We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennine Estes Powell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennine below.
Jennine, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Developing my confidence and self-esteem has always been a work in progress, but each time I fall, I get back up. Each painful moment in my life, whether it be personal or business, helped me learn and grow.
When I was a child, I was diagnosed with a reading and writing comprehension disability. I went to a special school for kids with learning disabilities, At 4th grade, my family moved to a new city and I had to go to the normal school without any learning assistance (my mother wasn’t aware of the resources available). Growing and learning took work. I would cry and feel helpless often.
In college, my professor would display my papers in front of the class and use them as a teaching lesson – what not to do. Each week I would seek out support from friends and family and each week my papers would be at the front of the classroom. I kept working hard. I didn’t give up. In the last year of my undergrad, one of my guidance counselors told me that I wouldn’t make it to graduate school. He had this long lecture about how I would never be able to make it.
The evening cries in my dorm room, and the painful lectures about my skills didn’t stop me. I had to keep fighting to succeed. The more I faced the hard, the more confident and skilled I became. I learned how to resource assistance and ask for help. I grew and continue to grow through my struggles.
I now have a thriving group practice in San Diego working with couples and individuals. I have a team of 16 therapists and a book coming out in January of 2024 called Help for High Conflict Couples: Using Emotionally Focused Therapy and Science of Attachment to Build Lasting Connection.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Being told ‘No’, is something I could never accept. I was advised countless times by colleagues, teachers, and practitioners to avoid opening up a private practice and to give up on the dream of becoming a business owner. Ironically, I have those exact past colleagues, teachers, and practitioners to thank. I’m thankful to them for giving me the drive to persevere through those obstacles and prove them wrong. No matter who you are, what educational background you have or what type of home you grew up in, there will always be people who doubt your success and your happiness. It’s these experiences that drive me to help heal couples and families who’ve gone through difficult experiences and transitions in life. I found my passion for EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) when I first started working with couples at the beginning of my career in 2003. Here at Estes Therapy, we value everyone’s voice and we want our couples, individuals, and families to be heard, to feel safe, and to be given the opportunity to heal themselves and foster new approaches in their relationships.
I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, certified in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and an author. I have a company called Estes Therapy where my team and I provide counseling services to couples, individuals, and families. Our counseling services focus on improving mental health, improving relationships, healing after an affair, and increasing overall life satisfaction. We have a team of 16 therapists located in Mission Valley and Oceanside. My book Help for High Conflict Couples will be released in January 2023. It focused on helping disconnected couples with quick escalation learn how to turn down the heat and improve their communication through the use of EFT.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three skills that were the most impactful in my journey are: – Developing my people skills: this allowed me to connect with my clients and my team, learn how to to help others feel comforted and supported, and enrich the relationships while becoming a team leader.
– Vivacity: Having the courage to just go for it and take risks. I had to learn how to jump without overthinking.
– Well Versed: Specializing in a treatment model and becoming extremely knowledgeable allowed me to train others and build a company that specialized in relationships utilizing Emotionally Focused Therapy.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
When I first began my clinical work as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I found myself around various professionals that believed in me and helped me grow in my counseling work. Dr. Mark Kaupp, a certified EFT trainer, introduced me to Emotionally Focused Therapy which was a game changer for my clinical practice. I had a roadmap to help couples create secure relationships and improve their communication skills.
One leader in particular has always had my back. Dr. Lisa Palmer-Olsen has always believed in me, has pushed me to fight for better, and always shows upn when I am struggling. She has taught me how to hone in my clinical skills and face my fears. By improving my own confidence, it allowed me to be an effective leader for my team of clinicians.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.estestherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estes_therapy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EstesTherapy/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandiegotherapist/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/estes_therapy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jennineestescounseling
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/estes-therapy-san-diego-2
