lgbtq-taking-first-steps.jpg

I’m here to help you take the first step with confidence.

-Jlynn

Who is this Jlynn?

Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin, LCSW
Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin, LCSW with friend
Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin, LCSW in the water
Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin, LCSW in salsa dress
Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin, LCSW on a swing
Jlynn (Jennifer) Franklin, LCSW with backpack

Jlynn’s / Jennifer Franklin’s Therapy Practice

umbrellas with LGBTQ+ Pride colors

Attachment Theory

At the heart of my practice is a commitment to offering safe, affirming, and empowerment-based care for the broader LGBTQIA2S+ community. I also offer therapy to allies that support that mission. If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t quite fit in, in your body, your identity, or the world around you- you’re in the right place.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and from my lived experience as a queer therapist, I pay close attention to how our different identities and environments have impacted how we experience ourselves and how we are treated by others. Sometimes exploring gender,  sexuality, or the experience of discrimination becomes an area of deeper focus in therapy; Sometimes these identities are simply held present as a piece of your story while we explore other unrelated parts of you that need tending to.

The foundation of your treatment is based on attachment theory and neurobiology.  I find it essential to understand how your upbringing and how the upbringing of those who are close to you play into your current level of emotional distress. We are often programmed to repeat rather than to repair the problems that we have experienced in earlier relationships; we become neurologically wired to react to the signals that we pick up in our environments, whether they are logical or not.

Neurological Rewiring

I have a relational approach that integrates mind-body modalities such as EMDR, IFS, & Emotion-Focused Therapy. As we process early attachments and trauma, we begin to experience the past with more compassion and a neurological shift occurs in our brains' wiring; This opens up the possibility of changing how we relate to ourselves and others in the present.

We’ll take time to uncover the root causes of patterns in thoughts, feelings and behaviors that shape how you move through the world. As we process unresolved past experiences, a neurological shift occurs in our brains' wiring, opening up the possibility of responding, rather than reacting to the situation at hand. From this place, we’ll discover practical ways to respond to challenges for lasting, meaningful change.

EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain

Whether it’s in romantic partnerships, family dynamics, or friendships, difficulties in attachment can leave us feeling isolated, misunderstood, or stuck. If you’ve experienced challenges in your relationships, therapy can help you explore and heal the patterns contributing to your struggles. Together, we will address these challenges through a holistic, trauma-informed, and nervous system-based approach. Your early relationships taught you the rules, together we can redefine them.

Jlynn’s Training & Modalities of Treatment

EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain

Research-based therapy. Yay science!!!

〰️

Research-based therapy. Yay science!!! 〰️

I have extensive training in and years of experience practicing EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Mindfulness-Based Therapy, Attachment-Focused Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and Emotion-Focused Therapy (translation: I have a massive toolkit of research-based training and experience to help us find what actually works for you).

Rewiring the Mothership: How Your Brain Actually Changes

If you’ve ever felt like your brain is actively sabotaging your happiness, you’re not wrong—but it’s not doing it on purpose. It’s just running on old, outdated software.

Think of your brain as a superhighway of neurons. When you experience stress, trauma, or a really bad breakup, your brain builds a massive, multi-lane freeway for those negative thoughts. The more you think them, the faster the traffic flows. Mind-body therapy is essentially the construction crew that shuts down that freeway, forces a detour, and builds a scenic, peaceful coastal highway instead.

Here is exactly how my toolkit helps your neurons pack up and move to a better neighborhood:

  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing)

  • The Vibe: Filing away the paperwork.

  • The Science: When trauma happens, the memory gets stuck in your amygdala, keeping you in a constant state of high alert. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (like side-to-side eye movements, tapping or buzzing sensations) to activate your brain's natural processing system. It moves those heavy, painful memories into long-term storage (the cortex). The memory remains, but the emotional volume softens to a gentle, background whisper.

EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain
EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain
Text Jlynn now
  • Mindfulness-Based Therapy

  • The Vibe: Calming the office alarm system.

  • The Science: High stress shrinks your prefrontal cortex (the logical, decision-making part of your brain) and enlarges your amygdala (the panic button). Mindfulness physically reverses this. By practicing staying in the present moment, you stop firing the "danger!" neurons (as long as you are actually staying out of danger). Over time, your prefrontal cortex thickens, allowing you to respond calmly to life's chaos instead of having an immediate freak-out.

EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain
  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • The Vibe: Brokering a peace treaty between your inner critics.

  • The Science: Your brain is made up of different neural networks, or "parts"—like the part that wants to succeed, and the part that wants to eat an entire cake at midnight to cope with stress. IFS helps calm the hyper-reactive, defensive neural pathways (your "protectors") so your core, calm self can be in charge.

EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain
Contact Jlynn
EMDR neurons rewiring in the brain
  • Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

  • The Vibe: Changing your emotional thermostat.

  • The Science: EFT targets the limbic system—the emotional powerhouse of the brain. When you learn to identify, sit with, and transform deep-seated emotions, you change the neural firing patterns associated with those feelings. Instead of your brain automatically defaulting to isolation or anger when you feel hurt, EFT creates new pathways that lean toward connection and safety.

Book a free 20 minute consultation

  • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

  • The Vibe: Unearthing the original source code.

  • The Science: This is where we look at the unconscious blueprints created in your early life (your attachment). By taking a deeper look at your past, you shine a light on implicit memories hidden deep within your neural networks. Bringing these unconscious patterns into conscious awareness allows your brain to form entirely new synaptic connections. You stop unconsciously repeating old history and start choosing your own future. You stop unconsciously repeating old history and start choosing your own future.

Talk to Jlynn

Jlynn’s Vision

The more we reach out for help, the more we normalize supporting one another. My goal is simple: Help others to heal so that, in turn, our communities, our nation, and our world may also grow healthy. And let’s face it, it’s a shit show out there, so let’s roll up our sleeves and get to it.

May you be happy

May you be healthy

May you be safe from inner and outer harm

May you be protected

May you be free from suffering

May you know the joy of your own true nature

May you be healed

And in your own healing, may you heal others

Work with Jlynn