Jess Minckley (they)
Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC)
You Belong!
Jess works with individuals, couples & families with or without with children ages 8+
Canine co-therapists: Phife & Ruadhán
About Jess
I’m a licensed counselor and a Registered Art Therapist (ATR) living and working in Los Angeles, California.
I hold a master’s in Applied Psychology from Antioch University Seattle, where I studied Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Creative Arts Therapies.
I’ve earned certificates of Adlerian study and Adlerian psychotherapy from the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. I also have a bachelor and master degree in Fine Art from Otis College of Art & Design. I’ve been an art educator for over 20 years!
I’ve been in therapy myself for 30 years +. During my youth, I made art as a way to cope with a life I couldn’t control. Once I learned about art therapy, I already knew it worked because I’d done it with myself. As a teacher, I encountered my students healing through art & our relationship. I believe all people are creative and artistic, sometimes they have just been discouraged by others.
My research has been on topics from Chronic Illness & Belongingness to Sexual Harm in the Trans/Gender Diverse community to Art Therapy with people on the Ace/Aro spectrum. I also write and lecture about the connection between creativity and happiness, and am frequently contacted about the education of art therapists. I’m happy to speak to you if you’re interested in becoming an art therapist!
I’m a “spoonie” interested in the link between traumatic relational stress & lowered immune system function. The subsequent increase in inflammatory and disease responses are real. Spoonies have very unique challenges to feeling belonging and inclusion.
I spent many years as a member of various 12-step peer support communities coming to understand the underlying causes behind adult addictive & dysfunctional behaviors. However, some people have been harmed by AA or other peer support groups. Please reach out for support if so.
I also have a passion for supporting people recovering from the effects of complex relational abuse. These experiences often “come out sideways”. Adult romantic relationships, friendships, work can be challenging due to adaptations like perfectionism, people-pleasing, and neurosis. This is where boundary work, consent education, reparenting, finding embodied safety, and working with the nervous system can help.
I have been blessed with a lot of experience counseling men, in particular trans men.
I also really enjoy supporting parents of trans & queer kids as they navigate their inner process in therapy so their kids don’t have to witness it, which can be confusing and incredibly painful for kids. Some people say that kids are the future, I think parents hold the keys to changing the world. I love the Adlerian teachings on working with kids & teens and am always so excited when I get to share it with parents. A lot of parents will happily spend their money on their kid’s therapy. Rarely do they realize that it’s a whole-family affair that requires they “do their work” too. You can do it. There is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow!
Jess’s Treatment Modalities
When treating various disorders, they may use:
Theoretical Orientations:
Adlerian: Strengths-based, Positive Psychology
For obsessive-compulsive disorder:
Licenses & Credentials
Using state licenses & national credentialing from the Art Therapy Credentials Board, Jess can provide art therapy & Mental Health Counseling in several states. They can use the Art Therapy credential to practice independently in some U.S. states. If you don’t see your state represented below, please reach out and they would be happy to speak to you.
Utah
Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor (ACMHC)
License # 13269676-6009
Idaho
Mental Telehealth Counselor
License # 6161075
Washington
Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
License # LH61457229
California
Board-certified, Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC)
#22-455
Coming soon: LPCC
My Style & Approach
What you will notice about me is that I love to laugh, I can articulate things clearly, and I’m not afraid to interrupt or challenge people. I’m also very persony, so I talk about appropriate things about myself in therapy, such as telling the truth when someone asks “how are you?”.
This is called a Feminist approach: we are equals in our humanness; I’m no guru. The Fellow Traveler means I’m growing and changing just like you. I believe that if our hurts were created in-relationship, the solution has to be created in-relationship too. We will establish a real relationship. Therapist-client relationships are truly unique. This is why self-help has limits and why peer support is so powerful.
What I am…
I’m a “real” talker, down to Earth + hot takes
Anticapitalist leftist
Strengths-based, positive psychology, non-pathologizing
Frank. I can call people on their crap without judgment.
Insight-oriented
Goofy and funny. My clients and I like to laugh and make fun of ourselves sometimes, even in the darkest times
Likes to take things a bit deeper. Is capable of holding many layers of complexity and conceptualizing the connections- and the way forward
A visual thinker (lots of stories and images in how I speak)
Very hard to surprise with regard to human behavior
The one protocol I do use is EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). This can also be done with art-making.
I trust the evidence called “common factors”. It says across dozens of various therapy models, the only thing that was consistent in helping people: our relationship is the solution. This is called Humanistic or Person-Centered.
I look into your formative experiences to find answers to today’s struggles. Spoiler alert- you solve problems using your already existing awesomeness! If you don’t want to talk about your past, we can still work with it nonverbally sometimes.
I try to see into the whole picture: what you eat, how you sleep, what medication you take, your sex life/desires, hobbies, work, family, self-image, internalized oppression, physical health, your community, existential issues, and how much you exercise.
I do write Gender-Affirming surgery letters to surgeons provided we do a formal interview.
What I’m not:
Not a ma’am, girl, lady, or woman- just a person
I’m not a coach, so if you’re looking to solve targeted, logistical problems through 6 easy steps, I’m not it.
If you’re not ready to [or ready to contemplate how to] face your own dragons and take steps toward accountability, I am not your best therapist
If you don’t want to look at the past, I won’t be capable of helping you.
I am vehemently against ABA (applied behavioral analysis) and conversion therapy for children & teens
If you need support such as executive functioning, time management, or mental roadblocks, try to find an ADHD coach.
I’m not the best therapist out there for people who want solely to tackle their ADHD symptoms. I have many clients with ADHD (some who know they have it when they start, some find out) but we are dealing with holistic issues which also touch upon trauma, relationships, and the Self too.
Symptom management can be part of the treatment for this or I can refer you to a special ADHD adjunctive service, such as a coach, psychometrist, or psychiatric provider.
I don’t often give you a list of tasks to accomplish like homework (unless you want it). People don’t do their homework. Let’s not create another thing to feel ashamed about.
I don’t use workbooks or worksheets. You can do those on your own time- it’s much cheaper than therapy. Most people come to therapy after self-help has not yielded the results they have hoped for.
I don’t do manualized treatments like CPT (cognitive processing therapy), TRE (trauma release exercises), Somatic Experiencing, etc. for the treatment of trauma except EMDR, with which I take ethical creative license. While I can offer you various interventions from these modalities, I see things as more organic, intuitive, holistic and relational. This means we take a multi-pronged approach, tossing what doesn’t work for Y.O.U.
I’m not strictly EBP (evidence-based practices) because there are not enough clinical trials for approaches such as art therapy and EMDR yet…
My CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is folded into the rest of my work, through Adlerian Psychology.
I am an autodidact about ERP (exposure & response prevention) & I-CBT (Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). These modalities do not have certifications.
I do not administer the kind of Autism assessments that often serve accommodations. These typically have to be done by doctoral-level psychometricists.
I do not write emotional support animal (ESA) letters as I am not trained in the legalities.
I cannot promise I will not make MiStAkEs, especially as it pertains to memory. I have a disability that demands that we both be flexible when mistakes happen. I’m also just a human being and I’d like to be given a little grace.
I make encouraging recommendations
for you to pursue supplemental services and therapies that are outside of my scope of practice but align with your personal belief systems.
“Take what you like and leave the rest.”
These include but are not limited to:
Registered nutritionists & dieticians (RDNs). This does not mean weight loss. I will most likely not be useful to you if weight loss is a therapy goal, as I am fat-positive, body-inclusive, and HAES: health at any size. I believe in your bodily autonomy, and this is a grey area for me regarding bias.
Western medical doctors: Primary care/Internal Medicine, Specialists such as Immunologists, Gynecologists/Reproductive Healthcare professionals, Gastrointestinal doctors, Rheumatologists, Cardiologists, Gender-Affirming Care specialists, blood labs, CAT scans and MRIs, Dermatologists & Dentists (you can die from untreated dental issues!)
Eastern medicine & Naturopathy, such as herbal and mineral supplements, acupuncture, and Ayurveda. Massage, physical therapy, cranio-sacral practitioners
Psychiatric medication providers (PMHNPs, PAs, & doctors)
Other spiritual/energetic: Reiki, dance, chanting, hypnosis
Religion (if applicable) & the cosmological/spiritual realm, psychics
Psychometric assessments & testing
Disability: Accommodations, SSI/SSDI, FMLA (although, I cannot write letters for this as I am not a doctoral-level trained clinician or a medical doctor).
Unemployment insurance
Veteran’s benefits
ADHD coaches
COVID testing & immunizations
Prices
Individual Art Therapy
50-60 minutes
$250
Couples Art Therapy
60 minute increments
$275/hr
Family Art Therapy
60-90 minutes
$275/hr
Group Art Therapy
90 minutes
$50/session
Private Practice Coaching
50 minutes
$180
Consultation & Mentorship
We get a lot of outreach from folks wanting to know more about art therapy/ to become art therapists. Please see our videos on these topics or reach out for a paid consultation.
Sliding Scale Rates
How do I determine where I fit on your scale? Use “the Green Bottle” to determine if therapy with us is within your budget.
Tier 3: no sliding scale
Tier 2: $140
Tier 1:
Art Therapy for All seeks to make art therapy accessible to all people, so you will not be turned away for lack of funds. We slide all the way down to $15/session. Inquire about pro bono.
This image and framework was originally created by
Alexis J. Cunningfolk | www.wortsandcunning.com
with additions from Britt Hawthorne | www.embracingequity.org
Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation
Just a few of the issues we work with people on:
Obsessive-Compulsive behavior, disorder (OCD), and personality disorder (OCPD)
We specialize in Obsessive Compulsive behaviors. OCD is misunderstood and can go undiagnosed by therapists and psychiatrists for years. This type of anxiety manifests in body dysmorphia & eating disorders, hair-pulling, skin picking, hoarding, perfectionism, and rumination- not just checking that the door is locked or avid cleaning.
Twins & other multiples
Being a multiple is a unique experience that not every therapist can truly understand. Competition and jealousy can appear in the sibling relationship as well as outside of it. Feelings of loneliness can arise when you’re not with someone else. Deep connection but also enmeshment can arise. And individuals may have trouble intuitively knowing their own identity apart from their sibling.
Couples Intensives
I love working with couples, especially queer ones. Journey through communication skills, deepening honesty, regulating yourself, learning about each other’s past in a different way, creating deeper compassion and understanding, and maximizing love and pleasure in a consent culture.
Adult Children & their siblings/parents
We work with families of all ages. Family therapy is a wonderful resource that often has greater returns than individual therapy to treat familial issues. Adults can go to therapy with their family members to settle small issues or to unpack intergenerational problems. Healthy relationships can also be improved by this work.
Graduate & Doctoral Students
Students in master and doctoral programs face unique stressors. Many experience anxiety, imposter syndrome, financial anxiety, and suffer from sleep problems. Journey with me through your program, find coping tools and resources to make your time in school more manageable. Be more decisive. Understand what is important and what can go by the wayside. Learn to relax deeply between active periods of homework and reading and presentations and peer work. Manage the oppression that sometimes comes from programs, the institution, and faculty members, especially when they do not understand disabilities. It’s not you.
Estrangement/Cutoff
When you stop talking to someone in your family or if they’ve stopped engaging with you, it can be confusing, heartbreaking, angering, and lonely. It takes a lot to make this decision and you may even be considering it but can’t follow through because of guilt. Sometimes people need time apart to nurse their feelings and take care of themselves. Process what this is like for you in the safety of a nonjudgmental, understanding, compassionate relationship where nothing you say will make someone leave
Trauma
We work with a variety of different trauma: medical, religious, sexual abuse & rape, physical accidents, physical abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV), financial, stuttering & bullying, developmental neglect, & addiction to name a few. We deal heavily in C-PTSD, a term that is not formalized but represents the experience of multiple adverse experiences across the lifespan.
Creatives & Professional Artists
If you’re an artist of any kind: musician, designer, actor, or visual artist, you may experience artist’s block, imposter syndrome, comparison/envy, or feelings of grief. If you struggle to identify as an artist, thinking you’re not really good enough to be An Artist, therapy can help. As someone who’s been an art person and teacher since forever, I deeply slign with all the challenges creatives face. I’d love nothing more than to help you get back to the joy and pleasure art can give us.
Parents & their trans kids
I have been blessed with a lot of experience counseling men, in particular trans men. I also really enjoy supporting parents or caregivers of trans and/or queer kids as they navigate their inner process in therapy so their kids don’t have to witness it, which can be confusing and incredibly painful for kids.
Check out PFLAG for free, location-specific support for parents by clicking the button below.
Education
2022
MA, Applied Psychology with specialization in the Creative Arts Therapies
Antioch University | Seattle, WA
2013
MFA, Studio Art
Otis College of Art & Design | Los Angeles, CA
Select Trainings
2025 | California Law & Professional Ethics, Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting, Improving Cultural Competence, Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention
Aspira Continuing Education
2025 | WA State Supervisor training by Eric Ström, PhD, LMHC
Cascadia Training for Professional Development
2023 | Psychedelic-assisted therapy training
Fluence // Journey Clinical
2022-3 | EMDR 1 & 2 training
EMDR Institute
2022 | Standards of Care 8 (SOC8) updates
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH
2021 | Transgender Gender-affirming care letter writing
Antioch University Seattle
Certificate of Adlerian Study & Certificate in Adlerian Psychotherapy
North American Society of Adlerian Psychology (NASAP)
