Jil Frey is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) providing services to residents of Washington, DC and Virginia. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work (BSW) from Sacred Heart University in 2011, a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Fordham University in 2013, and is presently working toward completion of her dissertation which will earn a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Social Psychology from Walden University.
Arriving to CCCC with ten years of experience completing functional behavioral assessments and structured behavioral intervention planning, Jil’s clinical approach emphasizes practical, direct, and action-focused support using principles of behaviorism and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Jil is also basic trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy—an approach working to address underlying traumas and emotional complexities through evidence-based brain work. These approaches are often used in tandem to both specifically confront the practical obstacles of everyday life while working to heal long-held negative beliefs underneath.
Jil’s services are offered almost exclusively through convenient and secure telehealth sessions, with some limited opportunity for in-person work.
Areas of specialization with adults and couples include first-time therapy-goers, individuals who are hesitant to engage in a typical therapeutic approach, anxiety, phobia, and intrusive thought management, challenges to focus, organization or motivation to complete tasks, challenges faced by the LGBTQ community, healthy relationship building and conflict resolution, co-parenting and parenting children facing cognitive or emotional complexities, and challenges with adjustment following major life crisis. Jil also specializes in work with adults of confirmed or perceived childhood emotional abuse which is also the subject of her PhD dissertation.
Areas of specialization with children and adolescents include processing perfectionism, emotional challenges specific children and adolescents in the gifted and talented community, social skills support, and work with those neurodevelopmental differences requiring specialized delivery of mental health services (specifically Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders).
Areas of specialization with groups or families include psychoeducation about the nuances of mental health and collaboration with fellow group or family members to work together toward rebuilding of courage and self-esteem to self-advocate and contribute responsibly to supporting the needs others.
Jil is also specifically passionate about the work completed through the Innocence Project—an organization that works to intervene in support of the wrongfully convicted, addressing issues of racial, mental health and socio-economical discrimination in its missions to retry such cases in a court of law. Jil is a supportive member of this organization nationally and internationally.
In her spare time, Jil enjoys creative writing, theater, music, and spending time with her two cats, Traffik and Menu. Jil also enjoys travel, and has enjoyed living and working internationally part-time.