Holistic, collaborative and trauma informed mental health care that honors each individuals unique story.
Hi, I’m Jenna Schmidt (she/her).
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA), and the owner and founder of Sama Mental Health. I received my Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, as well as a Certificate in Trauma Counseling from Antioch University New England. I value honest and compassionate communication, community care and support, social justice, the soul healing power of nature, and the unconditional love of dogs.
Prior to entering the field of counseling, I spent almost a decade as a high school teacher. Teaching and supporting my students eventually led me to the realization that mental health care and wellness was where my heart truly wanted to be. With a supportive community behind me encouraging my growth, I embarked on my path toward a new adventure, a new career, and I am so grateful to be here now.
In addition to my counseling practice, I have the privilege of teaching weekly community yoga classes. I began practicing yoga more than 15 years ago and this practice has been integral in my own healing journey. Tending to my mind, body, and spirit in this way helped me to heal from personal traumas, eased anxiety and calmed my nervous system in a way nothing else ever had. To deepen my own practice and allow me to teach and share with others, I completed my 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training with Sampoorna Yoga in Goa, India in 2020. Mind and body are intrinsically connected and it has been a joy to integrate the ancient wisdom of yoga into my counseling practice to create a more holistic, caring, and healing space, both for myself and for those I have the honor of working with.
Therapeutic Approach
Counseling and Psychotherapy
As your therapist, my goal is to create a space where you feel safe and supported on your path of healing and self-discovery. We each have a unique story and as humans we are capable of holding many conflicting truths. We can love our lives and still experience anxiety and overwhelm from the responsibility of it all. I am here to listen and collaborate, with empathy and without judgment. Together, we can explore how therapy can help you develop deeper understanding and self-compassion, address self-limitations like perfectionism and shame, and discover deeper meaning and purpose from life.
My approach to therapy is holistic, person-centered, and strengths-based. I practice from a trauma-informed lens and specialize in working with individuals who have experienced religious and spiritual trauma. If you are living with anxiety or have experienced trauma (PTSD, C-PTSD) I would love to work with you to create a space where you feel safe and seen, your experiences held and honored.
I utilize an eclectic mix of therapeutic modalities including narrative, somatic and emotion focused therapy. I value polyvagal theory, as this approach allows us to better understand our nervous systems and begin to rebalance through care and connection. As a yoga teacher, I also have a background in breathwork, somatics, and mindfulness techniques that can aid in the therapeutic process. Our breath can bring us back to ourselves, and for those who experience anxiety or have experienced past traumas, it can be one of the most simple yet impactful ways to calm our nervous systems and remind us we are safe.
I draw from liberation and social justice psychology to bring awareness to oppressive constructs and harmful ideals upheld by larger societal structures. I believe we can begin to offer ourselves greater love, acceptance and self-compassion when we acknowledge these systems and find balance between what is beyond our control and where we can empower ourselves to elicit change and begin to heal.
What I offer in therapy is a collaborative and supportive process where you can explore yourself, your emotions, and your needs. This work can be difficult, but also beautiful and rewarding. I hope that we can work together to create a space of healing.
“If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive.”
- Brene Brown