Hello, my name is Jacqueline Sundol (Sun-dole), and I go by Jackie.
I felt called to the field of counseling in my undergraduate and masters programs where I studied as well as engaged in various expressive arts modalities, including writing, music and fine arts, witnessing the healing impact of creativity in my own life and others.
In a clinical setting, using a person-centered, strengths-based approach, I help teens and adults increase personal insight and self-awareness into themes and patterns in life that contribute to present distress. Exploring creativity and connection, to begin, I offer clients a safe environment as well as tools by which they can express themselves verbally and non verbally, reconnecting to what is most important to them in the midst of day to day stressors or major life events. Clients have expressed they’ve appreciated feeling heard and accepted in sessions, more hopeful they can affect positive change in their lives and relationships.
I have helped clients better navigate their relationships through learning communication and coping skills, empowering clients to express themselves more authentically and maintain healthy boundaries through improved communication of needs. With some guidance, each are better able to recognize and overcome relationship patterns which limit their ability to maintain stable and committed connections with others.
On my way to realizing this vision for helping people, I completed my BS in English, Music and Art, then 1st masters thesis at Northern Michigan University using expressive writing following trauma, earning my MA in English as I continued research in the field of psychology over the next decade while teaching writing in Higher education. It was at that time my passion to integrate these vehicles of expression in a therapeutic context was further ignited. However, it was during my graduate program at the University of Texas at San Antonio in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I had particular research interests in trauma and resilience as well as learning how person centered expressive therapies such as work with clay, drawing and painting as well as writing could help people better understand themselves, community and culture as they express and validate their experiences, offering each a safe path toward healing where traditional talk therapy alone could not. Incorporating these tools for expression coupled with mindfulness practice have aided clients’ reduction of mood symptoms related to prior trauma, interpersonal and community conflict, as well as recovery from addiction, grief and loss.
I look forward to working with you to overcome challenges and connect you to your best life.
Theoritcal models I use include Psychodynamic, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and DBT for PTSD, Mindfulness Based Sobriety and Stress Reduction, as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Solution Brief Focused Therapy.
