Jennifer Burkett

Jen has always been an artist and one of her earliest memories is coloring with her grandmother in an Alice in Wonderland coloring book that was bigger than she was. Jen is a white, middle-aged, cis-gender woman who has lived in rural and urban Pennsylvania, London, the San Francisco Bay area and northern Virginia. Becoming an art therapist was a career change for her that fully embraced the parts of her that she discovered could support others through art and creativity. Jen studied art therapy at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She holds the ATR-P certification and LPC-R licensure in Virginia.

Jen embraces a client-centered approach that is rooted in connection. She believes it is important to be flexible, open, soft and stable. The theories she relies on are relational models informed by attachment theory and liberation psychologies aligning with a culturally humble approach to art therapy. Jen is passionate about incorporating neuroscience and psychoeducation in sessions. She believes that one of the amazing things about art therapy is meeting therapeutic goals through experiences that are based in movement, the senses, symbolism and creativity in addition to cognitive and emotional processing. Jen has specific training in trauma-informed and trauma-focused approaches, and she integrates aspects of ACT and DBT in her clinical work.

Jen has experience working in schools, community arts, hospital, intensive outpatient and clinic settings. Jen has experience with and enjoys working with individuals across the lifespan. She is especially passionate about working with clients who are seeking support with identity, relationships, sexuality, and may be going through life changes while wanting to find their unique paths to growth. Jen has experience working with personality disorders, complex trauma, anxiety, depression, neurodivergence and life changes. Jen loves to support clients in finding their unique ways of expressing themselves in and out of session, regardless of their experience with artmaking.

When Jen is not working, you can find her visiting museums, cooking, tending to a community garden plot, and daydreaming about travel. She also loves reading speculative fiction and her favorite personal art mediums are painting and print making.

Jen is available to see individuals ages 4 and up or couples at EBAT's Oakland office on Mondays and Fridays (virtual sessions can be offered for ages 11+). Jen also facilitates art therapy groups at schools in Oakland Unified School District.