chunk of time focused on ourselves and not on the needs of another person. And yet, most of us know that our ability to be fully present to others requires a certain amount of self-awareness, something that is challenging to do without adequate self-care.

Your therapist is your guide towards a healthier and more fulfilling life. A therapist needs to be validating, non-judgmental, encouraging, hopeful, experienced, and skillful. It is essential to feel a sense of safety, respect, and reassurance when you are in the care of this clinician or therapy will do little to help you change your situation.

Therapy has the best chance of being successful when the therapeutic alliance is strong. I encourage everyone I know (future clients, friends, and family) to take the time to seek out the best therapist for their specific needs since this may be one of the most beneficial relationships you will have in your lifetime.

When looking for a therapist, ask yourself questions such as:
Do I feel comfortable in this office, in this environment? Does this person come across as warm, patient and empathetic? Does this person make eye contact and ask me questions that are relevant to why I am here? Does this person have experience with my particular challenges? Does this person show a genuine interest in me and my potential? Do I feel hopeful after our first meeting?