top of page

Hello 

 I'm Jade Kestian, a psychologist and DBT therapist. Welcome to my website. Feel free to take a look around and learn what services I offer, what DBT is, and why I chose to be a therapist.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram

About Me

Young Life

I grew up in Normal, Illinois and while everyone jokes about the name, I realized at a young age that I didn't feel normal. I was anxious, experienced chronic health problems, and saw my loved ones struggle with their own difficulties. Throughout this time I also had tremendous support to pursue education, which fed my love of learning. Out of everything I was learning, I found people and their emotional experiences to be the most fascinating. I learned that my presence and listening could be impactful in my relationships. I also learned that while depths of despair could seem insurmountable, they could often be lessened by a listening ear and a kind word. In middle school, I started writing essays about the emotion of rage and the risks of youth suicide. By the time I entered high school, I knew I wanted to be a psychologist so I could turn my love of learning and supporting others into a career.

​

Education and Training

Providing therapy has been my goal and my passion for over a decade. I started volunteering to provide crisis support to the suicide hotline during my time as an undergraduate at Illinois State University. I continued my education in graduate school at Texas A&M and I continue to pursue learning through continuing education. One of my primary values is growth. For myself, this also means sharpening my skills at instilling hope and supporting others in creating their own life worth living.

​

My Approach

I work best when supporting people struggling with intense emotions. This includes supporting parents to become more balanced and confident in their approach with their kids. My favorite approaches include mindfulness and behavioral strategies, especially Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). I love DBT for its balanced approach in advocating acceptance and change, for its focus on creating a life worth living, and for the way it has helped me center myself when my own life feels unmanageable.

 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Comprehensive DBT was initially developed to treat people struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder. It is still considered a gold-standard treatment for BPD and has also been shown to help people with a variety of emotion regulation difficulties. Myself and many others have found DBT skills and principles to be incredibly helpful regardless of diagnoses or the severity of their life's problems.

 

Now

Currently, I live in South East Texas, near the coast. I love the beach, I love my family, and I love my job. I even love providing teletherapy (something I never thought I would do pre-Covid!) because it allows me to see great-fit clients, even if they live 1000 miles away. As a PSYPACT Clinician (and cross-licensed clinician) I can provide services in 40+ states (see PSYPACT map + Vermont, South Dakota, and New Mexico).

Education

2014-2020

Ph.D. in School Psychology

M.Ed. in Educational Psychology
Texas A&M University

  • Graduate Merit Fellow

  • Graduate Assistant for Academic and Integrated Assessment

  • APA Accredited Internship at Travis County Juvenile Probation Department

2010-2014

B.S. in Psychology

Illinois State University

  • Bone Student Scholar

  • Volunteer and Shift Supervisor at PATH Crisis line

  • Teaching Assistant for Research Methods and Intro to Psych 

  • Provided Social-Emotional Curricula on Personality and Social Development Research Team

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

©2021 by Jade Kestian, Ph.D.. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page