Jessica Dunn, LCSW received her Master’s of Science in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work in New York, NY with a focus on health and mental health. She has a certification in advanced clinical practice in hospice and palliative care (ACHP-SW) as well as training in evidenced-based practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), strengths-based therapy, mindfulness practices, art and play therapies.
An experienced clinician and medical social worker, Jessica has worked with families facing trauma, grief and loss for over 15 years. Most recently, she served as the Director of Social Work at Hospice Care Network, a part of Northwell Health, where she is also a clinician. Her clinical roles in hospice have included medical social work practice with patients facing end-of-life situations and their families, anticipatory grief support with patients, families, couples, and children as well as bereavement support for children ages 4–18 and adults in both individual and group formats. In her role as director, Jessica provided ongoing supportive environments for clinical practitioners to process their practice with patients facing end-of-life. This role was heightened throughout the COVID pandemic while hospice teams continued to provide in-home care to patients and families while living through the pandemic themselves.
Jessica employs an educational aspect to the therapeutic support that she provides, allowing clients to become empowered in understanding their emotional reactions and enhancing their coping skills. Jessica has extensive experience working with children around issues of trauma, grief, loss, and adjustment as well as teaching and fostering the identification of feelings and emotions through both individual and group work. Some of Jessica’s favorite modalities include art, play, and sand tray to assist children and adolescents so they begin to identify and express emotions.
Jessica brings an appreciation for life and love to her practice with those facing a difficult time in their lives and her goal is always to help those she is serving find a way back to living. Her vast work with those facing traumatic or end-of-life situations have inspired her belief that we experience grief reactions and emotions as a result of every day losses, not always attached to an event or a physical death. Through introspection, processing and psycho-education we can begin to develop insight into our coping patterns and begin to tailor beneficial coping skills to achieve the balance we desire in our lives.