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Meet the Clinicians: Jessica Karger, LSW
Jessica Karger is grateful that her journey in counseling has brought her to Nutley Family Service Bureau (NFSB). This is the latest step in a lifetime spent helping people, which began long before Jessica knew she would have a career in mental health.
The seeds were planted when Jessica, as a middle school student, started volunteering for a program for people with special needs. She continued volunteering through high school and, after earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Queens College, began serving this population at an urban counseling center.
“A woman and I ran a counseling group for teen girls and adults with special needs,” Jessica said. “Once a week, I would do art therapy with kids. It’s very rewarding to help people with special needs and children. They’re such beautiful people, and you can form close relationships with them and really make a difference.”
Jessica earned her master’s degree in social work from Rutgers University and is currently completing her supervised clinical experience to become a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW).
During her most recent internship, Jessica provided one-on-one therapy, such as court-ordered anger management and behavioral therapy, for clients who had often experienced severe trauma involving abuse or violence.
“Many of our clients came from horrible backgrounds and had difficult relationships or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder),” Jessica said. “We never turned anybody away because they didn’t have money or insurance. They needed a lot of support.”
Working at larger mental health centers, Jessica often thought how beneficial it would be to clients if they could offer multiple services under one roof. As a clinician at NFSB, an independent, community-based center, she can make sure clients receive additional support through our in-house case management and Food Pantry if needed.
Jessica also enjoys incorporating art and play therapy, mindfulness, and meditation into therapy.
“It’s very telling when you ask a child to color something and you can see what they’re thinking and feeling through the drawings,” Jessica said. “I use mindfulness myself during sessions so I can be mindful of what’s going on, and we use meditation to practice letting thoughts come into our brain and just drift away.”
While Jessica has seen clients make remarkable progress during therapy, smaller signs of progress can be just as rewarding.
“After a session, a client might come back the next week and say, ‘Oh, you helped me so much,’” Jessica said. “This shows that the client can see their own progress, which is important, and it’s very fulfilling to me as a clinician.”
