About Jana
Jana Kessler is a licensed mental health counselor in Washington with 17 years of professional experience. She focuses on helping people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, LGBT issues, and problems with concentration or attention. Jana uses a down-to-earth style and aims to create a practical space for people to make changes.
She believes each person knows their own story and brings strengths to therapy. Sessions tend to center on the client’s goals, with the counselor offering guidance and tools to move forward.
Background and approach
Jana frames therapy as a collaborative effort rather than a one-way process. In sessions she may help a person clarify what matters most and practice new ways of thinking and behaving. She works with problems like persistent worry, low mood, challenges with focus, and navigations around identity and relationships.
She also supports people facing issues such as body image, family of origin struggles, grief around abandonment, or the emotional effects of trauma and disaster. Her methods include approaches that emphasize listening, practical problem solving, and exploring personal stories to find new meaning. Jana draws on strategies to build motivation, set small goals, and change unhelpful thought patterns.
She aims to offer short-term tools and longer-term insights depending on what the person needs. Sessions are offered in English and can be scheduled in formats that fit a busy life. Jana encourages anyone feeling stuck to take the next step and see whether a collaborative approach feels right.
Approaches and online therapy options
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and helping the person lead the conversation. It helps people who want a supportive space to understand themselves and make decisions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions and offers practical exercises to reduce worry and lift mood. It is helpful for anxiety, depression, and problems with focus.Finding the right approach usually happens together. The therapist will talk with the person about goals, try out methods, and adjust plans based on what helps most. This is a team effort where feedback guides the direction of care.
Online sessions can be done by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video calls work well for conversations that benefit from visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth or camera use is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief check-ins, quick coping strategies, or when a written record of reflections is helpful. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to connect from different locations.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Body image
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- Washington
- Languages
- English