Jessica Pizarro

Biography

Qualifications & Experience

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from University of Texas Pan-American and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University. I have been fully licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Texas since 2015.

My Call to Christian Counseling

In college, I had the opportunity to translate for a Christian psychologist during a mission trip with the Baptist Student Ministry. After witnessing the impact that this psychologist had on the people she helped, the desire I already had to pursue a career in psychology and counseling grew even more. After much prayer and guidance, I decided to pursue a career in counseling.

More About Me/On a Personal Note

I enjoy group exercise classes, taking walks on the beach, spending time with my husband and two boys, baking, and serving in the community.

Services and Specialities

Areas of Expertise/Specialties

• Abandonment and Neglect
• Anger Management
• Anxiety
• Counseling for Children (ages 8 and up)
• Counseling in Spanish
• Counseling for Teens
• Depression
• Grief and loss
• Codependency
• Individual Counseling
• Online Counseling
• Personal Development
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Relationship Issues
• Sexual Abuse
• Spiritual Development
• Trauma

Anger Management

In anger management therapy, I will help you gain awareness and understanding of the root issue, problematic behaviors, consequences, and steps necessary for change. Further, you will be able to identify situations, thoughts, and feelings that trigger anger, as well as the related anger responses. You will learn alternate ways to think about and manage anger. We will work to learn and implement calming strategies as a way of managing your anger reactions. Additionally, through modeling and/or role-playing, I will teach you assertive communication and coping skills. Lastly, you will learn and implement problem-solving and conflict resolution skills to manage interpersonal problems.

Anxiety

I will provide reflective listening, encouragement, and a supportive and therapeutic environment to assist you with processing your thoughts and feelings regarding your emotional concerns. My goals for treating anxiety are to help you: explore and identify the underlying causes of your worries and fears; learn to identify physical sensations when feeling anxious or fearful; and develop and implement a coping plan, which may include deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, body scan, or grounding techniques, among others.

In therapy for anxiety, you will learn to identify, challenge, and replace negative or unhelpful thoughts with alternate helpful, realistic thoughts. Together we will come up with calming statements, and/or find Scriptures you can recite to yourself when you’re facing a situation that triggers anxiety. We will end the session with a relaxation exercise and/or prayer.

Depression

I will help you identify your personal values and how your current behaviors (or lack thereof) align or contradict those values. I will help you develop a healthy coping plan that works for you, which may include trying and practicing certain strategies between sessions. Additionally, together we will work on identifying enjoyable and meaningful activities that you would be interested in adding to your routine or restarting. Further, we will work together to identify negative thought patterns. The next step would be to help you examine the evidence for and against your negative thoughts and replace them with more balanced or helpful ones. We will also look at what the Scriptures say about the thoughts you are struggling with and replace the negative self-talk with empowering words and/or Scriptures. We will end with a relaxation exercise and/or prayer.

Trauma

One of the first goals will be to provide information on trauma and TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), as that is the theoretical approach I use to guide sessions during trauma treatment. Next we will work together on building and strengthening your coping skills to help you manage any triggers. Further, the goal is to help you share your story at your own pace within the confidential space of our sessions together. We will consider any cognitive distortions and work together to replace those cognitive distortions with healthier thoughts and perspectives. Further, we will take steps to help you move from a place of fear and helplessness to one of empowerment and control over your trauma-related experiences.

Counseling for Teens

If you’re facing issues like stress, anxiety, family conflicts, relationship issues, or academic struggles, counseling for teens can be a valuable resource for you. I will provide a confidential space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings, develop better communication and problem-solving skills, and build healthier relationships. Together we will help you gain awareness and understanding of your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, and how your past experiences might have impacted them. Further, we will explore various coping strategies to figure out which one works best for you, depending on the feeling and situation. I will teach and model various coping strategies and other outlets for expression. You will gain healthy and effective communication strategies so you can clearly express what you need or want when you are sharing your feelings with others. If appropriate, we will work on improving parent-teen relationships by practicing healthy communication strategies in session.

Payment and Forms

Sessions: I offer 53-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.

Availability (by office location):

• Harlingen – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday
• Online Counseling – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for individuals looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to most insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session, the entire fee for the session will be waived. For ongoing treatment, the full fee per session is required at the time of service.

Insurance: As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), most insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out-of-Network Provider). Please consult with your insurance provider as to whether they specifically cover adolescents and adult individuals.

Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 4% per transaction may be added for credit card payments.