Jessica Forrest, PhD
Welcome! I am so glad you are here. My name is Jessica (she/her), and I have been devoted to studying, researching, teaching, and practicing a broad range of approaches related to personal growth and healing for 16 years.
My passion began as an effort to help myself. I am no stranger to lonely, dark, and hopeless places. For decades I struggled with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, disordered eating, health challenges, and dysfunctional relationships. I was able to shift from surviving to thriving once I discovered practices that empowered me to connect with my innate wholeness and capacity to heal.
Now I have the honour of helping others. Below you will find information about my approach and credentials. If you have any questions, I hope you will feel comfortable reaching out via email or using the connect form at the bottom of this page.
Approach
Empowerment Focused. In our partnership, you are the expert of your experience and the leader of your journey. My role is to be a supportive companion and compassionate witness to your healing process. If along the way you encounter places that feel stuck or overwhelming, I can offer practices designed to help by reconnecting you with your inner healing intelligence.
Trauma Informed. Many of us have experienced some form of trauma. Our partnership will be informed by the guiding principles of trauma-informed care with the intention to best support healing and prevent re-traumatization. These principles include safety; trustworthiness and transparency; collaboration and mutuality; empowerment, voice, and choice; and responsiveness to cultural, historical, and gender issues. My hope is that within our partnership you will feel cared for, listened to, understood, and respected.
“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
– Peter A. Levine, PhD
Attachment Based. Trauma frequently involves or results in a rupture of our connection with ourselves, others, or life itself. With this understanding, our partnership can become a safe container to explore relational wounds and provide corrective experiences to promote repair. Across all healing modalities, the relationship between client and practitioner best predicts positive outcomes. For this reason, I will often invite you to explore how our connection is feeling for you and what is arising in the relational field between us.
Ethically Grounded. Protecting the welfare of clients in healing spaces is critical. I bring to my practice education and professional experience in the field of ethics. I follow the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association’s Standards of Practice, the Psychedelic Association of Canada’s Code of Ethics, and I have signed the North Star Pledge. To support the safety and well-being of my clients I engage in regular personal therapy, professional supervision, and continuing education.
Credentials
Please click here for a complete overview of my experience, education, certifications, courses, and publications.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology
Master of Arts (MA) in Counselling Psychology (In Progress)
Certificate in Psychedelic Integration Therapy
Certificate in Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration
Dynamic Attachment Repatterning Experience (DARe) Practitioner
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Informed Practitioner
Nectara Psychedelic Guide
If you found me through Nectara, please consider supporting them by booking with me here.