Authentic • Attentive • Affirmative • Accessible • Allies

Who is Ajana Therapy & Clinical Services?

We are an inclusive practice offering counseling in Texas. We create an accessible therapy space for people to come as they are. We provide authentic, affirming modern therapy that is led by trusting our client’s experiences.

You are the expert of your life.

Counseling in Houston

ajana (adj.)a●jan●a ajānā: Bengali word meaning unknown, unfamiliar, undiscovered

Types of Therapy Offered

Some of our clinicians offer in-person sessions at our Houston Heights location! We also provide services through teletherapy. While we are a local practice with counseling in Houston, Texas, we are currently offering online counseling options for the entire state of Texas.

Relational–Cultural Therapy (RCT) believes that isolation is a major source of suffering. Throughout our life we need connections to keep us alive and to grow and to thrive. The goal of therapy is to build a deep and meaningful relationship with your therapist that will then translate to other relationships in your life. We look at how your past negative and positive relationships impact your current relationships with the goal being to increase connection with others. This approach also seeks to examine social injustices (such as racism, classism, and homophobia) and oppressive forces that contribute to chronic isolation, trauma, and disconnection.

Person centered therapy, sometimes called humanism, is focused on the client’s potential and ability to grow and change. Therapists trust that clients know best what they need to address in the therapeutic space. The client sets the course of therapy, and the therapist supports the client on their journey with unconditional positive regard and empathy.

What is EMDR?

EMDR therapy which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing, is an evidence-based practice that helps people heal from distressing life events. EMDR is considered one of the best treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. EMDR therapy can help people of all ages and a myriad of distressing issues including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders, personality disorders, PTSD, abuse, neglect, and chronic illness.

EMDR therapy is based on the belief that one’s body’s natural response to adverse life experiences is to move towards healing. When we experience a painful event, the memory of the event may be “stuck” in its original form including the images, sounds, and emotions present at that time. In order to help the brain process this memory and transform it into adaptive information, EMDR therapists use bilateral stimulation which is stimulation on alternating sides of the body. This can be performed through eye movements, sounds, light, or taps.

Looking for EMDR counseling in Houston? Please click the button below to schedule a free fifteen-minute consultation.

What is Yoga for Healing?

Yoga for healing (AKA Trauma-Informed Yoga) is more than just yoga. It is Ajana Therapy and Clinical Services’ mindfulness practice that integrates choice, creativity, patience, and a sense of calm so you can powerfully move through areas of your life where you feel stuck or resigned. This practice restores choice and invites freedom in how you respond to challenging situations and unsettling emotions.

Yoga for Healing is a beneficial supplement to therapy. Research supports that combining therapy and trauma-sensitive yoga results in long term improvement of symptoms (Emerson, 2015, p. xiv). In addition, the ability to work through trauma related responses on the yoga mat facilitates greater ease in expressing their experiences while in therapy (Emerson, 2015, p. xiv).

Facilitated by Leah J. Singer, M.Ed., LPC , who is a 200 hour registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) with specialized training in trauma informed yoga. Sessions typically runs 45-60 mins depending on individuals healing needs. Please contact us for yoga for healing rates and for more information.

Looking for Trauma-Informed Yoga counseling in Houston? Please click the button below to schedule a free fifteen-minute consultation.

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) is not a family therapy where we bring in other family members. It actually is an individual therapy that is a way of looking at ourselves through the lens of parts within us (kind of like a family!). It is a way for us to connect with the wounded and potentially traumatized parts of ourselves that are longing to be seen, heard, and understood. Healing and nourishing these hurt and suffering parts within us can result in cultivating a loving, peaceful, joyful, and compassionate relationship within ourselves.

Interested in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) in Houston, TX? Jessica Eiseman, MS, LPC-S, NCC is a Level 1 Trained IFS Therapist.

Existential therapy is a form of talk therapy that focuses on finding purpose and defining meaning, while emphasizing personal responsibility and freedom of choice. Everyone faces struggles of varying difficulty, but existential therapy recognizes that core fears all affect humans, like loneliness, responsibility, death, and finding purpose. In discussing your thoughts and feelings towards these topics, we can develop a greater understanding of our own reactions to these fears, and with understanding comes the knowledge to act in greater harmony with who we want to be.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” ― Viktor E. Frankl

True to its name, cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on addressing the client’s thoughts and behaviors with short term treatment goals that are accomplished in a collaborative therapeutic environment. CBT emphasizes education, participation and a focus on the present.

What is DBT?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an effective combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies. The goal of DBT is to transform negative thinking patterns and destructive behaviors, such as self-harm, into positive outcomes.
Who can benefit from DBT? DBT can be beneficial for most people, however it was originally developed for treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). It has been proven to be successful with clients experiencing depression, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. DBT skills, when learned and implemented, have the capability of helping those who wish to improve their ability to regulate emotions, tolerate distress and negative emotion, be mindful and present in the given moment, and communicate and interact effectively with others.
How is DBT useful? DBT is a researched-based way to establish coping mechanisms to implement in environments that may elicit old, destructive patterns. 
How does it differ from other modalities such as CBT? Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) provides clients with new skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships. DBT specifically focuses on providing therapeutic skills in four key areas. First, mindfulness focuses on improving an individual’s ability to accept and be present in the current moment. Second, distress tolerance is geared toward increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it. Third, emotion regulation covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life. Fourth, interpersonal effectiveness consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthens relationships.
How many sessions does DBT typically take? DBT has a pretty strict curriculum that is tailored to the needs of the client, the standard curriculum that includes all sections is a total of 24 weeks. However, once it is determined what sections are the most important for the client it can be anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks. The extended amount time allows for learning the skills, practicing, tweaking if needed, and then implementation to everyday life. 
Looking for DBT counseling in Houston? Please click the button below to schedule a free fifteen-minute consultation.

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“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.”
SHANNON L. ALDER, AUTHOR
“Jessica strives to think “outside the box” and use creativity in her therapeutic approach in order to best meet the needs of her clients. She values collaboration and partnership with her clients as a way to guide them on their journey of self-discovery and healing. Her ability to listen and communicate with compassion and understanding is validating, reassuring, and offers glimmers of hope for a healthy future.”
ALLISON HARTER , LCSW, CCTP
“Jessica brings the same warmth, compassion, and authenticity into supervision that I imagine she brings into her therapeutic relationships – it is just who she is. She is supportive, knowledgeable, and fiercely passionate about doing her part to help the “next generation” of counselors – which means she will not only hold space for you in supervision each week, but she will also regularly flood your inbox with valuable information on trainings, articles, job opportunities and anything else counseling-related that she believes will interest you. I regularly speak to fellow LPC-Interns and consistently feel so grateful for the supervision model Jessica has created!”
LPC-Intern
“Jessica is a born teacher and mentor. Unfailingly, she equips rising clinicians with invaluable skills and the confidence to apply them in real practice. Jessica is a secret weapon for new graduates”
Emily Weems, LCSW Baylor College of Medicine
“I have known Jessica for over 10 years, and I have found her to be creative, innovative, and dedicated in all that she does. She is an outstanding counselor and behavioral health specialist whose evidence-based practice is strengthened by her empathy and ability to connect with clients. I would be confident referring friends and family members to her, as I know she would treat them with care, respect, and professionalism.”
Catherine R. Barber, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
“With creativity, humor, collaboration, and infinite curiosity, Jessica walks alongside clients as they gain deeper understanding about their truths and bring about change in their lives. Working with Jessica is a truly meaningful and supportive process.”
Emily Weems, LCSW Baylor College of Medicine
“Jessica has a brilliant mind, a big heart, and the ability to put anyone at ease–exactly what you want in a clinician! If you are considering therapy, you’ll be in very safe and skilled hands with her.”
Sharlie Velasco, LCSW, The Menninger Clinic