Jennifer Trainor
Licensed Professional Counselor
My name is Jennifer, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and founder of MHCC. I work with individuals, families and clinical associates and volunteered for a non-profit organization with 532 Yoga that brings yoga into after-school programs for children attending elementary schools in the Alexandria City Public School District.
As a psychotherapist, I work collaboratively with clients in finding effective solutions to challenges and various life transitions that prompt people to seek help and resolve what hurts. I enjoy working with individuals and families so they learn and apply resiliency skills, identify and challenge cognitive distortions that may be skewing the perception of your life in impactful and meaningful ways, and seeing people come fully into their own – confidently.
In addition to my work at MHCC, I am also a Licensed K-12 School Counselor. Over the course of close to two decades, I have worked in and for the San Diego County Unified School District, D.C. Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Alexandria City Public School districts, along with several private schools.
In 2018, I completed a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program, and began working with a non-profit to teach kids yoga in elementary schools. I really love it, and we have a lot of fun together!
When I am not working, I love to travel, swim, sail, read, garden, walk our dog, play and spend time with my family.
Education
I attended San Diego State University, and graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a BA in English. While completing my undergraduate work in Boston, I began volunteering with RESPOND, New England’s first domestic violence prevention program, and fell in love with advocacy, crisis intervention and working with children. I completed my Master’s degree in School Counseling from The George Washington University in 2010, and immediately moved back to San Diego. Once there, I worked on my residency hours seeing Court mandated parents convicted of various abuse(s), their children (while in foster homes), and foster parents. I also taught classes at The Optimum Health Institute, a world-renowned holistic wellness retreat. In 2013, I returned to The George Washington University to pursue my Education Specialist in Counseling degree, further advancing my knowledge of grief and loss, family counseling, sports psychology and trauma therapy.
Certifications and Trainings
- Certified: Counseling Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Persons
- Certified: Grief, Loss and Life Transitions
- Certified: Positive Discipline Parent Educator
- Certified: Positive Discipline Teacher Educator
- Certified: Positive Discipline Keeping the Joy in Relationships
- Certified: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Phase Level I Brain-Spotting
- Phase II Level Brain-Spotting (Trauma-Informed)
- Internal Family Systems Level One Basic Training
- Internal Family Systems with Neurodiverse Clients Training
- Adolescent & Family Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills Training
- Community Resiliency Model (CRM) Level 1; The Trauma Resource Institute
- Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) Level 2; The Trauma Resource Institute
- Narcissistic Injuries and Narcissism: Relational Trauma and the Vulnerable Narcissist with Christiane Sanderson
- Understanding and Navigating Toxic Relationships with Dr. Ramani Durvasula
- Narcissism Summit, Jung Platform
- 200-hour Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher, Ashtanga
Professional Association Memberships
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- American School Counseling Association (ASCA)
- American Counseling Association (ACA)
- Psychology Today
- Positive Discipline Parent and Teacher Education
- Yoga Alliance
Chloe ~ ESA (emotional support animal)
Mary Tamborski
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Mary is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, however her formal training is secondary to the life training she received from her mother, Dr. Jane Nelsen, also a Marriage and Family Therapist and author of the Positive Discipline books and Serenity: Simple Steps for Recovering Peace of Mind, Real Happiness, and Great Relationships. From the earliest time she can remember her mother and father had her involved in respectful communication, encouragement, and focusing on solutions.
Mary loves being a wife to husband Mark and a mother to her son’s Greyson, Reid and Parker. Since Mary’s first love is being the mother of three young boys, it was a natural for her to become a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator and to share with others all she has learned (and is still learning) in parenting classes and workshops. She is also available for individual parent coaching.
Mary is a therapist whose own life is an example of the joy in living that can be found by living the principles and skills she teaches.