Jane Kim, MA/MFT-I

Pre-Licensed Therapist - Supervised

Education: I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies, minor in Art, and concentration in Elementary Education, from Concordia University Irvine, California; a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, concentration in Art Therapy, from Notre Dame de Namur University, in Belmont, California.

Experience: Being passionate about children early on, I began my career as a therapist, trained in Applied Behavior Analysis therapy. For 15 years I served as lead therapist and Coordinator of Services for children with autism and related disorders. During my Master's program, I became the dedicated mental health therapist, across two elementary schools, in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. Shortly after that, I took a break

from working outside the home, to devote myself to raising my three children.

Over the span of 20 years, I became an accomplished visionary within the world of education, serving the East/West Coast and Hawaii, as a mental health therapist, visual arts teacher, preschool teacher, and core content teacher. I am currently the Visual Arts teacher at Holy Nativity School and have been a summer school teacher at Punahou School, for the last five years.

Beliefs: Every person has a story to tell, and I am here to listen, validate, and meet you where you are at. There is creativity within us all and it is important to explore it, with guidance at times, to gain greater self-awareness. I believe the parent is the expert and best advocate for their child, and I am here to support parents in strengthening and forming healthy attachments. The foundation should be centered on positive mental health, as mental illness can infiltrate all aspects of our health and well-being, and any change can be traumatic, even if it seems minimal. As a mother to two daughters and a son, I believe in the importance of supporting the development of healthy attachments and creating a safe outlet for children to express themselves in their language of art and play, for their overall well-being. Therefore, whether someone wants to talk, express their thoughts and feelings through their play and/or art process, every individual is valuable and deserves be heard without judgement.

Approach: My approach is strengths-based, and as a family systems therapist, I help each individual identify their "self" in how s/he exists within their family unit. As a trained play therapist, sand tray therapist, and art therapist, I look at the narrative and help individuals find the best modality to work through trauma, to help process and cope in healthy ways. I also use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques to break negative thinking patterns and I just believe in being present for every person.

Clients: Children, teens, parents, for individual and group sessions. I respect all races, cultures and ethnicities; sexual orientations, religions and spiritual affiliations.

Languages: I speak English and understand Korean.

Play therapy
Autism
Art therapy
Family Conflict
Depression
Child/Parent conflict
Teen struggles
Neuro atypical children

Fees: $125/hour, sliding scale. At this time I do not accept insurance.