Licensed psychologist

serving clients in

Washington State

Reconnect

The chaos of modern life can make us lose sight of the simple things we know are good for us. We can easily end up stuck, acting and thinking in ways that make us feel dissatisfied, alone, or distressed.

Therapy can be a gentle opportunity to reconnect with what is most important to us and help to increase internal calm and connection with others.

New Clients

I specialize in helping people who feel stuck or unhealthy in their relationships with loved ones and with food and exercise.

Contact
 
Dr Jenny Wang

I decided to study psychology after seeing a psychologist myself. Therapy freed me from confusion and emotional burden, opening an opportunity to make the most of my life.

From this experience, I decided to help others through hearing their stories.

Education

2014: Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, University of Oregon

2010: M.S., Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon

2001: B.A., Psychology, UC Davis

2001: B.S., Biology, UC Davis

Specialty Areas

Although my education as a psychologist has been broad, I have additional training in the areas of eating disorders and relationship issues.

Eating disorders: I worked for two years as an eating disorders specialist at the University of Oregon, during which I provided integrated care for clients with body image concerns and eating disorders. In this role, I co-facilitated an eating disorders treatment team, ran therapy groups, and provided eating disorder assessments and therapy.

Relationship Issues: My primary training as a psychologist has been interpersonal process therapy, and I work with clients from the perspective that healthy relationships are at the core of mental health. Within this focus, I have taken care to learn about dynamics that can get in the way of intimacy and trust, including miscommunication and misunderstandings, betrayal, and problematic attachment styles. I also have specialized knowledge of how power dynamics affect relationships through my past research and work with women survivors of partner violence.

Additional areas of interest

  • Career indecision

  • Alcohol and other drug use

  • Perfectionism and procrastination

  • Stress management and sleep issues

  • Social anxiety/shyness, generalized anxiety, and panic

  • Depression, feeling alone, joyless, self-critical, or struggle with existential questions

Cultural Identities

I am deeply committed to providing culturally competent therapy. This means I will strive to learn about your cultural identities with openness and respect to make sure that the work we are doing fits with who you are. I also actively explore and question my own privileges and biases to maintain awareness of how our cultural identities might interact in sessions. Multicultural topics about which I have the most experience include:

  • Ethnicity and race

  • Gender and Women’s issues

  • Ability / Disability identity

  • Power dynamics at work or home

  • Experiences of oppression and discrimination

  • Immigrant experience and bicultural identity

  • Socioeconomic status and Social class jumping

I equally value and am striving to increase my competence with multicultural identities not mentioned above, including sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and spirituality, and indigenous heritage.

 

Therapy Services

Sustainable

I aim to provide support and outcomes for you that last between sessions and long after you are done with therapy. I take a feminist approach that involves being transparent in my reasoning and where my interventions come from. In this way, the therapy process is not mysterious. You will be able to take the tools that we’ve worked on and implement them independently of me.

 

Efficient

I am active about making the most of our time together. Some of my strategies to increase efficiency in sessions and avoid stagnation include starting our work with an assessment of your concerns, providing you with suggestions of tools to try in between sessions, and regularly checking in with you about what has been helpful or not.

Relationship Issues

What can you do to improve your relationships when you feel alone, fear hurting others or being hurt, or frequently question whether you have enough to offer?

These questions are difficult to answer in general, but especially if you are someone who often feels responsible for people in their lives or for larger problems in the world. Maybe you care too much about what others think and lose sight of your own internal compass. Have you noticed a pattern of feeling frustrated by people in your life but feel alone, empty, and lost without them?

Relationship patterns like these can cloud your ability to forge relationships that are connected and secure.

I can help by:

Identifying healthy boundaries that work for you.

Figuring out ways to communicate needs so others can hear you without being defensive.

Developing mindfulness, self-compassion, and other self-care strategies to maintain your integrity in the face of your or someone else’s unhappiness.

Talking through what are must-haves for you in a relationship so that you can feel at peace.

Eating Disorders

You might be reading this portion of my website because your eating feels out of control (or too controlled), you exercise to injury, push yourself to exercise despite resenting it, or your preoccupation with your body image keeps you from fully enjoying life.

Finding a balance between health, body satisfaction, and freedom from excessive worries about eating and exercise can be challenging, and the path is unique to each person.

I can help by:

Evaluating what your body needs to feel good with regard to food and exercise.

Exploring multiple strategies to cope with difficult feelings and relationships to reduce your need and desire for disordered eating or excessive exercise.

When relevant, providing information on topics that are often connected to eating disorders, including: stress management, anger, asserting oneself in relationships, intuitive eating and setpoint theory, media, and family.

Based on your interest, I can also make referrals to medical doctors and nutritionists who are trained in these concerns and collaborate with such providers for your care.

 

Frequently asked questions

  • Yes and no. You are seeking therapy to overcome problems, and change is a part of the process as we move towards your goals. At the same time, I believe the core of who you are is essential to preserve and will be our guide for therapy direction.

  • I follow a motivational interviewing approach. This means that I trust that your natural motivation to become healthier will drive topic direction and depth of therapy, and my job is to help uncover and build that motivation. I will not insist that you talk about something or try a new coping strategy if you disagree or feel hesitant. I will not guilt-trip you for behaviors such as using substances, disordered eating, or engaging in a hurtful relationship.

  • If I don’t have much experience with your concerns, or I am not a good interpersonal fit with you, I can refer you to someone who is a better match.

  • I enjoy working with people of all gender identities. What I mean by feminist therapy is that I view you as the driver in your life and in therapy. We would be equal collaborators for your care.

  • My focus on helping clients manage alcohol and other drug use ranges from use reduction to abstinence, depending on what works best for each person. Together, we would assess patterns, identify potential changes, explore healthier ways to cope with difficult feelings and spend time, and find ways to navigate relationships with friends and family members who use. I promote harm-reduction through considering ways to minimize risks to you and your relationships while using alcohol or other substances.

  • When we have a healthy relationship with food, we can be spontaneous and relaxed with eating, feel free to eat a wide variety of food, and also attend to our physical health while making food and exercise choices. We would also have plenty of space in our minds and schedules for other aspects of life that are important to us. Disordered eating and exercise can mean that thoughts and behaviors related to food and exercise dominate the day.

    I support size acceptance and believe that health comes in diverse shapes and sizes rather than a particular BMI or muscle mass.

  • Some of the interventions I use to help people live healthier lives include providing information about and exploring:

    • how personal relationships can help or hinder change

    • how your body reacts to continued alcohol and other drug abuse and disordered eating and exercise

    • evidence-based strategies to reduce substance use and disordered eating/exercise and improve overall mental health

    • how all of these factors contribute to maintaining sobriety and intuitive eating

    Based on your interest, I can also make referrals to medical doctors and nutritionists who are trained in these concerns and collaborate with such providers for your care.

  • I am an interpersonal process therapist, which means I consider human relationships to be at the center of mental health. When you decide to work with me, a part of therapy will focus on relationship patterns and how they affect your well-being.

    I aim to provide a nonjudgmental and compassionate space for you to process feelings about, and experiences of, relationship and other life concerns. We would examine patterns of relationship dynamics that improve your mental health and others that trigger difficult feelings. What we learn about your life and relationships would inform strategies to try to strengthen your relationships and your internal resilience to ebbs and flows that naturally occur in them.