Jessica Crenshaw

therapist

Jessica (Jessi) Crenshaw (she/her) is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) who received her Bachelors in Social Work, with a Minor in Women and Gender Studies from Northeastern Illinois University. Jessi also obtained her Masters in Social Work degree from JACSW at UIC with a specialization in children and families. Jessi has experience working in community mental health as a therapist, crisis intervention for runaway/lockout youth, providing trauma-informed services in a domestic violence shelter, and crisis intervention in emergency rooms for survivors of sexual assault. Jessi focuses her work primarily on teens and young adults. She is trained in both domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy.

Jessi recognizes the strength in making the decision to begin one’s therapeutic journey and how difficult it can be to find the right therapist. Her focus is on ensuring the space feels safe enough to venture on your own healing journey, together. The process of building this safe therapeutic relationship may take time, but has strong, lasting benefits in a person’s healing. Jessi is passionate about incorporating a therapeutic foundation rooted in an anti-racist, anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and strong relational lens. Jessi welcomes all clients who are seeking a sex/kink-positive, polyam-affirming, gender-affirming, body/fat positive, Health at Every Size, and 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming therapist. She specializes in working with survivors of trauma/abuse, people experiencing depression, LGBTQ+ identity exploration, anxiety, grief, and self-harm.

Jessi utilizes an approach that is empathetic, playful, gently-challenging, collaborative, introspective, casual, and welcomes the messiness that comes with lived experiences. She welcomes clients to show up authentically as who they are, without judgment. She also incorporates a mixture of different therapeutic modalities that center around becoming in tune with a person’s physical reactions to triggers and how to cope with this (somatic therapy/mindfulness) and exploring a person’s inner-child to create space for self-compassion and healing (inner-child therapy/psychodynamic therapy). However, Jessi is passionate about avoiding a “one-size-fits-all” modality when working with clients, as every person is unique and the expert of their own life. 

Outside of therapy, Jessi enjoys watching scary movies, hanging with her two cats, and listening to Beyoncé. She also loves astrology, crystals, live music, and reading psychological thriller books. 

You can reach Jessi at jessica@headhearttherapy.com.