About Me
All Are Welcome Here!
Hello
I’m Dr. Jean Jho
Jho as in “Joe” | She/Her | #PSY30433
I am Asian-American – 2nd generation Korean born from immigrant parents
I am an LGBTQ+ ally and a POC
I think “flaws” are deep, complex, and beautiful in their own way
I also like to curse here and there. Hey, I’m human.
Welcome! All are welcome here and I am glad that you are here! Allow me to introduce myself
I find each and every person I work with to be complex, layered, and valuable in their uniqueness and the ways they have come to adapt to the world they were born into. Rather than looking at situations from a “good” or “bad” lens, I try to be curious with you about why certain reactions, feelings, and reactions have emerged and have continued to persist over time. This may come in the form of identifying past traumas or experiences that have shaped beliefs as well as identify patterns that have emerged in various parts of your life. My desire is to help you access appreciation and empathy towards your own humanity. By doing so, emotions start to feel less like enemies and flaws, but more a helpful tool that alerts you and your needs.
I believe that collaborative work and mutual curiosity allows individuals to feel more grounded as they develop insight into themselves as well as identify their deeper needs. I value being able to embrace our humanness, flaws and all. Therapy IS vulnerable and difficult as well as gratifying and healing. I prioritize creating a space that is safe and nonjudgmental so that you can come as you are, just as you are.
Outside of being a therapist– I am an introvert, and a plant lover. Whenever I kill a plant, I buy two more to take its place. I am a parent to 2 dachshund puppies (do not ever do this to yourself) and 2 cats. I love animals but I am biased towards cats. My cats may make appearances every now and again during sessions, especially when it is an hour before dinner time (why do they do this????). I love food, laughter, tattoos, and good shows to binge on.
My Approach
I work primarily from a Relational Psychodynamic modality. However, I typically integrate different approaches that best fit your needs.
What is Psychodynamic Therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on identifying and understanding a person’s thoughts and feelings at a deeper level than some other forms of therapy. I work with their clients to help them bring their unconscious thoughts into their conscious awareness so that they can understand the internal factors that contributing to conflicts that feel difficult to resolve.
So what does that look like in practice? As I get to know my clients, I might start to notice themes or patterns that seem to show up. These patterns may have started from childhood and was just accepted as “just how things are.” By noticing these themes or patterns, we start to get a better grasp on why they emerged and what is causing them to repeat themselves in different circumstances. Something I hear quite often from clients is that they have always had a sense that something was off but could not put it into words or make sense of aspects of themselves. Therapy becomes like a light-bulb moment where clients realize that there is a valid reason for their feelings, thoughts, and reactions.
What Does it Mean to Work Relationally?
From my perspective, working relationally with my clients means intentionally being fully authentic with my clients. Of course, it is a bit more than that. Relational work focuses on the client’s relationship patterns or experiences. For example, let’s say that you struggle with being hyper aware of potential judgment from others. This makes social interactions stressful, overwhelming, and, at times, unsafe. Embarrassing yourself in front of others is your worst nightmare.
From a Relational Psychodynamic approach, we would explore where this fear of judgment emerged and how it was reinforced. Perhaps you had hyper critical parents that would comment on every fault they noticed and express disappointment by being critical or withdrawing from you. We realize how this repeated experience caused you to internalize that any mistake will lead to people losing interest in you or devaluing you.
This will inevitably play out with your therapist. You were 5 minutes late to session and worry that I will think that you are not a good client. You worry that I will see you as a failure or disappointment if old patterns that we had identified re-emerged. Voicing these internal thoughts is incredibly vulnerable, which is why establishing a safe, non-judgmental environment is of great importance to me. As you are able to tell me some of these fears, we can talk through how this played out between us in real time and have a corrective experience. Corrective experiences allow you to internalize that it is very much possible that people can extend grace to you when you’re not perfect.