Jack Hambrick, MA, LMFT
My name is Jack and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I hold a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Akron's COAMFTE-accredited Marriage and Family Therapy program. I have experience working with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. I work with individuals, couples, and families across the lifespan from adolescents to older adults, on a wide range of mental health concerns. I especially enjoy working with ADHD, issues of identity, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
My approach to therapy involves looking not only at the individual but at the relationships, family patterns, and larger systems that shape who we are and how we struggle. I believe that the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem. I am a narrative therapist, which means I'm interested in the stories we tell about our lives. I believe language does more than describe reality, language creates reality. In practice, this means I want to make sure we're always on the same page. I believe the answers lie in the specifics, and I'm committed to making sure we have a clear, shared understanding of each other and of the work we're doing together.
Clients come into therapy with real knowledge about their problem. But it can be difficult to see past our own perspective. What we see appears to be all there is. This is why I encourage people to come to therapy: our perceptions are narrow, and when we open ourselves up, we open up to a whole new world of possibilities. It's my job as the therapist to take the client from what they know and what is familiar, to what can be known and what is possible.
With some clients I hope to do deep work, linking the past with the present. With others, we're focused entirely on right now, often these two are blending. I believe in the power of a single session, and at the same time, I recognize that therapy can often be one step forward, two steps back. My goal is for you to leave every session with something more than what you had before.
I really, truly love my job. When I'm not in the therapy room, I'm reading and listening to podcasts about therapy. I'm also passionate about productivity systems and how we go about getting things done. I'm often at my computer finding ways to make things easier, quicker, more intuitive, and more reliable.
If any of this resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you.