Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Lockwood.
Hi Jenny, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been in the social work profession for over twenty years, and a practicing LCSW-S in private practice for the past five. The journey to becoming a therapist in private practice was a long one, and honestly not something I thought I would want for myself. I’ve always enjoyed working with people, primarily teens and adults, but my career was spent in settings where I worked for other people. I was perfectly happy with that, until I wasn’t. Like a lot of people, living through COVID changed a lot of things and I gained new perspectives. I realized I am a person who has an entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to take on the challenge of being my own boss and owning a business.
My practice is a mixture of in-person in Arlington and virtually across Texas and Colorado (because I love Colorado, and if I can’t live there, I want to at least be able to see clients there). My work centers on helping people who struggle with anxiety, depression, relational trauma, and/or ADHD. But that really is a simplification. The clients I work with have experienced relational traumas and attachment injuries in their lives. They’ve developed ways of coping that show up as people-pleasing, perfectionism, procrastination, over-thinking. They often are high functioning, and high-achieving, but have difficulty relaxing, turning their mind off, keeping healthy boundaries with others; they often experience burnout and have difficulty sleeping. Many of my clients have ADHD, and are often late diagnosed. I especially love working with this population because I have a late ADHD diagnosis myself and know first hand what it is like to live with that type of brain.
I consider myself a holistic practitioner, meaning I help clients explore all areas of their life, including their mental, physical and spiritual health, and help them learn what may be out of balance. I am trained in multiple modalities and take an eclectic approach to healing (probably because of my ADHD brain, I am interested in a lot of things and can really go all in on learning something). Using this approach means I help clients explore their thoughts, connect with their bodies and use interventions that will help regulate both their mind and body, because it’s all connected-we have to focus on both.
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?
Like any other person, my life has had its challenges. First, being neurodivergent meant that I do things differently, and sometimes those differences mean that the road takes a little longer. As a business owner, who didn’t go to school for business, starting something from scratch was both exciting, overwhelming and a little scary. I really did not know what I was doing, and certainly wasted some money on things that didn’t deliver as promised. But, something I learned a long time ago is that if something isn’t working, you might need to pivot. For example, in 2024, when I began to have a dip in clients wanting in-person appointments, I had to shift from renting a full-time office space that was my own to subleasing for occasional appointments. Now, two years later, people are wanting more in-person appointments (which I personally prefer) and I am once again in finding myself in need of my own full-time space again. I consider it a good problem to have. A lot of times things happen completely outside of your control. I recently experienced my website being put in, what I call Google jail, indefinitely. This was due to some flagged suspicious malware that Google thought it came across. I had to learn how to become an IT person over night and completely overhaul the back-end of my website. Unfortunately, automations in Google reviews mean that it’s still flagged. Instead of fighting this, I chose to pivot and create a new website, on a new platform with a new URL. It gave me the chance to do a lot of updates and separate out services that I offer onto 2 different sites, one under therapy and the other under a wellness focused website.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Path Forward Support Services is a mental health and wellness focused private practice. I am an LCSW-S (Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervisor) by profession. I am both owner and therapist of this practice. I am a trauma-informed therapist that specializes in relational traumas, CPTSD, anxiety, depression and ADHD. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping), Acudetox and 200RYT yoga teacher.
I specialize in integrating mind-body healing modalities to help people heal from their past experiences, begin to view themselves differently, and regulate their nervous systems. What sets me apart from others is the extensive training I have in several different complementary modalities. I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy, so I am able to customize my work to meet the client’s needs. I can offer both verbal and non-verbal options for processing stress and trauma. One of the things I’m most excited about that I have added to my practice is becoming an Acudetox Specialist. Acudetox is a form of ear acupuncture that uses a 5-needle protocol to target 5 specific points in each ear to help calm and balance the nervous system, and help release stuck emotions related to fear, anger, grief, and shame. It’s completely non-verbal, so people can experience a lot of relief without having to talk about anything!
In addition to therapy, I am a supervisor for LMSW’s that are seeking supervision for full licensure. I love guiding and mentoring the next generation of LCSWs; it’s truly a passion. One of the things I am working on within my practice is the development of the Clinical Confidence Vault, which is specifically for LMSWs in supervision (either with me or someone else) to have access to additional resources and learning content to help support their learning and development during this 2-year journey they are on.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Mental wellness is a passion of mine. Everyone on this planet has been through something at some point in their life. It’s okay to have emotions around the difficulties and challenges in life. Sometimes we aren’t taught healthy ways in which to release those emotions. Therapy is one way that can help. Finding someone you connect with and feel comfortable talking to is one of the most important aspects of therapy (research proves it). So, if you’re curious about starting therapy, I suggest having several different consultations with different therapists to help you find a good match. If you’ve tried it in the past and it didn’t quite land, maybe it just wasn’t the right fit, and that’s totally okay. But if you’re struggling and need support, finding someone to talk to might be really helpful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepathforwardtherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepathforwardtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepathforwardtx
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-lockwood-lcsw-s-80a99a210/
