Jacenta L. Irlanda, MA, LPC, ATR
Many people feel like they cannot ask for help or if they ask for help they will be rejected. We all have the capacity to make poor decisions, yet culturally in the United States, we shame and “other” people who are struggling with or have made past poor decisions. Whether you are running into challenges with new decisions, reconciling with past decisions, confronting transitions, or learning how to adjust to new situations, Jacenta can create space for you. Jacenta understands the balance of accountability and being non-shaming when holding space for others who are seeking help. She holds therapeutic spaces that encourage people to show up as they are and their authentic selves. She believes that each person has innate wisdom within themselves for healing and therapy can be used as a guide to strengthening trust for their inner wisdom as they embark on their healing journey. Jacenta utilizes creative processes such as stories, mythology, comic books, manga, folklore to support the internal processes of others. Through a transpersonal art therapy lens, Jacenta understands the importance of various healing rituals that include but are not limited to meditation, guided visualizations, dream exploration, and art-making as an expression for the human experience.
ABOUT JACENTA
CCT OWNER AND ART THERAPIST
(she/her)
Sociocultural Identity: U.S. born, white European (Polish) and Latina (Puerto Rican) roots. Cisgender, able-bodied woman who comes from a bicultural and working-class background. White presenting with thin body privilege.
Jacenta was born and raised in Thornton, Colorado, USA which is the land of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indigenous Nations.
How Jacenta Views Therapy:
Jacenta holds therapeutic spaces that encourage people to show up as they are and their authentic selves. She believes that each person has innate wisdom within themselves for healing and therapy can be used as a guide to strengthening trust for their inner wisdom as they embark on their healing journey. Jacenta utilizes creative processes such as stories, mythology, comic books, manga, folklore to support the internal processes of others. Through a transpersonal art therapy lens, Jacenta understands the importance of various healing rituals that include but are not limited to meditation, guided visualizations, dream exploration, and art-making as an expression for the human experience.
Education: Jacenta completed her master's degree at Naropa University in Boulder, CO in transpersonal art therapy in 2017. She is a licensed professional counselor who provides art therapy and transpersonal psychotherapy.
Since her time at Naropa, Jacenta has been dedicating herself to learning and applying decolonization practices in therapeutic spaces. She strives to create change in therapeutic spaces by continuing to develop her understanding, building community, and giving trainings to other mental health professionals to help promote healing in the community.
She has given presentations and appeared on podcasts to discuss using superperson psychology in mental health practices. With a love of pop culture, she integrates stories and dreams into therapeutic healing spaces. She specializes in LGBTQIA+, grief, transitions, empowerment and strengths building, art therapy, relationships, working with court-ordered clients, sexuality, identity, trauma, mindfulness, and other areas.
“Art therapy paves the way to reconnect us to the deepest parts of ourselves including our roots, lineage, and ancestry while at the same time breaking down barriers that keep us from our own innate wisdom and healing.”
Work Background
Since 2016, Jacenta has been working with adults who committed a sexual offense and are court-ordered to complete therapy. She specializes in working with court-ordered clients, families, and couples transitioning on and off probation. She primarily works with adults in this capacity. She has been working on tackling heteronormativity and white-washed wellness in sexual offense-specific treatment by giving presentations to probation officers, therapists, polygraphers, and the SOMB on how to hold space for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC populations, how to create change in therapeutic spaces including bringing awareness to white-washed wellness and heteronormativity.
She understands the difficulties for clients and their families to transition on and off probation.
She understands that is it difficult to ask for help especially when people feel rejected by their communities.
Therapeutic Topics for Psychoeducation and Healing:
Boundaries, understanding grief, healthy sexuality, managing triggers, building confidence, love and self-love languages, cultural impact, shame, honoring emotions, self-care, toxic masculinity, LGBTQIA+, attachment styles, healthy relationships, communication, coping skills, parts work, and more.
Therapeutic Modalities:
Art therapy, feminist therapy, humanistic therapy, mindfulness/body-oriented therapy, restorative therapy, liberation-focused therapy, social-justice informed, strengths-based therapy, trauma-informed therapy, culturally sensitive approach, emotionally focused, relational, transpersonal, and others.
Presentations and Trainings
Podcasts with Jacenta
R Alan Brooks Mother F**ker in a Cape Podcast: Superheroes and Psychology with Jacenta L. Irlanda
MCA’s How Art Is Born Podcast: Mental Health and Representation with Comic Artists Jacenta L. Irlanda and Diamanto Sala
Centalynn Artworks Psych Hero Podcast