Senior Partner Jennifer Gardner

Meet Jennifer Gardner

Jennifer’s Why: “To help create safe spaces and provide reasonable accommodations, both online and in person, to make wellness more accessible for neurodivergent people.”

 

I am over the moon about becoming a Senior Partner and Co-owner for the Wellness Universe! I’m a modern-day Renaissance Woman, holding many hidden credentials and skills that I don’t advertise as part of my current business—skills that will benefit the Wellness Universe.  However, my biggest why for taking this step is to help create safe spaces and provide reasonable accommodations, both online and in person, to make wellness more accessible for neurodivergent people.  I myself am a late diagnosed Neurodivergent (ND), so this is a mission that hits close to home for me.  I’m proud to be ND and to advocate for my community as we establish our voice and our value in the larger world.  It took a long time for me to get to a place in which I feel like my voice matters. Now that I’m here, I’m more inclined than ever to share my ideas and do my part to move the needle forward with my contributions.

About Me

I’m Jennifer Whitacre, and I’m a trauma specialist—a career I didn’t choose.  This is a calling that pursued me.  In and of itself, that fact alone speaks volumes about who I am, and who I’ve always been.  As is the human experience, it took me awhile to see it.

Growing up, my family life looked great on paper, yet the reality was that our lives were chaotic and fraught with adversity.  My father was an entrepreneur in a small town, which made my family appear more idyllic than we actually were.  It wasn’t until 2016 when I read a newly published book called Childhood Disrupted, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa, that I first learned about Adverse Childhood Experiences.  I quickly realized the depth of the adversity I grew up in, and I could see more clearly how those early experiences were still affecting me 4 decades later.  That a-ha moment prompted me to take my first professional course in trauma healing.  In 2017 I incorporated coaching and trauma-informed dialoguing into my well-established Myofascial Release Therapy practice.

Since then, I have continued to pursue trainings, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that I had a natural ability to hold compassionate space for those who were facing the demons of their past adversities.  This realization set in motion a re-evaluation of my life that helped me see all the times I had naturally and organically held space for friends and loved ones who were struggling.  It finally made sense why I was the one they called when they needed to rant, vent, or cry.

It took time for me to move from realization and acceptance.  For a couple more years, I continued to resist my calling, and my resistance showed-up as imposter syndrome, feelings of worthlessness, and beliefs that I have nothing to contribute.  A deep dive into the elements of the Hero’s Journey helped me see that these things were happening inside of me because of the resistance to answer my calling.

When I stopped resisting and stepped into the unknown, things changed, and they changed quickly.  I noticed that the messages from my inner critic shifted, and that voice started to cheer me on rather than criticize me.  I started noticing synchronicities that were too coincidental to be happenstance.  Mystical experiences, miracles, and other things I had formerly called BS started happening to me!

It was surreal, at first.

Now that I’ve come to accept that this—helping people metabolize their trauma into empowerment—is my calling; doors I couldn’t have imagined are opening-up for me, including an opportunity to become a Co-Owner and Senior Partner in the Wellness Universe.

About Jennifer Whitacre, LLC

In 2019, I closed my Myofascial Release Therapy practice and started Jennifer Whitacre LLC, turning my maiden name into my business.  My original trauma came through my family and my hometown community; and, transforming my surname into one that represents trauma healing is my way of metabolizing adversity and detachment into hope and compassion.

I’m a Trauma Specialist and Shadow Guide, and I use science-backed and physiology-based strategies along with my innate abilities to help clients address and overcome impediments to their progress.

Certain events and situations in life can inflict invisible injuries on one’s psyche, spirit, or nervous system, and long-term physiological effects can result from leaving these injuries unresolved. I specialize in helping my clients resolve the dynamics that lie at the roots of these issues by helping interpret the language of the subconscious mind.  When my clients understand their own subconscious mind and how it communicates non-verbally, their lives naturally become more integrated and coherent.

I also bring resiliency skills into my program so my clients can learn to stabilize, reset, and self-regulate their own nervous systems. These skills allow my clients to better manage anxiety, reduce stress, sleep better, think more clearly, and increase their confidence and self-worth.

Experience & Expertise

Trauma Healing Credentials:

Compassionate Inquiry.  Gabor Maté.  Completed coursework in December 2019; awarded certificate in February 2020.

Suicide Prevention Awareness Briefing and Tips For Compassionate Inquiry International.  Chukumeka Maxwell of Action to Prevent Suicide CIC UK.  Awarded certificate 25 January 2021.

Somatic Experiencing.  Peter Levine.  Completed coursework in January 2022; awarded certificate in January 2022.

The Physiological and Developmental Impacts of I-tech (Screen time) and How to Work with I-Addiction. An SE™ International Webinar.  Douglas Allen, CD, SEP, MSW.  Completed course April 2022.

Understanding and Challenging Ableism Within Somatic Practices. An SE™ International Webinar, Anti-Oppression Series.  Alex Iantaffi, PhD, MS, CST, SEP, LMFT.  Completed course May 2022.

Community Resiliency Model.  Trauma Resource Institute.  Basic workshop (2019) and Train the Trainer (2020).  Awarded trainer certification in Feb 2021.

Trauma Resiliency Model levels 1 & 2.  Trauma Resource Institute.  Awarded course completion certificates in July and September 2020.

DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience).  Diane Poole-Heller.  Online courses, levels 1-4.

Internal Family Systems.  Richard Schwartz.  Online Circle Program, March through September 2021, completed Sept 2021.  My IFS training continues with the Continuity Program, which meets twice/month, on an ongoing basis, with a specific topic taught in 4-month segments.  Three topics are covered, in-depth, each calendar year.  Topics include: Bring IFS-Informed Practices to Groups; The Art of Negotiation in IFS Sessions – Challenging Protectors and Workable Agreements; IFS Perspectives on Families Affected by Autism; and Introduction to Somatic IFS – An Embodied Approach to Healing Trauma.

Restoring Wholeness Through Collective Transformation.  IFS Annual Conference 2021. Oct 14–17 2021.  Online event.

Healing The Trauma That Surrounds Medical Syndromes.  Lissa Rankin and Richard Schwartz.  Completed course August 2022.

Heal Your Wounded Boundaries. Lissa Rankin. Oct 1 – Nov 7 2022.  (Registered / Upcoming)

Expanding Our Perspectives: Revitalizing Inner Resources.  IFS Annual Conference 2022.  October 20 – 22, 2022.  Online Event.  (Registered / Upcoming)

 

Bodywork-related Credentials:

Neuromuscular Massage Therapist. Awarded my NMT in 2009.  NMT coursework hours were offered at the American Institute of Alternative Medicine, and I finished my NMT certification following graduation and licensure.

Expert Level Myofascial Release Therapist, John Barnes Approach.  Awarded expert status by the Barnes organization in 2012.  I have taken all classes but one, and I assisted in several MFR Seminars between 2012 and 2017.

Upledger Craniosacral Therapy: CST1, CST2, SER1

Therapeutic Touch: all 4 levels

Fascial Academy classes, Lori Zeltwanger approach.  All classes.

Certified Aromatherapist.  Bastyr University, Seattle, WA.  Awarded certification in 2015.  I’ve taught several aromatherapy workshops to help beginners learn safe application and usage.

 

Profiling-related Credentials:

Body Language Institute.  BL 101 & Train the Trainer program.  Arlington, VA.  Janine Driver. Awarded Instructor certificate & pin December 2018.

Micro Expressions.  Paul Eckman Group.  Online course.  Completed in October 2018.

Statement Analysis On-Demand Training.  Mark McClish.  Completed in October 2018.

Conversational Elicitation.  The Congruency Group. Lena Sisco.  Completed in March 2020.

ABCs of Human Interaction.  The Congruency Group. Lena Sisco.  Completed in March 2020.

Face Reading, levels 1-5.  Human Behavior Lab. Completed classes August – November 2020.

SCAN (Scientific Content Analysis).  Laboratory for Scientific Interrogation, Inc.  Basic and Advanced coursework, December 2020 and February 2021 respectively.

Detecting and Preventing Violence.  Advanced SCAN Workshop. Laboratory for Scientific Interrogation, Inc. Completed course July 2022.

Movement Pattern Analysis. Warren Lamb Trust.  Ritu Chander.  Completed Introductory course August 2021.

 

Other Relevant Trainings and Volunteer Experience:

NICABM online (CEU) courses.  Topics include:

  • Depression: Practical Brain-Focuses Strategies for Working with Depression
  • Shame: How to Work with Shame
  • Anger: How to Work with Client Who Are Stuck
  • Anxiety: How to Work with Anxiety and Depression
  • Frontiers in the Treatment of Trauma Series (5 short courses + 3 Bonuses)
  • How to Target Treatment to Help Patients Reclaim Their lives After Trauma
  • Working with Clients Who Feel “Never Good Enough”
  • Working with Avoidance
  • Imposter Syndrome
  • How Perfectionism Can Hurt Your Client

Adult and Pediatric CPR, First Aid, AED.  Red Cross.  Awarded renewal certificate January 2020.

Certified HeartMath Coach/Mentor. HeartMath Institute.  Awarded certificates July 2019.

Harm Reduction Training provided by the Zendo Project (the harm reduction department of MAPS).  Completed the course at CoSM in Wappingers Falls, NY.  July 2019.

Psychedelic Medicine and Cultural Trauma Workshop provided by MAPS.  Attended the workshop in Louisville, KY. August 2019.

SafePoint Needle Exchange.  Harm Reduction center in Columbus, Ohio operated by Equitas Health.  Prior to volunteering, I attended the Equitas Health’s harm reduction training (June 2019), and I also received further training as a Narcan distributer (August 2020) and as an Interviewer (January 2020).

Certified Peer Recovery Supporter. Ohio MHAS (Mental Health and Addiction Services).  Awarded certificate February 2021.

Certified Community Heath Worker, Specialist III.  New Mexico DOH (Department of Health).  Awarded certificate April 2022.

The Call to Empowerment.  A live workshop with Caroline Myss.  Attended course in Santa Fe NM, November 2021.

Online courses through Myss.com include: Riding the Phoenix parts I, II, and III; Archetypes Everywhere series; Sacred Contracts online professional training; and Spiritual Growth and the Enneagram.

Contributing Author to 5 collaborative books.  Find my author page here:  https://amzn.to/3B92PoU

Presenter/Expert Speaker at SoulTreat, a wellness retreat hosted by The Wellness Universe. Oct 2019 in Sedona, AZ.

Volunteer at Scientists, Mystics, and Sages Conference.  Nov 2019 in Bernalillo, NM.

Volunteer at Science and Spirituality Worldwide Conference. Online (due to pandemic) in June 2020.

Occasional Expert Panelist, Author, Moderator, and Blogger for The Wellness Universe. (2019 – 2022).

Power of Ayni Journey.  Volunteer service trip to provide physical symptom relief via Myofascial Release to Q’ero villagers who live in the Andes mountains outside of Cusco, Peru.  The trip was organized by Mamancuna Journeys.  October 2015.

Volunteer – Retail Bookstore for the Pure Human: Breakthrough conference (feat. Gregg Braden) in Jacksonville, FL. 25-28 Aug 2022.

Podcast Host: Yes, And with Jennifer Whitacre (3/2018-9/2020).

 

Personal Interests and Edification Trainings:

Usui Reiki Master.  2012.  Irina Tatarintseva.  Columbus Polarity Center.

Karuna Reiki, Levels I and II.  2013.  Irina Tatarintseva.  Individual Coursework.

Toltec Reiki Master.  2016.  International Metaphysical University.  Dr. Elisa Keith.

Energy Medicine 2-day workshop with Donna Eden.  Omega Institute.  July 2018.

Energy Psychology weeklong course with David Feinstein. Omega Institute.  July 2018.

Subtle Energy I and II.  2012 and 2014, respectively.  Peggy Fughs (via Myofascial Seminars).

Shamanic Studies, apprentice approach, with Iggy Garcia. Columbus, Ohio.  Iggy is a Peruvian (Q’ero) shaman who worked with me both individually and in small groups (along with his other apprentices) to learn shamanic healing approaches.

Introduction to the Enneagram and monthly Enneagram meetings.  2018-2020, Grandview (Columbus), Ohio.

Awakening in the Lotus: Lucid Dreaming and Shadow Work.  Charlie Morley.  Omega Institute. June 2019.

 

47+ years in a retail environment “I grew-up in a retail environment and was running a cash register and counting back change before I started school. I have a soft spot for brick-and-mortar retail and in-person customer service.”

20+ years teaching, developing courses, aligning coursework with content standards

14+ years in the wellness industry

6 years as a Trauma Specialist / Shadow Guide

 

Connect with Jennifer

JenniferWhitacre.com


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