July 10, 2019

Meet Jessica Medina of Your Therapy Houston in Rice Military

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Medina.

Jessica, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story has been an exploratory process of getting to know who I am and what brings passion to my life. From the start, it has been important for me to pursue a career that genuinely brings happiness to me. I wanted to work from passion, honesty, and drive. I knew psychology and helping people brought that to me, but I didn’t know how these two things would merge right away. A lot of research, patience, and soul searching was involved in finding my calling. I remember having so many ideas. From clinical psychologist to forensic psychology. All were very interesting, but I still did not have the kind of meaningful joy that I ached for. When I realized that I wanted to be a therapist, I found exactly that and I did not look back. I know I made the right choice because every single day, my decision is reinforced. I get to help people during some of their most vulnerable times. Every courageous breakdown, breakthrough, and determination of wanting something different that I witness from the people that I help brings me the gratifying purpose I imagined for myself and my career.

As far as starting a business with my private practice, I always knew that was one of my major goals. What surprised me was how soon it happened. In my mind, I thought it was going to happen years after graduate school after getting more clinical experience at an agency. I ended up opening Your Therapy Houston two months after graduating. A lot of soul searching and extreme research occurred here too. I remember being terrified and thinking of the many ways opening a private practice could fail. Becoming a business owner and a therapist in private practice took a lot of believing in myself and my abilities. Although my fears were realistic, I couldn’t allow them to stop me from my dream. I am grateful every day for this jump of faith.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?

Definitely not. I think there are a lot of insecurities in opening a business and being in private practice. I have no education in business. I had to learn to do a lot of things on my own and it definitely has kept me on my toes. It was a lot of hard work getting everything together. I also had no idea how to run a private practice so that added a lot of pressure. But I will say that when I opened my doors for business, it was nice knowing that I did something I didn’t know I was capable of yet. Through experience, I have been able to see what personally works for me and what doesn’t.

Asba business owner, I also realized I am a person that is scared of momentarily success and that can bring a lot of doubts. Some days I am very proud of my accomplishments, and some days, I am very hard on myself. I think this has been one of my biggest struggles. But I try to focus on the positive as well as the here and now. Doubts are part of human nature, and they wouldn’t be present if it wasn’t important for me to be successful. I have to keep believing in myself.

Another struggle I have encountered is that as a therapist in private practice, my job involves putting myself out there. I have learned (and still learning) how to market myself. There’s a lot that goes towards letting my community know about my services and that I exist. I’m an introvert at heart, so this definitely has taken me out of my comfort box.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a Marriage and Family Therapy Associate, and I am the owner of Your Therapy Houston, a private practice near Memorial Park. I see individuals, couples, and families. I specialize in relationships of all types. Specifically, couples, preteens/teens, and young adults struggling with connection. The couples I work with know they want to work for the relationship or marriage but need help with conflict management, communication, or managing hurt from a betrayal. I am a fan of working with the Gottman Model, and I am actually Level 1 certified. As far as preteens/teens, I do a lot of exploring and managing of emotions. Specifically, learning what their emotions mean in their life and what they would like to do with them. A lot of family work is usually involved when I see a preteen or teen because during most cases, it also involves increasing communication skills and trust within the family system as well. Last but not least, I see young adults that are struggling with the relationship they have with either themselves, a significant other, or parent. A lot of searching for self-awareness in regards to their needs, wants, and who they are or want to become.

I would say one of the things that sets me apart is that I am a Bilingual therapist with a certificate in Psychological Services in Spanish Speaking Populations. Not a lot of us exists. I take pride in serving the Spanish Speaking population because language can be a barrier in therapy. I also have a private practice in Houston, one of the most diverse cities with a large Hispanic population. I want to give clients the option of doing therapy in the language they are most comfortable with.

What were you like growing up?

Growing up in Houston, TX with immigrant parents molded a lot of my characteristics. I was taught to work hard for everything that I wanted. This resulted in being really into education and going after new experiences. I also come from a creative family and that influenced me a lot. I am in love with creativity and growing up I would spend a lot of my time coloring, drawing, doing do it yourself projects, and admiring museums. I like to think that I have transferred my creativity towards my therapeutic style.

Contact Info:

Address: 5900 Memorial Dr. Ste 218 Houston, TX 77007
Website: www.yourtherapyhouston.com
Phone: 832-475-3904
Email: jessica@yourtherapyhouston.com
Instagram: yourtherapyhouston
Facebook: yourtherapyhouston

Image Credit:
Steven Vaughn & Francisco Medina Jr.

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