Jeannine Colwell

Hi there, I'm Jeannine! My name is Jeannine Colwell and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist ( LMFT) based in San Diego, California, and working with clients statewide via telehealth. I work with teens, adults, law enforcement, military, and veterans and specialize in anxiety, depression, anger management, substance use addiction, sports, coaching, etc. using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ( CBT) and Solution Focused Therapy, coping skills, coaching, to help my clients make progress and start feeling awesome again. My focus is all about you and meeting you where you are at! Looking forward to meeting you!

My approach

My approach to therapy varies based on the needs of each client I work with. I most frequently use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Solution-focused Therapy, as both modalities help the client and myself build a shared understanding of their reality and allow us to work together to create their own path!

My focus

I have found that my style and approach are a good fit for teens, and adults who may be dealing with the challenges of life, transitions, social pressures, sports, moving from place to place, looking to find the right career path, and needing motivation. This often takes the form of anxiety, depression, stress, anger, and substance use addiction. I work to help my clients navigate these transition periods and to build skills to allow them to feel better about themselves and develop a more positive outlook on life.

My communication style

My communication style is calm, happy and positive, accommodating, and personable. I want my clients to feel comfortable talking with me about anything, and I take pride in my ability to listen without judgment. I'm real! I won't candy coat anything. I'm here to help! This is my passion!

My journey to mental healthcare

My adventure in becoming a therapist started with my passion for helping others. This was not always my path, to be honest, I had to find my way like most. I was a High School PE/Health teacher and coach. I realized, I needed more and went through a grueling academy, and became a Deputy Sheriff. After getting hurt, going through six Lt shoulder surgeries, and not being able to play sports for a long time, I was retired as a Deputy. This is when I concluded, I'm not a quitter, just because I was hurt and retired my life and gifts were not over. I also came to the conclusion, I'm not an enforcer and my passion and love is to help all people, this was my gift. I landed a job working with at-risk teens in AZ after being retired in San Diego and truly found my passion in helping others. I came back to CA as a caretaker for my grandma while going to school at night and received my MA in Counseling/Psych/MFT. Whether it was as a peer counselor in school, volunteering in my community and church, or being a trusted and loyal friend, I noticed I have always naturally been drawn to helping people through difficult times and people have always been drawn to me for help. I enjoy seeing individuals become the best versions of themselves. I've always been a team player and I've never given up! I am that motivator and if you are willing to take that leap of faith in coming to therapy you will be guided to your own success! Life is what you make of it but you have to start somewhere and know it takes one step at a time and one day at a time! "He" has never given you anything you cannot handle! I am that therapist that will guide you even on the days you don't believe in yourself!

My goals for you

My approach to goal setting with clients is all about working together to define what you want to accomplish in our time together. This often starts by building a rapport and understanding what it means to be in therapy and the expectations the therapist has in therapy. Once you are guided and come up with what it is you would like to accomplish, we will create and set goals by taking one day at a time to get you where you would like to be. Therapy is what you put into it. A therapist like me is here to guide you to accomplish and crush your goals.

My first session with you

What you can expect from our first session together is for us to spend the majority of our time getting to know each other and talking about how you have been feeling recently. I will be asking some questions to better understand you and how I can help you better. The first session is about us building an initial connection and helping me get a sense of where we should go with a game plan. Each individual is different, and I like to listen first and meet you where you're at before assuming I know what will work best for you.