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MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Jean Ricks-Ayer, LPC (She/Her)
Jean is a queer-identifying, licensed professional counselor and holistic healing practitioner, who believes in equitable human rights for all.
She holds strongly, that we are all so much more than our brain, and that an integrative, holistic, and embodied approach is the pathway to self-awareness, understanding, growth, and healing. Anchoring in curiosity and Internal Family Systems (IFS) also known as “parts work”, Jean will help you come to understand the many parts of you, that make you, you: How these parts work in harmony and opposition, and ultimately, how these parts came to be as means of finding clarity, confidence, and courage. Ultimately, Jean’s hope, is to help you tap into your truest self, through curiosity, open-mindedness, and deep thoughtfulness.
What It’s Like Working With Jean
In session, you’ll find that Jean is lovingly direct, warm, real, playful, and deeply compassionate. With a neurodivergent brain, high sensitivity, and strong intuition, you’ll find both comfort in her authenticity, and challenge in her passion for deep, expansive work. While session will usually include some verbal processing, it may also include somatic work, deep breathing, or visualization. In addition to traditional office therapy, Jean is excited to offer breathwork, energy healing, and intensive, holistic healing sessions, where individuals can engage their mind, body, and senses in fuller, more connected way.
Jean may be a great fit for you if you are open to new possibilities, deep thinking, and even deeper feeling. If you are willing to get uncomfortable, and are really interested in knowing, understanding, and living within your deepest integrity, buckle-up, settle in, and enjoy the ride.
Jean is originally from Los Angeles, CA where she was born, raised, and lived for most of her life—here she learned the beauty of diversity both in nature and nurture. During a brief life layover near Seattle, WA she met her partner, fell in love (with her human and the trees), and learned that fancy job titles and money do not always feel successful nor create happiness. As such, Jean quit her corporate job and career, and said “yes!” to an adventure to her partner’s native home of St. Louis, MO.
After a year of self-reflection, a small (but mighty!) identity crisis, and a lot of exploration of passion and purpose, Jean found her way to professional counseling as a means of purposeful connection to individuals in search of growth and healing. When she’s not sharing time and space with clients, Jean lives in the trees with her partner and five rescue pups. She really loves gardening, spending time in the dirt, and learning from the trees.
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
Jean holds a master’s degree in professional mental health counseling from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has completed level 1 and 2 training in Internal Family Systems through the Internal Family Systems Institute, is currently in somatic experiencing training, has completed level 1 and 2 Reiki training, is a certified breathwork facilitator, and will begin neuroaffective touch training in 2024. As well, Jean has completed numerous trainings with regard to trauma, and its impact on our mind, body, and nervous system. Prior to working in private practice, Jean worked in residential, partial-hospitalization, and intensive-outpatient levels of care for individuals with eating disorders and co-occurring challenges including mood disorders, personality disorders, self-harm, and suicide ideation. While she learned a lot here, mostly, she learned that most symptoms are in response to experience(s) and that people are not broken; rather, they are hurt and have found creative ways of moving through the world.
Therapy & Alternative Healing:
60-minute individual session-$225
90-minute individual or couple’s session-$335
For more information about these different offerings, please click HERE