Jena Sternberg, MA, LPC

Man, Do You Feel Like A Woman?

Are you a woman seeking support for your mental or physical health? Do you find yourself struggling to feel worthy, understood, or appreciated in your daily life? Are you wishing that you felt more empowered to advocate for yourself at work, home, or the doctor’s office?

Perhaps you’re struggling with common women’s health issues like endometriosis, pelvic pain, discomfort during sex, or an autoimmune disorder. Maybe you have been struggling to conceive, suffered a miscarriage, or are considering fertility treatment. Alternatively, you may be searching for answers about adoption, family planning, or terminating a pregnancy. 

It could be that your challenges are less physical and more emotional in nature. You may be grappling with symptoms of anxiety or depression, like restlessness, constant worry, and sleep disruptions. Or perhaps an instance of abuse, assault, or harassment has left you with unresolved post-traumatic stress or made it difficult to relax and trust others.  

And while you wish that you could find relief from all of the pain and discomfort you’re feeling, you may struggle to accept help from others and feel worthy of their love. This feeling of insecurity has likely caused you to build walls instead of bridges between yourself and others, resulting in communication challenges and intimacy issues. 

As women, we face a unique set of physical, emotional, and domestic obstacles. Yet, no matter how strong and resilient we may be, our daily checklist is so much more manageable when we feel seen and supported. Fortunately, counseling makes help available to women of all ages and backgrounds as we navigate life’s hardships and challenges. 

Women Experience A Particular Kind Of Pressure When It Comes To Matters Of Physical And Mental Health 

While certain aspects of women’s mental and physical well-being have become less taboo over time, there are still certain stigmas associated with various elements of reproductive health, sexual violence, and the ways in which we as a gender express our wants and needs. There is a long list of “women’s issues” that remain socially unacceptable to discuss or that stoke a fear in us of being judged if we were to discuss them. 

Moreover, women are often forced to conform to the gender expectations created by our culture, our families, and the social media images of perfection we consume on a daily basis. It can feel as though we are constantly under the microscope of those around us, as we have been conditioned to evaluate our worthiness based on others’ opinions of our physical appearance, abilities, and intelligence. 

A fear of failure and embarrassment can prevent us from feeling confident in our choices. And because we are so rarely given the opportunity to feel empowered, we develop a need for control over all outcomes and scenarios in our lives. We have been conditioned to feel dramatic or hysterical when tending to our emotional needs, and thus, there is an added pressure to remain composed at all times—even when the going gets rough.

Therapy is one of the few options for exploring our emotions without the fear of judgment. And while traditional talk therapy is a great start to addressing surface-level issues, my body-based and integrative counseling style provides clients with a chance to clear a lifetime of mental congestion, getting to the source of the physical and emotional pain that so many of us women endure. 

Counseling Gives Women An Opportunity For Newfound Self-Esteem And Empowerment

Though there are many avenues for finding support for your mind and body, the therapeutic space is yours and yours alone. In a safe, confidential, and judgment-free space, you will be invited to dig deep into the issues that are impacting you on a daily basis. Over the course of counseling, you will be given perspective on the unique women’s issues that you’re contending with while feeling seen and supported by a fellow female along the way.  

My approach tailors treatment to the client, placing you in the driver’s seat of your therapeutic plan and providing you with a sense of control throughout the process. By delving deeply into how the beliefs you maintain about yourself developed, you will gain clarity about the areas in life where you are undervaluing your abilities. Upon these realizations, a chain of reactions is likely to form wherein you’ll begin to observe a decrease in symptoms as your mindset shifts from fearful to confident. 

As an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist, I believe that getting to the deep-seated core of the issue is a highly effective means for minimizing daily disturbances. By locating the limiting beliefs that you tell yourself, we will work backward toward the root of your challenges and then begin the series of reprocessing, using auditory and visual cues to clear negative associations with certain thoughts, beliefs, and memories.  

I find that bringing awareness to what is happening in your body and why it is occurring is a great catalyst for change. By understanding why your brain and body reacts the way it does, you’ll be less likely to be triggered into the counterproductive and painful patterns that have caused you distress. And as you begin to analyze your personal history as a map towards your present, you will gain newfound insight into the various familial and cultural pressures that conditioned the maladaptive behaviors that are keeping you from making progress. 

Since 2014, I have provided counseling for clients seeking relief from the physical and emotional pains unique to women. My warm, inviting, and curious nature has helped me to facilitate a special type of healing within a population with whom I share so many experiences. In addition, my approach to counseling women has been heavily informed by OBGYNs and other medical professionals. If you are struggling with women-specific health issues, our therapy sessions can help you feel empowered to ask for the care you need. 

I believe that healing begins anywhere and that change can happen now—at this very moment! The fact that you are even reading this page means the process of transformation has already begun, so don’t be alone in continuing it. 

Maybe you’re considering therapy for women’s-specific issues, but you have some questions…

What are your qualifications for treating women’s issues in particular?

I believe I am uniquely suited to provide therapy to women for many reasons! First and foremost, I am a woman, so I have the personal experience and perspective needed for a genuinely empathetic approach to counseling. I’m also fascinated by issues of women’s health and have come across both common and uncommon medical conditions among my clients over the years. This has caused me to seek the expertise of doctors, OBGYNs, and other medical professionals when counseling women who experience such issues as endometriosis, vaginismus, autoimmune diagnoses, fertility, and other reproductive challenges. 

If you are looking for mental health counseling in tandem with medical treatment, let me know! I have a lot of experience working with women who struggle with such issues and am happy to consult with a physician on your behalf. I view treatment as a team effort, and I am invested in providing you with the best care and relief possible.  

What makes your therapeutic approach different?

As an EMDR therapist certified in the S.A.F.E. approach, I am confident in body-based therapeutic methods for really getting to the core of an issue to create lasting change. EMDR uses auditory and visual stimulation to help clients to reprocess the beliefs, thoughts, and memories that create upset or discomfort. The brain-body connection tends to be undervalued in traditional talk therapy, but I have seen firsthand how effective EMDR can be in helping women to find relief from discomfort, including bodily pain.  

Want to learn more about what makes the EMDR approach different from traditional talk therapy? Visit my EMDR Therapy page. 

I see that you often have a waitlist for accepting new clients. How does this process work?

If I happen to be on a waitlist when you seek my counseling services, I can usually guarantee that a spot will become available within the month. The vast majority of my clients are on recurrent schedules, so there are rarely cancellations or openings for those spots. However, I will offer openings to referrals on the waitlist or extend my hours when possible. 

If your needs are more urgent, I know a lot of therapists in the area with a wide range of specialties. Please contact me to find out how I can help and if I can offer the names of a few counselors who may have more availability than I do at the moment. 

The Best Thing About Bein’ A Woman Is The Prerogative To Have A Little Fun And… Healing Support!  

If you are struggling with emotional distress, relationship conflict, or women’s-specific health issues, counseling can pave the way for relief. To learn more about how I can help or to get a sense of my availability, email me or call (214) 534-7568 today.