Vanessa Jackson is a Soul Doula and licensed clinical social worker who is passionate about creating healing spaces and supporting individuals and communities in being powerful and authentic. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis-George Warren Brown School of Social Work. She practices her craft in Atlanta, Georgia and worldwide via Skype.

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Publications

"Beat the Blues", Heart and Soul, December/January, 2001.

In Our Own Voice: African-American Stories of Oppression, Survival and Recovery in Mental Health Systems. Its About Time: Discovering, Recovering and Celebrating Mental Health Consumer/Survivor History. August 2001.

Surviving My Sister's Suicide: A Journey Through Grief. Living Beyond Loss: Death in the Family, 2nd Edition. Monica McGoldrick and Froma Walsh, Eds. New York:W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: Feminist Reflections on Therapy with Low-Wage Earning Women.Psychotherapy and  Women: Exploring Diverse Contexts and Identities. Marsha Pravder Mirkin, Karen l. Suyemoto and Barbara Okun, Eds. New York: The Guilford Press, 2005.

Families of African Origin: An Overview. Co-author, Lascelles Black Ethnicity and Family Therapy, Third Edition. Monica McGoldrick, Joe Giordano and Nydia Garcia-Predo, Eds. New York: The Guilford Press, 2005.

Separate and Unequal: The Legacy of Racially Segregated Hospitals. Monograph, 2005.

Understanding Power: An Imperative for Human Services, Elaine Pinderhughes, Vanessa Jackson and Patricia A. Ronmney, Eds. Washington, DC: NASW Press, 2017

What is your background? Why did you choose an integrated healing practice?

I am an activist with a passion for women’s health and community building. This interest led me to pursue a masters degree in social work with a focus on women’s issues and social and economic development at Washington University, George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Over the years, I embarked on my own spiritual journey which allowed me to honor many spiritual traditions and to be present for others who are trying to live spirit-centered lives in a world which does not always honor the spiritual life.  As I negotiated the inevitable crises in my own life, I noticed that I found it most helpful and healing to take integrated approach that explored the emotional, intellectual, spiritual and community aspects of my “problems”. Over time, it made sense for me to offer this perspective to individuals and families who came to me for consultation.  I sought additional training in reiki, energy healing, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), crystal healing and aromatherapy to add to my clinical training in family systems, narrative therapy and power dynamics. I was once asked about my “theoretical orientation” and my heart-centered response was “My theoretical orientation is magic. It is my goal to fully express the magic in me and to invite out the magic in you!”