Who I am
Hi. I’m Jillian (she/her).
Most people kind of think I am mysterious at first because I often observe before I share. That started as my trauma response but has now kind of become my super power.
Throughout my teens and 20s I was deeply engaged with evangelical Christianity. This was also a way through trauma and one that became deeply connected to my identity. I didn’t know at the time how the way I was making meaning out of life was influencing my mental health, relationships, and sense of self. But I have come to discover this through my complicated journey and countless hours of being counseled and counseling others. Much of my own work in the past decade has centered around identifying the harmful beliefs of high-control religious groups and finding the freedom to make my own path. Now, I work regularly with people who are deconstructing or struggling with the impact their faith or religious involvement has had on their inner world.
My work is informed by paying attention to the extreme narratives and seeking nuanced perspectives. We live in a world shaped by echo chambers of messages that reflect an aspect of truth but will make us sick in large or solitary doses. I don’t think anyone set out for the systems we are steeped in to become this way so I’m not going to stake a claim to knowing whom to blame. After all, most of history is a cycle of passing down trauma and recreating it. But regardless of intentions, harm has been done in the world we live in. I am always inspired when I meet someone who is not at ease with this re-creation and does the brave work of breaking cycles often by starting with themself.
I’m pro-reducing harm. I believe that the world can be better and safer than it is. Being a therapist is my way of showing up to hold space for that change one person at a time.
I graduated from Virginia Tech with a MA in Counselor Education and am licensed in the state of Virginia as a Licensed Professional Counselor. I also enjoy working toward specific goals and offering spiritual direction coaching through my coaching business. If you are on less of a healing journey and more on a building from the healing you have already done expedition, you can find more about my coaching practice at JillianHoughton.com
My Perspective
It takes a brave person to recognize that they want to heal from trauma; it takes a courageous person to actively pursue healing. Trauma, regardless of where it stems from, alters all areas of life including how we perceive ourselves, others, and the world, not to mention how we relate, how we feel in our bodies, how we express emotions, how we think, and our personal sense of safety and autonomy in the world.
Perhaps you are struggling to deconstruct old religious beliefs, seeking to understand the impact that various religious teaching and practices had on your mind and body, desiring to learn new patterns of engaging in relationship (with yourself and others) outside of the box of purity culture, or wanting to better understand and heal from adverse religious experiences resulting in religious trauma or other mental health issues.
Maybe you’re not sure where to start and you’re not even sure if what you experienced in your religious or spiritual system was oppressive, adverse, or traumatic…
You can start with not knowing. We experience trauma when our nervous system is overwhelmed and that information is stored in the body. We start with paying attention to those clues. This is done primarily through body-based modalities and other effective interventions to help the body complete the traumatic stress cycle, release the excess trauma energy, and restore a sense of safety and social connection.
Areas that might change in the process of healing include things like building healthy attachment, boundaries, gaining a sense of self-identity, practical skills in how to navigate the world, learning about healthy relationships, discovering new coping skills, and being able to discover and live from an authentic sense of self.
Experience & Education
Degree
Liberty University (B.S.) degree with honors in Clinical Mental Health Psychology with a specialty in substance abuse and codependency.
Virginia Tech (M.A.Ed) degree with honors in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Licensure
State of Virginia Licensed Professional Counselor
Experience
Jillian has worked in both child and adolescent settings along with university counseling and community organizations. In these settings, she has worked with clients to overcome and manage stress, anxiety, developmental transitions, depression, identity changes, relationship difficulties, trauma, addictions, and severe mental illness. Some of the settings that shaped Jillian’s experiences include: Carilion and Virginia Baptist’s child/adolescent psychiatric units, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, school counseling at a Roanoke Valley elementary school, sexual assault response advocacy programs, local foster care agency, community service board, group private practice center, and emergency services. Jillian is now full time in her established private practice and coaching businesses.
Specialization
Religious Abuse, Spiritual Trauma, Recovery from high control environments, Cults and Undo Influence, Identity and Sexuality, Obsessive compulsive religious fears, Codependency