Jalene N. Salus

Supervisor
Marriage & Family Therapist
MFT #45363 
jalene@mcaft.com  
650-297-3400 x 10
Location: Los Altos & Half Moon Bay
Fee: $250 

Specialties: 

Children, Teens and Adults. Parents, Couples and Families. 

Focus:

Stress Resilience. Grief, Loss & Life Transitions. Integrative Nutrition. Work-Life Balance. Women’s Wellness. Motherhood / Parenthood.

Modalities: 

Internal Family Systems Informed Therapist, Trauma Informed, Mindfulness-Based Somatic Therapy, Mindful Health & Wellness, Resiliency Based, Supporting Parents of Anxious Children, Teens & Young Adults

Therapeutic Philosophy:

Jalene is a genuinely warm and compassionate therapist committed to providing quality care to children, teens, adults, couples, and families. Jalene has a special interest in resiliency, which reflects her unwavering belief in each individual’s profound capacity to heal and grow, even amidst immense struggle and pain. She brings a collaborative spirit to her work with others, while recognizing the innate wisdom and goodness that resides deep within. She takes care and intention to develop a safe, empathic therapeutic relationship. Jalene’s non-judgmental presence and warm listening help to provide her clients with a sense of regulation, increased self awareness & deepened self compassion. Many clients experience their sessions with Jalene as a process of “returning back home to their essential selves”. This practice of being with themselves in a loving way has been deeply healing for her clients and many have reported feeling a renewed sense of passion, aliveness, resilience and wellbeing. Couples and families share benefits of finding ease and joy with learning this kind of authentic connection together.

Jalene’s clinical approach as a psychotherapist is resiliency-based, preventative, and health-focused. Her approach is based on mind-body-spirit psychotherapy; which includes compassion focused therapy, mindfulness practices, nutrition, expressive arts, Family Systems, Gestalt, Humanistic, IFS (Internal Family Systems), Buddhist psychology, and traditional eastern healing modalities in guiding an individual, couple, or family towards reaching their optimal wellness. 

Jalene brings strong cultural responsiveness to working cross-culturally and offers her conversational fluency in Spanish to Spanish speaking clients. She has lived in Spain and previously held positions as a Bilingual therapist. She has steadily been committed to working with underserved populations and has served on various consortiums to support the Latino community.

Experience:

Over the last 20 years, Jalene has cultivated a rich experience working within a wide variety of clinical settings, in Pennsylvania, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, she has worked in outpatient clinics, schools, the juvenile justice system, residential treatment, and foster care, inpatient hospitals, home-based services as well as in private practice. Most recently, she has held an integrative health practice; in which she offers integrative nutrition counseling and individual, couple, and family psychotherapy. She leads workshops and retreats on integrative health topics, provides wellness consulting, and facilitates experiential group programs. Jalene also enjoys teaching mindfulness to both children and adults in the schools and within various organizations.

Women’s Wellness:

Jalene has particularly enjoyed specializing in cultivating the health and emerging leadership in women and girls, ultimately empowering them to utilize their personal transformation as a catalyst for positive change in the community and world around them.

Education:

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist: 1/2008 MA, San Diego State University, Masters in Counseling Psychology (Cum Laude) 1999-2002 BS, Psychology with a minor in Spanish 1993-1997 Study Abroad in Seville, Spain 1997-1998

Training & Certificates:

• Mindfulness: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Teacher Training Level 1 (Brown University/delivered in Mountain View, Ca) -9/2019-11/2019 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 4/2019-6/2019 Mindful Self Compassion- Greater Good Science Center Kristin Neff/Chris Germer, PHD- 2018
• Integrative Nutrition: Certified Integrative Health Counselor-Institute for Integrative Nutrition, NYC -2009 (Year Long) Adrenal Recode Nutrition Training: The Whole Journey-2019 Functional Nutrition: Soup & Juice Reset: The Whole Journey-2018 Psychology of Eating: Mark David-2009 Food Mood & Cognition: Institute for Natural Resources: 2013 Nutritional Habits of Healthy Children Dr. Rachel Hamel, Craniosacaral Institute; 2017
• Mindfulness Based Somatic Therapy/ Mind-Body Therapy Relational Somatic Psychology: San Diego Institute of Bioenergetic Analysis- 2007 (Year Long) Somatic Experiencing: Children’s Gentle Bioenergetics Dr. Eva Reich, Richard Overly-2007 Somatic Experience: Peter Levine- 2008 The Art of Body Image, The Expressive Arts Institute: 2008 Advanced Integrative Therapy (21 hours: Basics) California Institute for Human Science -2009 Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping) Pamela Church: 2009
• Couples Counseling: Couples Institute Communication Workshop: Michelle Joy, MFT/ The Couples Institute: 2019 Adventures in Intimacy: Imago Relationship Therapy: 2008 Keeping Your Relationship strong while parenting: Eric FitzMedrud, PhD. PNS 2016
• Resilience: Resiliency Trainer: Resiliency Training Program-2001, 2002 Resilience & Motherhood Consortium 2015 Emotionally Resilient People (16 key habits); Institute for Brain Potential 2016 Resilience Project: PAUSD: 2018
• Internal Family Systems/PARTS work: Shadow Process Intensive Training: Debbie Ford:: 2010 Internal Family Systems Introduction: Nancy Morgan, PHD-2020
• Attachment and Parenting: Positive Discipline, Certified Parent Educator: 2016 Attachment Parenting/Tears and Tantrums Book Training: Aletha Solter: 2014 Attachment Parenting/The Aware Baby Book Training: Aletha Solter: 2014 Developing Positive Emotional Habits: Institute for Brain Potential: 2014 Whole Brain Discipline Audio Training: Dr. Daniel Siegel Attachment Parenting/Helping Young Children Flourish Book Training: Aletha Solter: 2016 Foundations of Self Regulation: Kristene Geering, MA: PNS 2016 Motivating Children without Awards, Susan Stone Belton 2016 Conflict Resolution: High Scope Curriculum: 2016 NonViolent Communication: Laughing Giraffe: 2016 Positive Discipline and Limit Setting: Parents Place 2016 Insider Secrets of an Organized Family; Lori Krolik 2016 Young Minds Require Creative Discipline: Sylvia Ford, MA 2016 Gifts of Imperfection Brene’ Brown Audio Training: 2019 Transforming your School through Social and Emotional Learning: R. Keeth Matheny:2019 Girls Leadership Inc: Training
• Clinical Trainings: Client Abuse Prevention: Community Research Foundation: 2006 Child Youth & Family, Part (1, 2, 3: Community Research Foundation: 2006, 2007 Transgender Training: Community Research Foundation: 2007 Cultural Competency Training: Community Research Foundation: : 2007 Preventing & Responding to Aggressive Behavior: Community Research Foundation: 2007 Sexual Harassment: Community Research Foundation: 2007 Client Abuse Prevention: Community Research Foundation: 2007 Trauma in Children: SDSU/Behavioral Health Education Training Academy 2007 Dual Diagnosis: Community Research Foundation: 2007 A Collaborative Expo: Community Mental Health: 2008 Child Therapy: Community Research Foundation: 2008 The Deaf Community and Cultural Issues: Community Research Foundation 2008 Law & Ethics 2009, 2014, 2016, 2019 Aging & Long Term Care 2009 Spousal & Partner Abuse 2009 HIV & AIDS-Therapist guide to treatment issues: 2009

You can email Jalene at: jalene@mcaft.com

Jalene offers a Teen Girls Wellness Group which can be found at: https://mcaft.com/teen_girls_group_los_altos/