Meet Dr. Jessica Grove
Living with chronic pain and illness is exhausting in ways most people don’t understand. You deserve better than just ‘coping better’ with your symptoms.
I do my best work helping people who feel at the end of their rope because of their health.
You may have tried therapy in the past that was great at addressing trauma, depression or anxiety, but missed a central piece of the puzzle: the physical and emotional toll of your health. Because you’re living with chronic pain and illness, you need someone who not only knows about mental health, but also about the realities of living with a health condition. Your symptoms have no end date, your journey has been riddled with medical dismissal and invalidation, and your life is full of social awkwardness (“uhh… hey guys, can we find the nearest exit? My ostomy bag is leaking...”).
This is where a health psychology specialty can make a world of difference. In our work, you’ll have a space where your experience is taken seriously without minimizing what you’ve gone through or oversimplifying your daily struggles. We’ll look at the big picture of your health and start to identify the things that both help and hurt your condition over time. I’ll partner with you to find what the next step toward a healthier you looks like and support you as you take it.
What makes therapy with me different?
If you’ve been told “it’s just anxiety,” “stay positive,” or “have your tried yoga?” This will feel different. Together, we’ll get curious about your symptoms. We’ll look at how stress, your relationships, and even personality traits (perfectionism, anyone?) may be shaping how your body is impacting chronic pain or responding to medical illness. We’ll explore the role of the nervous system and how it can amplify symptoms and how we can help it shift out of chronic threat mode. We’ll work to set up habits and routines that help your body exit cycles of over-doing it and then crashing.
What progress in therapy often looks like:
Healing is often messy and nonlinear, and anyone who tells you differently is not being fully honest. Really big, long-term break through start with small steps in a different direction. There are steps forward, steps back, and moments where things don’t make sense. Our work focuses on helping you feel safe enough to examine long-standing emotional and behavioral patterns so change can happen in a way that’s sustainable. I don’t promise to have all the answers, but I do promise to partner with you to see change and transformation in your life and health.
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My work sits in the space where physical health and the nervous system overlap. Chronic symptoms and chronic illness are a reality, but they’re also influenced by how the brain and body are processing stress, emotion, and threat.
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I’ll only ever proceed with treatments that have been tested and shown effective. You can be confident that the interventions I use are backed by science.
I use a blend of Pain Reprocessing Therapy, Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness-based therapy when appropriate.
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Using approaches like Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), we’ll work on reducing symptom distress, increasing your sense of safety in your body, and helping your system settle. By understanding and retraining your system. Things can start to shift in a way that finally makes a difference in a practical, meaningful way.
Specializations
Chronic illness
⟡ Navigating the emotional and day-to-day challenges of living with a chronic illness so you can feel more in control
Chronic pain
⟡ Helping you reduce the impact and experience of chronic pain
IBS and Disorders of the Brain-gut Connection
⟡ Helping calm gut reactivity triggered by stress and nervous system dysregulation
Cancer
⟡ Helping you cope with the stress, uncertainty, and emotional impact of cancer, while building strategies to improve resilience and quality of life.
My credentials:
⟡ Doctoral degree in clinical psychology
⟡Licensed clinical psychologist (0810007711)
⟡ APA accredited fellowship in clinical health psychology at VCU Health Center
⟡ Experience working with chronic pain, chronic illness, cancer, bariatrics, and transplant recipients, IBS
⟡ Memberships:
American Psychological Association
Division 38 of American Psychological Association (Society for Health Psychology)
Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms (ATNS)
What to expect from meeting with me
During our first session:
We’ll spend time talking about your background, both medical and personal, so I can get a better sense of the experiences that have shaped you and how you approach challenges.
By the end of our first session:
I’ll share some treatment options that may be a good fit for your needs and goals.
In follow-up sessions:
We’ll begin the real work together, moving forward at a pace that feels comfortable for you.