Jennifer Novello, LMSW, ACSW, PMH-C

About Jennifer

Jennifer Novello, L.M.S.W., A.C.S.W. is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience. Jennifer provides counseling to a diverse population of older adolescents, college students, and adults. Jennifer is committed to providing caring and professional mental health services to all of her clients. As a clinical social worker, she maintains all ethical and professional standards as established by her profession and the State of Michigan.

Clinically, Jennifer has been trained in a number of evidence-based treatment modalities. She primarily uses interpersonal, cognitive-behavioral, and mindfulness based therapy practices in her work with clients.

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Clinical Specialties

Reproductive Mental Health

The journey of parenthood is often not what we expect or imagine. Jennifer has a deep compassion for and understanding about the challenges frequently associated with this time of life. Her hope is to partner with birthing parents in a way that respects their individual story while using her specialized knowledge and skills to help them find their path toward health and wellness.

Jennifer is committed to advancing her knowledge about the various challenges people may face when becoming parents. These challenges may include:

• Preconception planning for women with psychiatric disorders
• Infertility
• Pregnancy and infant loss
• Anxiety and depression during pregnancy
• Birth trauma and unexpected outcomes
• Postpartum depression and anxiety
• Coping with changing roles, identity, and relationships
• Premenstral syndrome (PMS) and premenstral dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
• Menopause-related mood changes

Trauma

Jennifer has advanced training and specializes in working with adults struggling with the effects that come from experiencing trauma. The trauma(s) may have occurred at any point in the individual’s life and may have occurred once or many times. Jennifer is cross trained to provide evidence based care to those who experienced trauma during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. She also works with Birth Professionals who have incredibly high rates of PTSD and burnout.

Jennifer has been trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy that is effective for treating trauma and reducing symptoms of PTSD. CPT is generally delivered over 12 sessions. CPT provides a way to understand why recovery from traumatic events is difficult and how symptoms of PTSD affect daily life. The focus is on identifying how traumatic experiences change thoughts and beliefs, and how thoughts influence current feelings and behaviors. An important part of the treatment is addressing ways of thinking that might keep individuals “stuck” and get in the way of recovery from symptoms of PTSD and other problems.

Anxiety

Everyone experiences some level of worry or anxiety. When it begins to interfere with your quality of life, physical or emotional well being or daily life functioning, it is time to get help. Jennifer provides therapy grounded in current scientific evidence and best practices, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. These treatment models focus on helping patients learn about anxiety in general, what triggers and fuels their own specific anxiety, and building skills to better cope with stress, navigate life challenges and specific skills to reduce anxiety.

Jennifer is interested in helping people learn options for changing how they think and behave when they experience anxiety. Often the things we automatically do fuel the very problem we are hoping to avoid. Jennifer helps people break out of old patterns and develop new skills that improve life satisfaction and well being.

Parenting a Child with Anxiety

A child suffering from anxiety can take an emotional toll on an entire family. As such, Jennifer also provides education, training, guidance and support for parents of a child struggling with anxiety or OCD. Many traditional parenting practices actually backfire when you have a child with significant anxiety. Jennifer can help you come up with a new parenting approach to support your child as they grow.

Additional Areas of Practice

Jennifer's practice continues to evolve over time. In addition to her current areas of speciality, she has significant experience working with people struggling with the following concerns:

• Adjustment to life, work, health or family changes
• Depression
• Grief and loss
• Parenting concerns
• Relationship stress
• Stress management

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Education and Certification

Jennifer obtained her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan in 1995. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and is credentialed with the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW). She is licenced in the State of Michigan as a Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW).

Jennifer is a member of Postpartum Support International (PSI), an organization whose purpose is to increase awareness among public and professional communities about the emotional changes that birthing parents experience during pregnancy and postpartum. The goal of PSI is to provide current information, resources, education, and to advocate for further research and legislation to support perinatal mental health. Jennifer has achieved advanced certification in Perinatal Mental Health issued by PSI. For more information on PSI, please visit their website.