JANA MCCALL EXPRESSIVE THERAPY
Just where you are, that's the place to start- Pema Chodron
Therapy for adults, relationships, couples
If you're here, then something in your life might not be working anymore, if ever.
You may feel burned out, overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, uninspired, or stuck in relationship patterns that keep repeating.
Maybe you feel everything, all of it, and it's just too much. Or you might feel numb, dissociated, shut down, or struggling to feel anything at all.
Many of us have lost touch with our truths, our needs, our own thoughts, even. We bury them in the opinions, messages, comforts, and needs of our environments and the people in them.
I am very passionate about helping you figure out what is going on within yourself and how that connects to all the things and relationships in your life, past and present, and how to make changes for the future and the now. My work centers on helping you find ways to relieve yourself of the burden you've maybe carried all these years; understand and express your truths, voice, needs and boundaries; and tap into innate or new strengths with the goal of living with more ease and authenticity, and less suffering
Some of what I work with: navigating life as a neurodivergent (autism, ADHD, sensory differences, etc), C-PTSD and other ways trauma shows up, anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, attachment (and abandonment) issues, relational challenges (family, friends, romantic), chronic illness (EDS, POTS, MS, MCAS, etc), identity, creativity.
You do not need a diagnosis, a label, or a clear explanation for what you’re experiencing to begin working with me and to make a difference in your life.
I’m a bit different from the norm. You might be, too. Let's see if we might be a good fit. Schedule a free consult or request more info here: CONTACT
Individual therapy
You may be trying to understand yourself more deeply, recover from burnout, heal from trauma or difficult relationships, navigate chronic illness, or make changes that feel important but hard to begin.
Sometimes we spend years adapting ourselves to other people and eventually lose track of where the adaptation ends and we begin.
Therapy can be a place to become curious about the patterns you’ve developed, understand what they may have helped you survive, and decide what you want to carry forward.
Couples and relationship therapy
Relationships can become especially complicated when two people experience emotions, stress, closeness, communication, or sensory input differently.
I work with couples, partners, and polycules who find themselves caught in conflict, shutdown, pursuit, withdrawal, misunderstanding, or disconnection.
Rather than deciding who is right, I’m interested in what is happening underneath the conflict—what each person is feeling, protecting, needing, or trying to communicate. My goal is to help you understand not only each other, but what happens in the space between you.
Neurodivergence-affirming therapy
I work with ADHD, autism, OCD, PDA, sensory processing differences, and people who are only beginning to wonder whether neurodivergence might be part of their story.
As a neurodivergence-affirming therapist with lived experience, I understand that differences in communication, attention, sensory processing, emotional regulation, and demand sensitivity are not personal failures.
Therapy should not require you to become better at masking or force yourself into strategies that do not fit your mind or body. Together, we can explore how your inner and external worlds exist and merge, what makes life harder, what helps, and where more harmony might be possible.
Therapy that doesn't have to be limited to words.
My approach is collaborative, relational, and tailored to you. My work is informed by attachment, existential and psychodynamic therapies, parts work, Brainspotting, somatic and nervous-system-focused approaches, sensory processing, and expressive arts therapy.
You do not need to consider yourself artistic to benefit from expressive work. We don't even have to talk about art, let alone do it.
Our experiences do not always live neatly in language. When it feels useful, therapy may include imagery, metaphor, movement, sound, creativity, or noticing what is happening in the body.
You do not have to feel comfortable in your body, either. We can approach these places slowly and with curiosity, at a pace that feels right for you.
Authentic self and expression
We live in a world that often encourages us to tune out our feelings, intuition, creativity, and needs in order to function or maintain connection.
Our truths can get muddled because how we show up in the world might not align with who we feel we are on the inside.
I believe we are all deserving of opportunities to love and be loved wholly, to express ourselves, and to live in ways that feel more unmasked, unburdened, and authentically our own.
My practice is LGBTQIA+ affirming, disability affirming, body positive, and sex-, kink-, and BDSM-positive. I welcome diverse gender identities, sexual orientations, relationship structures, bodies, abilities, and ways of experiencing the world.
If something here feels familiar, I’d like to hear your story.
I offer sessions and ongoing therapy and consultations as a provider licensed in the state of Washington, or as a relational, creative, or personal coach/consultant outside of Washington state.
Schedule a free consult or request more info here: CONTACT
Scroll down for more information about me, my approach, fees, and location.
“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”
― Paul Coelho
ABOUT
Many of my approaches to therapy are rooted in my own life experiences. I'm from the Southwest part of the states and am a white passing Latina (mestizo) with English, Irish, Scottish and Indigenous Mexican heritage and genetics. I have a complex and rich history, having grown up in a family of divorce, substance abuse and historical and inter-generational trauma.
When I was a teenager, I found the punk music scene which gave me a place to express myself creatively and ultimately, to belong. I used a lot of various substances during high school, but found my way out of that lifestyle after having a couple of life altering events. I chose a different life for myself and started studying and practicing yoga and meditation and I also began college to study Special Education and Fine Arts.
I moved to Seattle 1989 and was fortunate enough to be part of the exploding Seattle music scene, which led me to working at Sub Pop Records and also playing music with such bands as Nirvana, Screaming Trees and Modest Mouse.
After stints in Montana and Ellensburg, I permantly reside in Seattle, happily so. I've raised two neurodivergent kids, gone through a divorce, and started a private practice as a therapist. I still make art and music and am currently working on a interdisciplinary play.
I love working with clients and find a lot of meaning in these connections. As a neurodivergent person, my brain is built for identifying patterns and deep analysis. I think I have a great sense of humor and, when appropriate, it shows up during sessions.
I enjoy working with groups and have developed and facilitated groups/wokshops for neurodivergent adults, songwriting workshops creating through shadow and inner child parts, art therapy for people who are HIV+, yoga/meditation groups and workshops, grief groups, and LGBTQIA+ groups and workshops.
Trainings and Education:
Montana State University- BFA
Antioch University Seattle- Masters in Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy
Brainspotting Level 1 and 2
Gottman Level 1
EFT Level 1
PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy) Level 1
Yoga Teacher Certification 200
Adaptive Yoga Therapy
Yoga Nidra
EMDR for Neurodivergent Clients
IFS
Polyvagal Theory
APPROACH
My approach to therapy is eclectic and integrative. I work through a culturally responsive framework that includes tools and theory from Humanistic, Attachment, Existential, Art therapy, Brainspotting, Polyvagal Theory, PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy), IFS (Internal Family Systems), Eco therapy, Narrative, Sensorimotor, Mindfulness-Based Therapies, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and other approaches to individuals, relationships, and families.
I also work through a trauma and resilience informed lens. This means acknowledging that trauma can exist not only in individuals, but in generations of families, historically with ancestors and within greater systems. We each carry not only the less desirable stories and parts of our ancestors, but also their strengths, and we alone hold the key to tell these stories to honor them and to heal from them.
Expressive Arts Therapy with me can look many different ways depending on what works best for you. We might work together doing purely traditional talk therapy, or if it's something you're interested in exploring, we could integrate modalities such as making art, writing or journaling, incorporating music, whether listening to or writing, doing yoga and movement that fits your needs and abilities, meditation, finding ways to incorporate the natural world, or creating ritual together that is relevant to your needs and/or cultural background.
Many people are embarrassed or ashamed of their creative process, and might feel they are terrible artists. You do not have to be an 'artist' to be creative or participate in Expressive Arts Therapy. There is no judgement in what we do together; this is not about making perfect art or excelling at being creative. Expressive Arts Therapy is about finding ways to help you achieve more balance and peace, to find your own unique voice, to allow your truths to come through, to tap into something bigger than yourself, to heal, or to even have fun. I'm excited for you to start this journey, and to share it with you.
If therapy doesn't feel right for you at this time, but you're interested in working with me, I offer sessions for focusing on career goals, creative goals such as visual arts and songwriting, mindfulness and meditation, yoga therapy. I'm passionate about helping people discover their own passions and cultivate fulfilling lives. I want to help you tune into your truths, your stories, and your unique creative voice, and overcome blocks if they are getting in your way. Together we can also explore ways to find more meaning in your life and to be more present.
Contact and Info
170 for individuals for 55 minutes
200-225 for couples or families for 55 minutes
90 minute and 2 hr sessions are available upon request. I see clients on a weekly basis or every other week. Sliding scale spots may be available
Presently I am private pay/out of network but can provide a superbill for you to submit to your provider who can then reimburse you. Please contact your insurance company to find out what is covered under your policy.
Schedule a free 30 minute consult or request more information here: CONTACT
jana@janamccallexpressivetherapy.com
(206) 485-1552
Licensed in Washington state as a Mental Health Counselor.
Lic # 61496004
