Epione Psychological Services

ABOUT US: Epione Psychological Services is named for the Greek goddess Epione (Eh-Pea-Oh-Knee) whose name comes from the Greek word “epios” meaning “soothing.” In Greek mythology, Epione was described as the “personification of healing and recovery.” She was the mother of the gods and goddesses of good health, cures, and healing. To us, this suggests that, to have good health, one must first find that which soothes us, and from a more practical standpoint, we must find a path to recovery. As people, when we face medical problems (chronic pain, severe injury, chronic illness, major changes to our bodies), it is really easy to believe there is something wrong with us that needs changing, or else we can’t live a meaningful life. We tend to chase cures and we hunt for anything that makes us feel even a little bit closer to “normal.” The thing is... Chronic illness of any kind is complicated, and frankly, it’s exhausting. It can feel like we are constantly picking and choosing where we put our precious energy- “Do I make myself breakfast or do I make my kids their school lunches?” Or “Do I get out of bed today and go to work, or is simply opening my eyes and facing another day all I have in me?” A lot of the time, we spend most of our waking moments trying to just keep our heads above water, which can leave us feeling totally depleted and like we can’t realistically get to the other important things that need our attention, like going to work, spending time with people we care about, or taking care of our homes. At Epione Psychological Services, we take the mission of our namesake seriously. We strive to soothe the pain and the burdens of the spirit that come with chronic medical illness, and we work with clients to help come up with tools and strategies for recovery. Since being ill does not make someone “broken,” we do not treat clients like there is something to “fix.” We focus on improving quality of life, reducing the negative impact of illness, and finding ways to make a life worth living in the context of chronic illness. OUR PHILOSOPHY: If there is one thing you take away from visiting this page today, it’s that our mission is to empower clients. Of course, psychologists cannot rid clients of illness, but we CAN help them feel as though they can handle the unexpected, no matter what that looks like. At Epione, we can help you discover what matters most to you in life, and help you find practical, evidence-based ways to cope and get closer to living a meaningful and fulfilled life, despite illness. WHO IS DR. JESSICA MCDONALD? Hi! I’m Dr. Jess. I am a licensed clinical health psychologist, which basically means that my training in psychology has been focused on helping people learn to adjust to life with chronic medical illness and/or medical disabilities. I specialize in chronic pain management, adjusting to life with a traumatic brain injury/neurologic events (like a stroke), adjustment to disability (like an amputation or spinal cord injury), overcoming health anxiety, and health and behavior change related to diabetes and weight management. I also have experience with helping people navigate living with cancer and processing medical trauma. I also offer bariatric pre-surgical evaluations. As part of a weight management plan, clients and their physicians may talk about bariatric surgery as an option. Part of that discussion includes clients participating in a pre-surgical evaluation with a licensed mental health provider to make sure there are no unexpected factors that can make it hard to achieve optimal post-surgical outcomes. That’s where I come in! If you and your doctors are considering bariatric surgery, and you need a pre-surgical evaluation, I can help you learn about the things in your life that would get you closer, or perhaps a little further, from reaching your overall goals for weight and health. While I do primarily work in areas of health psychology, I also treat depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, and the stressors that go hand-in-hand with being a human being. All strategies, techniques, and treatments I use are evidence-based (meaning tons and tons of research has shown these techniques are effective in treating symptoms) and are modified to meet your unique circumstances and needs.