About my training and approach to psychotherapy
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I started my formal training as a psychotherapist in 1997, but my interest in the field began much earlier. Although I have had a variety of work and living experiences throughout my life, I was always drawn to the study of human nature and the goal of understanding others and myself. Somebody (I forget who) once said that you should take up a career in the thing that you spend the most time gossiping about. About ten years ago, I decided that I spent most of my time talking about human nature, counseling my friends, and trying to understand myself, so I decided to take up a career in psychotherapy. I was working in the tech industry at the time, having gotten there by way of the arts, but I wasn’t happy working with machines. I did coursework at several institutions in the Pacific Northwest – at the Alfred Adler Institute in British Columbia, at Antioch University and the Center of Object Relations in Seattle, before receiving my degree from Antioch in 2007. Part of my degree was the year-long internship working in community mental health care, at Greater Lakes Mental healthcare in Lakewood, Washington. As soon as I finished my academic work and started working with clients, I began to realize that I’d finally found a niche where I could be happy. Since my graduation I have continued to be active in the Seattle psychoanalytic community. I have served on the education committee of the Northwest Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study, where I have given presentations and developed coursework. I am currently serving on the board of the Northwest Family Development Center. I am fortunate to have the opportunity of consulting with some of the most active minds in the psychoanalytic community, both in Seattle and elsewhere in the world. Another important preparation for my work in psychotherapy has been my own personal therapy. I would not recommend seeing a therapist who has not had the experience of being “on the couch”. There are many reasons for this, but one reason is that it is important for a therapist to know the places where he or she is likely to become stuck, so as not to confuse unresolved issues of the therapist with those of the client. Also, it is my own experience of the change that is possible in therapy that has encouraged me to work in this field and has convinced me that the work is worthwhile. Contact me: (206) 438-4673 | jay@jayfrenchtherapy.com ©2016 by Jay French. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced or reprinted without the explicit, written permission of Jay French.
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