Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Lanning.
Jeremy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a licensed professional counselor and psychotherapist. I was born in the 70s, I grew up in the 80s and I came of age in the 90s. Specifically, I was born in 1974 in Cleveland, Ohio – a hometown I am very proud of. I was always interested in the helping professions and I always knew I wanted to be a firefighter/paramedic. I also knew that I always wanted to serve my country. At 18 years of age, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I joined the service as a Hospital Corpsman and a medic. As a Corpsman, I trained in the Navy and the Marine Corps. I spent eight years active-duty and worked as a firefighter, paramedic, Hospital Corpsman, surgical technologist and assistant, medic, and as a sailor aboard the United States Naval Ship Comfort. I was honorably discharged in 2001 where I began my career as a surgical technologist and a full-time student. Initially, I returned home to Cleveland Ohio and after a few years, I moved my family to Fort Worth Texas.
I left behind a city that I loved and a band that was doing pretty well at the time. I was married at the time to the girl I dated all through high school. We promptly got married in 1993. My first daughter was born in 2000 and my second daughter was born in 2002. We moved to Texas in 2004 and my son was born in 2006. We moved to Texas for the opportunity, the weather, family, and for the fact that my oldest daughter was receiving care at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children – for polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. All throughout this time I was going to school full-time to pursue my dream of being a counselor and psychotherapist. The dream began in 1997 when I saw the movie Good Will Hunting. I was raised on movies, television, candy, and Mad Magazine, so it’s no surprise that a movie could change my life. I was a full-time student a full-time father and I was working 60 hours a week. I received my bachelor of arts in psychology and my bachelor of science in psychology.
In 2009 and 2010, I found myself going through a profoundly adversarial divorce. At the same time, I was just starting graduate school for counseling and psychotherapy. It was a very difficult time for me and on the other side of it, I was a very different person. A dedicated dad maneuvering multiple life transitions at the same time. I suffered through some of the lowest points imaginable. I came out on the other side of it as a raging father’s rights activist. I found myself just trying to survive on all levels. I was actively engaged in every dream I had, of writing a novel, writing and directing a short film, becoming a licensed professional counselor and psychotherapist, making sure I was the absolute best father that I could be to my three children, and also making sure that I was becoming the most genuine version of myself possible. It was at this time that I met what I consider to be the most remarkable person.
She lit up my entire life in the healthiest and beautiful of ways. I finished graduate school in 2012 and landed an internship at the top counseling practice in DFW. I moved up the ranks and eventually managed our Fort Worth office and was part of the leadership team. In 2016 I left that group and started a private practice of my own where I am currently expanding my career. I got married to that remarkable woman in 2012. She works as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and is an amazing wife, stepmother, and as of 2018… mother. In 2018, through a lengthy and emotional fertility process, we welcomed our son into the world. I work professionally with trauma, PTSD, 1st responders, veterans, and the military. I see individuals, couples, and groups. Teens and adults. I have a heart for those who are stuck and those in crisis. I’ve worked in the clinical setting as well. I give talks and consult from time to time. I’m currently working on a novel, producing a podcast and am in pre-production on a short film I’m writing and directing. In addition, I continue to strenuously fight for father’s rights and against the family court system.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I was the youngest of four children by close to a decade. I was in third grade when my parents split. The divorce was difficult for me and my siblings. I was just so young. The aftermath was hard for me. I am aware that I entered adulthood lacking in many skills. That’s why I consider my eight years in the military as almost a childhood of itself. Adulthood after the military was difficult for many reasons. In the span of 10 years, I had three amazing children within my first marriage. I was the sole financial provider and I was trying to desperately better my situation by going to school. I was constantly on call and staying late at work and also fulfilling my duties at home with a spouse with health needs and a child with special medical needs. Things were very tight there was no sleep and it was difficult. I then found myself on the other side of a profoundly adversarial divorce with a lengthy custody battle and a host of extenuating circumstances. The fight for my children in and out of the Family Court system almost killed me. It was the hardest and most horrific time of my life.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a licensed professional counselor and psychotherapist. I have a private practice in Southwest Fort Worth. I specialize in trauma, military and government personnel, veterans, addiction and recovery, relationships, and problem-solving. I use cognitive, behavioral, narrative, mindfulness, and dialectal behavioral influenced therapies. I’m known for my compassion, lack of judgment, relatability, and results-oriented practice. I am most proud of my clients. So proud. They are dedicated, to say the least, and they work so hard. What sets me apart is my real-world experience, my relatability, my quick response to those in need and my wide-open access to my clients.
I also have a podcast that has Psychological Content. It can be found anywhere at www.psychologicalcontent.com. It’s a personal podcast from a professional perspective. Psychological in nature with storytelling and skill-building.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as genuineness, self-awareness, predictability, healthiness, and dependability. Success for me, or anybody else is defined by the quality of their close relationships. Not by money, not by goal achievement, and not by the acquisition of things. Look around, if the people close to you want to be close to you, you’re successful, everything else is just stuff.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6421 Camp Bowie Blvd
Fort Worth, Texas 76126 Suite 402 - Website: www.jeremyjlanning.com
- Phone: 817-703-7469
- Email: lanningpsyche@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeremy-j-lanning-fort-worth-tx/136033
- Facebook: http://psychologicalcontent.com/
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