Jorja Warembourg

I have always had a strong desire to help people. My parents both had roles serving their community and I always admired that. Throughout my education, I felt very strongly that clinical work was a space where I could serve my community and fellow humans. As I continued my education, I sharpened my skill set and developed personal theories of practice that I feel very firmly about. I want to know how people grow, change and develop their identities over time. My goal is to be a witness to my client's experience and help them through our shared humanity — knowing that despite our differences, we are all connected in some way.

I take an interactive approach, meaning I pull bits and pieces from different theories — why things happen — and frameworks — how those things are applied. My personal framework of choice is Somatic Integrative Accompany-Focused Reflective theory. This focuses on physical sensations, the nervous system and body signals to process trauma and stress. It's a whole-person view and supportive approach, working through experiences and active self-reflection. Essentially, I use body awareness, focus on understanding and empathizing with clients, utilize critical reflection, and employ an integration framework that focuses on regulation. Other modalities I pull from are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — which focuses on thoughts, feelings and action; Motivational Interviewing — which helps people resolve mixed feelings and find their own inner drive to change behavior; and trauma-informed care — which focuses on safety, trust and empowerment.

My goal is to build a trusting relationship, acknowledge my client's role as the expert in their life, and use my humanness to help my clients navigate their experiences. In our first session, we will go over confidentiality and I will collect some background information from you. This will help guide the rest of our time together!

You can expect me to ask “Where do you feel that in your body?” many times! You can also expect me to be fully present with you and offer safe, supportive and judgement-free listening regarding your story. You can expect me to ask specific questions about your experiences and be curious about you and your life, while giving you room to share at a pace you are comfortable with. You can expect a more human-centered approach, putting your needs, emotions and behaviors first. I believe this creates a more effective therapeutic relationship.

Hope's Beacon aligns very closely with my personal belief in the power of human connection. The emphasis on the client/clinician relationship is also very important to me. I believe that clinicians should use their humanness in session, and that is appreciated at Hope's Beacon.