About

Jennifer Owens is a licensed clinical social worker and certified ecotherapist with a passion for the outdoors and guiding people towards the life they envision for themselves. Jennifer has worked in a variety of settings in both clinical and directorial roles since 2002 in holistic health and 2010 in mental health. Her experience working in multidisciplinary settings, informs her body-mind-spirit-nature approach to helping people overcome anxiety, fear and life’s hurdles. She is adjunct faculty at the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social work since 2014.

Jennifer utilizes the power of ancient wisdom practices such as nature connection, somatic awareness and integrative mental health to help her clients heal, grow and thrive; living more meaningful and healthy lives. Her approach could be right for you if you have tried other types of therapy with little success, if you prefer holistic modalities or if you enjoy being in nature. Her strengths are assisting folks who arehealing from trauma, in life transitions feeling lost, finding one’s purpose, who struggle with self-love and who seek deeper connection with self, community and planet. She also specializes in working with mild-severe anxiety issues such as PTSD, OCD, panic disorder and phobias.

Cultivating wholeness is the central focus of her therapeutic style. She uses a combination of somatic ecotherapy, mindfulness-based CBT, transpersonal and positive psychology, ancestral healing, ceremony/ritual, dream work, guided imagery, rites of passage and non-ordinary state techniquesin office and out-of-office sessions. Jennifer provides LGBT friendly services and welcomes all individuals to her office.

Jennifer is one of the only therapist in the state trained in ecotherapy and wilderness therapy. Jennifer loves the natural world and has experienced many healing benefits from her time outdoors, in fact she often credits her adventures in the backcountry to her recovery from severe panic and anxiety. She has a lifetime of experience in the wilderness (kayaking, backpacking and hiking), leading outdoor adventure groups and is a certified level 2 Ecotherapist and certified Yasei Forest Therapy guide. She has studied with the Earthbody Institute, the Mindful Ecotherapy Center, Wildcraft Forest School and Animas Valley Institute. Jennifer leads two monthly guided Shinrin-Yoku or Forest Bathing walks for the community as well as other outdoor and nature connection events. She is also the president of the Shinrin-Yoku Society of Kentuckiana and a founding member of the Southeast/Northeast Ecotherapy Alliance. Please see our page Outdoor and Nature therapy to see if it would be a good fit for you.