Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Hammock.
Hi Jessica, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started off with a desire in life to teach children- I love the light bulb look that comes on when someone gets the concept. I grew up in Pennsylvania, went to college in Florida, and then moved to Texas, where my fiancé lived. While I was waiting for my Texas teacher certificate, I worked as an in-school social worker. When I became a teacher finally, I noticed that no matter how much I improved my skills as a teacher that there were always children who struggled with emotional or behavioral disruption. This along with my skills learned while doing social work, compelled me to get my Master’s in School Counseling from Texas A&M Commerce. I was teaching at a charter school in Texas that didn’t have any counselors at the time. I then created a proposition to be hired to start their Counseling Department. After many conversations, I was hired to give counseling a test run part-time while being the Dean of Students at a campus. I went on to do Counseling full-time and pursued specialist training in working with Trauma Clients. I wished that someone would’ve given me skills or information to process my own emotions along the way in life. By learning about how trauma impacts the individual, I have been able to teach and train over 6,000 teachers about trauma. I am now the Director of Behavioral and Mental Health for the school system. As part of the story along this journey, my husband sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury, and we had a 10-year journey with infertility that recently ended with the birth of our daughter. Trauma is often caused by a break or disruption in relationships, and I am passionate about helping individuals find healing through relationships. I have a private practice for counseling, am a NET (neuro-emotion technique) practitioner and lead a women’s coaching group.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It seemed like there were so many bumps and turns along the way. 3 years into my marriage, my husband went into the hospital for a Brain Shunt Repair; because of some things that happened as part of the procedure he sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury, which took him 3 months in rehab to relearn how to function. The emotional connection in our marriage took a big hit, and we had to reconnect along the way. I was teaching full-time and caregiving for him. Once we recovered from that, I ended up having a miscarriage. As part of his memory recovery, we renewed our vows 5 years after his injury. My health took a complete nosedive, and I was on multiple medications because I had so much of my own unresolved grief and trauma from those pieces of the story. I began to do my own internal work and process through so much, and as I healed, I found that it was important to have techniques to help others heal. We went through multiple fertility treatments after that and had another miscarriage before we conceived naturally with our daughter, Hope.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently, I work in several areas. I teach and train educators on trauma in individuals and how trauma can impact the heart, soul, and body. I teach how it shows up in relationships and in the classroom and provide practical skills that they can use with students who have experienced trauma. I also do individual counseling sessions to walk people through releasing the trauma that is holding them captive in life. One of the tools that I use is called the Neuro Emotion Technique. It specifically connects the body with a Neuro Emotion Complex that has become embedded in the body because of what they have experienced in life. This NET technique is designed for a quick reset of the physiology while partnering with process work to repair the stored memory. I am most proud of helping to establish a Counseling Program for the charter school system I work with and help provide mental health support and connection to community resources for students across the state. I consult with parents who are having emotional and behavioral difficulties with their children to find a way for the family to have harmony. I also collaborate with financial and life coach; Kristina Messenger, and we host a group coaching program for women, called Women Unstoppable, who are looking for simple strategies to move forward in life and in business.
As a small-town girl from Pennsylvania, I took a risk leaving home, knowing no one, and moving 14+ hours away from my family for college. Then I met my husband online and moved to Dallas, Texas, after college, also coming to a place where I knew no one. I think I have taken the most risks professionally by continuing to advocate for students and their mental health needs. I initially advocated for a counseling position in the company for over 3 years before seeing that come to fruition. I believe that if we let the fear of the unknown stop us from taking risks, we are susceptible to missing out on the very thing we were designed to do. There is risk in every choice we make. There are some people who spend so much time calculating the risks that they fail to make a decision and others who do no calculations and hope it all works out. I tend to fall in the middle of that spectrum. I have found that so many of the fears that surface when in comes to risk-taking are just a version of us, trying to keep us safe. But we are capable of so much more when we CHOOSE how we want to do something instead of allowing the thing to happen to us.
Pricing:
- Counseling Sessions $100 an hour
- NET sessions $20 for 15 min/ $80 for an hour
- Current Group Coaching $77 a month
- Free emotion wellness check
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vibrantvoice.life
- Instagram: @jessicavibrant_hammock
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vibrantvoice20/
- Other: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/l9AYKCVUdtb
Image Credits
Sara Head
Misty Hoyt
Kelly Buckner