Family therapy and counseling in Arlington, MA

Hello and welcome! Do you feel stuck - maybe in a difficult relationship with someone important or in a complicated relationship with yourself? My aim is to help you begin healing as quickly as possible, even when the issues are long-standing. Together, we will explore the present and seek out transformational processes, rather than focus on the past or simply relive old wounds as a more traditional approach might.

I work with individuals and people in relationships navigating grief, trauma, anxiety, shame, anger, relationship distress, parenting, adoption, identity, and life transitions. Together, we'll slow down enough to notice what has been difficult to see, better understand what's happening beneath the surface, and explore new ways of relating to yourself and others.

Healing Across the Lifespan: A Partnership in Mental Wellness

Choosing a mental health provider is a deeply personal decision. You aren’t just looking for a prescriber; you are looking for a witness to your story, an expert in the biological complexities of the brain, and a partner in your recovery.

My name is Jessica Stanley, and I am a Board-Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC). My journey to this practice has been defined by a unique duality: the macro view of a healthcare executive and the micro focus of a dedicated clinician. Before opening the doors to this practice, I served as the Clinical Director for a large-scale healthcare organization. In that role, I was responsible for the oversight of complex systems, the mentorship of large clinical teams, and the implementation of evidence-based protocols across diverse populations.

While my time in leadership allowed me to impact mental health at a systemic level, my true passion has always remained in the quiet, transformative moments of the exam room. I have returned to full-time clinical practice to bring that high-level expertise back to where it matters most: the individual human experience.

Mental health does not exist in a vacuum, nor does it look the same at age seven as it does at seventy. I specialize in treating patients across the entire lifespan. Whether I am working with a child struggling to navigate their first years of school, an adolescent facing the pressures of identity formation, or an adult managing the heavy mantle of career and family, my approach remains the same: comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence based.

Areas of Specialization

I am trained to treat a broad spectrum of psychiatric conditions including:

ADHD & Neurodivergence

Anxiety Disorders

Depression

PTSD & Trauma Recovery

I'm a Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with over ten years of experience supporting children, teens, and families across community health and pediatric hospital settings. Much of my work has centered on adolescents, youth involved in the justice system, families navigating multiple systems of care, perinatal mental health, and end-of-life work. I also hold a certification in perinatal mental health (PMH-C). Beyond direct clinical work, I've led program development and evaluation for initiatives serving LGBTQIA2S+ communities and Latinx and Indigenous youth. Before becoming a social worker, I worked as an Intervention Specialist, supporting middle and high school students with learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and significant mental health needs. Across all of this, one belief stays constant: you are the expert on your own life, and my role is to walk alongside you with respect, curiosity, and genuine care.